By the Book

A look at Amazon's skyrocketing growth in book and media sales.

| April 2010 | FROM THE PRINT EDITION

Amazon.com reported record revenue for 2009, spurred on in part by the sale of electronic books for its Kindle Reader. A look back over the past several years shows that Amazon has taken the lead in book and media sales compared with its two largest competitors.

Amazon book sales

* 2009 figures for Barnes & Noble and Borders are analyst estimates.

Sales figures for Amazon are for all media, including books, e-books, DVDs and CDs. For Barnes & Noble and Borders, the figures are total revenues, but comprise a similar mix of products.