A comeback story

“That First Season,” my book on Vince Lombardi’s inaugural year as the coach of the Green Bay Packers, was published in the fall of 2009 — more than five years ago. But if its Amazon page is any indication, it is attracting new readers as if it just hit the market.

Every book sold by Amazon has its own page, an online home base of sorts featuring sales figures, updated hourly, and reader reviews. It is wise not to put too much stock in what you see there, but most authors check their pages and their “numbers” anywhere from occasionally to compulsively, as it does provide a general picture of the interest level in their books.

“That First Season,” published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, had a nice run when it first came out in the fall of 2009. Sales were healthy and 40 readers posted reviews on Amazon within the first few months. That rush inevitably slowed, as happens with most books, or for that matter, most products after several years on the market. In 2012, five readers posted reviews on Amazon. In 2013, 11 did.

But interest has picked up. The book is experiencing a significant rebirth, at least according to its Amazon metrics.

Thirty-eight readers posted reviews in 2014, and 27 have already posted reviews this year – 17 in March alone and we’re barely halfway through the month. Those are healthy figures for a brand-new book, let alone one that came out in 2009. Fortunately, most are four-star or five-star reviews. People seem to like it.

You can now find the book on several of Amazon’s bestseller lists, ranking No. 23 in books on American football as of Tuesday morning.

When I see a spike like that, I wonder what happened. Did an influential publication post a review? Did someone in Green Bay mention it? Or is this just a function of the power of the Lombardi legend?

I don’t know the answer. But I’m not complaining.