TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of October 25, 1959

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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1
ADVISE AND CONSENT
Allen Drury
Cover of ADVISE AND CONSENT

ADVISE AND CONSENT

by Allen Drury · Doubleday

28 wks at #1 · 11 on list
2
EXODUS
Leon Uris
Cover of EXODUS

EXODUS

by Leon Uris · Doubleday

55 wks on list
3
2
THE UGLY AMERICAN
William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick
Cover of THE UGLY AMERICAN

THE UGLY AMERICAN

by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick · W.W. Norton and Company

53 wks on list

The multi-million-copy bestseller that blends truth and fiction in a “devastating indictment of American policy” (New York Times Book Review). A piercing exposé of American incompetence and corruption in Southeast Asia, The Ugly American captivated the nation when it was first published in 1958. The book introduces readers to an unlikely hero in the titular “ugly American”—and to the ignorant politicians and arrogant ambassadors who ignore his empathetic and commonsense advice. In linked stories and vignettes set in the fictional nation of Sarkhan, William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick draw an incisive portrait of American foreign policy gone dangerously wrong—and how it might be fixed. Eerily relevant sixty years after its initial publication, The Ugly American reminds us that “today, as the battle for hearts and minds has shifted to the Middle East, we still can’t speak Sarkhanese” (New York Times).

9
4
THE LOTUS EATERS
Gerald Green

THE LOTUS EATERS

by Gerald Green · Charles Scribner's Sons

4 wks on list

Tom, hero to his Italian family and friends of New York's Bronx, Marty, his wife, and her eccentric genius of a father, a famous anthropologist, Prof. Maitland, who cannot resist championing lost causes; Ballard, a Negro whose scientific background is at odds with the pull back to the war his people are waging; an ex-Communist, haunted by his personal tragedy. Set against them are the millionaire couple who have granted the right to "the dig", and who show a shallow concern for the findings. a possible lost site of a lost tribe of Glade Indians. And Ira deKay, an utterly surrealist character, whose one aim becomes the acquisition of Tom's remote, beautiful, arrogant wife.

10
4
LADY CHATTERLY'S LOVER
D.H. Lawrence
Cover of LADY CHATTERLY'S LOVER

LADY CHATTERLY'S LOVER

by D.H. Lawrence · Random House

24 wks on list

El amante de Lady Chatterley, publicada por primera vez en 1928, es una innovadora novela de D.H. Lawrence que profundiza en temas como el amor, la pasión y las limitaciones sociales. La historia sigue a Constance Reid, o Connie, casada con Sir Clifford Chatterley, un intelectual rico y paralítico. Viviendo en Wragby Hall, Connie se siente aislada e insatisfecha mientras su marido se centra en sus afanes intelectuales. La soledad de Connie la lleva a tener un romance con Oliver Mellors, el guardabosques de la finca, cuyo físico robusto y conexión con la naturaleza contrastan fuertemente con la actitud distante de su marido. Su relación es profundamente transformadora y ofrece a Connie una sensación de vitalidad y libertad. A través de este romance, Lawrence explora la sexualidad humana, las divisiones de clase y la búsqueda de la auténtica intimidad. Célebre por su cándida descripción de la sexualidad y su crítica al sistema de clases británico, El amante de Lady Chatterley se enfrentó a la censura y a batallas legales. Esta nueva edición retoma la provocadora y perspicaz narración de Lawrence, una historia que aborda con audacia la intersección del amor, la identidad y las expectativas sociales.

13
6
EVA
Meyer Levin
Cover of EVA

EVA

by Meyer Levin · Simon & Schuster

6 wks on list
14
3
THE TOWN HOUSE
Norah Lofts
Cover of THE TOWN HOUSE

THE TOWN HOUSE

by Norah Lofts · Doubleday

4 wks on list

Three-generation story of a family's rise from serfdom to great wealth in 15th-century England.

16
NEW
CALIFORNIA STREET
Niven Busch
Cover of CALIFORNIA STREET

CALIFORNIA STREET

by Niven Busch · Simon & Schuster

In politics, the rise to the top can also correspond to the erosion of one's moral core. Ask Aline Cleary Belshaw — her father was an honest and popular senator and she grew up immersed in the excitement of political life, believing in the unshakable fiber of the political process. So when she marries a grass-roots lawyer with political ambitions, she is happy to support him in every way. Until, of course, she discovers that his integrity is disappearing along with every toehold. Clay Belshaw thinks he is doing what he needs to do in order to make his way in the "the hair pulling and groin kicking of everyday politics." Although his wife is shaken by the devious compromises he is willing to make, Clay's career continues to flourish and he unexpectedly creates the candidate everyone is looking for. "It was easy—almost inevitable—to center your dreams and hopes on such a man, to believe, no matter what some said to the contrary, that he would make life better and simpler for you, that he could and would restore to the nation some old-time good that, due to the corruption of others, had gone out of it." Sound familiar? Even if political conniving and scheming is old hat by now, published in 1965, The Gentleman from California will interest readers seeking a fictionalized account of U.S. politics, pre- and post- WW II, and the impact of ambition on the lives of those who rise to power.

Historical bestseller data sourced from the New York Times Book Review, archived by Hawes Publications.