"market feedback" - give me a break. Is Oprah a relationship guru? Is Snoop Doggy Dog a great musician?
The consensus in the market that purchased Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution is that the book helped them lose weight. Proven product and effective marketing -- not some external authority proclaiming from on high -- is what makes a product succeed. Especially true when the product flies in the face of the status quo, as Dr. Atkins' did.
It strikes me that hucksterism and profiteering are more in the "low-fat" market than in Dr. Atkins' books. The Low-Fat people are willing to put you on one of several programs in which they charge you for their diet advice, sell you specialized (and required) 'low-fat' food of their own brand at exhorbitant prices, and provide (at additional cost) accessories to help you manage your calorie and fat intake.
Atkins, on the other hand, sells you a book... a fairly low cost book... that shows you how to eat and lose weight using readily available foods you buy from the supermarket in a competative market. He doesn't provide "Dr. Atkins' Certified Low Carbohydrate Pasta" for people who want to have their cake and eat it, too. He teaches you to read labels and look for the total Carbohydrate per serving listed... and to make your decision on that.
Hucksterism is province of the MicroDiet, the Jenny Craig Weight Loss System, the Richard Simmons deal a meal cards, and a host of others who tie into the desperation of people who are trying to lose weight on the low-fat, low calorie bandwagon that just leads them to more boom-bust yo-yo dieting because of the basic flaw in their approach.
Do you see Dr. Atkins appearing on TV to promote his "weight loss" centers where you pay a weekly fee to get weighed and hear a rah-rah lecture? No? I thought not.