Chavez’ book gift to Obama tops bestseller lists

The book, “The Open Veins of Latin America” was given by Chavez, a longtime US critic, to Obama at an Americas summit in Trinidad and Tobago.

The English version of the tome, well-known in leftist political circles, catapulted from 734th place to second place in just 24 hours on the online bookseller Amazon.com.

The work in its original Spanish language had an even more spectacular ascent, from 47,468th place to 283th. It also showed substantial increased sales on the website of online bookseller Barnes and Noble.

The work by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano is about the region’s colonial past and exploitation by the world’s big powers – themes hammered constantly by Chavez, who frequently accuses the United States of “imperialist” policies.

Chavez had inscribed the book to his US counterpart with the message “For Obama, with affection.”