Former President George W. Bush's new book, 'Decision Points' got off to a strong start on Tuesday

The results represent the largest first-day sale of any nonfiction title published by Random House Inc. in the last six years, said Crown Publishers, a unit of Bertelsmann AG's Random House. The figures don't include sales at the nation's independent bookstores or at Kroger Co., the grocery company.

'We're very pleased with first day sales,' said David Drake, a spokesman for Crown Publishers. 'It's exciting to see the readership coming so quickly to this book.'

Crown earlier announced a first printing of 1.5 million copies, a large run at a time when the poor economy and digital titles have tamped down physical book sales in general.

There was considerable interest prior to publication in 'Decision Points.' Pre-orders for the book, which are included in first-day sales, were strong. The publisher said they represented less than 40% of the 220,000 hardcovers and digital editions that were sold, however.

'It's done incredibly well for us, and it will be our fastest selling adult hardcover for the year,' said Liz Harwell, a director of merchandising for Barnes & Noble Inc., the nation's largest bookstore chain.

That President Bush agreed to several well-publicized television interviews gave his book additional velocity because he has largely kept a low profile in the last two years, she noted.