Steve Jobs Bio Tops iTunes and Amazon Bestseller Lists for 2011

Steve Jobs, the biography of the late Apple founder by Walter Isaacson, was the most-downloaded eBook on iTunes and bestselling print book on Amazon in 2011, despite not being released until October 24. Amazon has not yet released a list of its top-selling eBooks for 2011.

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The book arrived in stores less than a month after Job's death on Oct. 5. Originally scheduled for publication in March 2012, the bio release was then moved up to late November 2011 due to Job's declining health and actually debuted on Oct. 24. The Apple CEO and chairman personally selected Isaacson, the former Time editor and author of bestselling biographies of Ben Franklin and Albert Einstein, to write the only authorized take on his life. Steve Jobs debuted to generally good reviews but has been notably absent from several year-end "best of 2011" lists.

Number two on the iTunes non-fiction list is Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo and Lynne Vincent. The book, which also landed second on Amazon's list, tells the allegedly true story of a four-year-old Nebraska boy who lost consciousness during surgery and entered heaven.

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The top-selling fiction eBook on iTunes was Kathryn Stockett's The Help, also one of the summer's hit movies which is now in awards contention. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson was second and A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin was third. The movie version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the first book in Larsson's bestselling Millennium Trilogy, debuts on Dec. 21 and HBO's adaption of A Game of Thrones debuted on April 17, 2011 to strong reviews and ratings.

The rest of the iTunes top ten for fiction and nonfiction and the Amazon top ten for print are:
 

iTunes Top Ten Selling Fiction eBooks
 

1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
3. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
4. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
5. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
6. The Litigators by John Grisham
7. Now You See Her by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
8. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
9. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
10. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
     

  iTunes Top Ten Selling Non-Fiction eBooks
 

1.  Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
2. Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo & Lynn Vincent
3. A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard
4. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
5. Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
6. Bossypants by Tina Fey
7. Bossypants (Enhanced Edition) by Tina Fey
8. In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larsen
9. SEAL Team Six by Howard E. Wasdin & Stephen Templin
10. Killing Lincoln by  Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard
     

  Amazon Top Ten Selling Print Books (Fiction/Non-Fiction Combined)
 

1. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
2. Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo, Lynn Vincent
3. StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 6: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney
6. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival by Laura Hillenbrand
7. Inheritance (Inheritance Cycle, Book 4) by Christopher Paolini
8. The 17 Day Diet by Mike Moreno
9. A Game of Thrones (4-Book Boxed Set) by George R.R. Martin
10. Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach, Ricardo Cortés