Dubai: Qissati, the just released “incomplete biography” of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is making brisk sales across bookshops in the UAE.
The 306-page hard-bound book in Arabic hit the stands on January 14.
“Copies have just been flying off the shelves,” said Meras Mohammad, marketing executive at Kinokuniya, a book store in the Dubai Mall.
“We have already replenished our shelves three times since the book was released,” he said. “We have also been receiving huge orders from government departments and various other organisations.”
Book chain Magrudy’s also reported brisk sales.
“We sold quite a few copies within hours of the release on Monday,” said Jocelyn, manager at the New York University Abu Dhabi campus store.
At Borders in the Mall of the Emirates, supervisor Susheel Kumar said the initial response indicated that the book would be a hot seller. “We received the book on Monday and the response has been excellent.”
Residents, who have been getting a detailed preview of the book in the newspapers, including Gulf News, said they couldn’t wait to get their hands on the book.
“I read some of the excerpts and was very touched by His Highness feelings about his mother. He is such a great leader but is so humble,” said Krishna, an elderly Indian expat who wants to buy the English version of the book, which is expected to come out in two weeks’ time.
“At Dh89, the book is great value for money,” said a Jordanian student who did not want to be named.
Mohammad of Kinokuniya said all books on or by His Highness do extremely well and Qissati is proving to be no exception. “Whether it’s Flash of Thoughts, My Vision, 40 Poems from the Desert or Reflections on Positivity and Happiness, they are all still our best-sellers. In fact, we have the last book Reflections on Positivity and Happiness in many languages, including Russian, Spanish, French, Hindi and Urdu,” he added.
