the book has been a commercial success at least initially. it debuted at no. 1 on the new york times bestseller list. it reached the no. 3 spot on the "publishers weekly" best-sellers list for non-fiction (as of april 3). the book has received a wide variety of reviews. criticism came from forbes.com, salon.com, and "the new york times book review", while praise came from "the washington times", "newsweek", and "kirkus reviews". the book is also a favorite of the former british prime minister and conservative party leader, david cameron.