TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of January 20, 1963

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A SHADE OF DIFFERENCE
Allen Drury
Cover of A SHADE OF DIFFERENCE

A SHADE OF DIFFERENCE

by Allen Drury · Doubleday

15 wks on list

Racial tensions threaten to sink the US in this sequel to the Pulitzer Prize–winning Advise and Consent from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author. From Allen Drury, the twentieth-century grand master of political fiction, comes a novel of the United Nations and the racial friction that could spark a worldwide powder keg. International tensions rise as ambassadors and politicians scheme, using the independence of a small African nation as the focal point for hidden agendas. A cascade of events begun in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations could lead to the weakening of the United States, the loss of the Panama Canal, and a possible civil war. Allen Drury paints a vivid and laser-accurate portrait of Washington and international politics, from top secret conferences, to elite cocktail parties, club luncheon rooms, and the private offices of the key players in government. Praise for Allen Drury and A Shade of Difference "On every page you hear the drums of jeopardy. This is a measure of Mr. Drury's mastery. He has a remarkable skill for keeping not only his characters but also his readers in dramatic turmoil. There are hardly any bystanders in his dramatis personae." — The New York Times "The market that found Advise and Consent enormously readable will take this in stride. Here is another contemporary-and beyond-novel dealing with the chitchat as well as the more profound thoughts on issues that are with us—yesterday, today, tomorrow." — Kirkus Reviews "Drury's stories are detailed and compelling portraits of the machinery of government as relevant today as when they were first published." — HuffPost

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GENIUS
Patrick Dennis
Cover of GENIUS

GENIUS

by Patrick Dennis · Harcourt, Brace and World

9 wks on list

A few weeks in the flamboyant life of a once-famous Hollywood director who bootlegs a film in Mexico City in a desperate attempt at a comeback.

5
1
THE CAPE COD LIGHTER
John O'Hara
Cover of THE CAPE COD LIGHTER

THE CAPE COD LIGHTER

by John O'Hara · Random House

5 wks on list

Twenty-three new stories.

6
3
WHERE LOVE HAS GONE
Harold Robbins
Cover of WHERE LOVE HAS GONE

WHERE LOVE HAS GONE

by Harold Robbins · Simon & Schuster

11 wks on list

Luke Carey has a wife and a baby on the way. His future looks bright-- until his past catches up with him unexpectedly. A phone call in the dead of night summons him back to San Francisco to help his fourteen-year-old daughter Danielle, whom he hasn't seen in six years. But helping Danielle means he may have to face his ex-wife Nora-- a prospect Luke is none too eager to explore. Inspired by the real-life murder of Johnny Stompanato, Lana Turner's lover, who was allegedly stabbed by the actress' daughter.

12
2
THE PRIZE
Irving Wallace

THE PRIZE

by Irving Wallace · Simon & Schuster

30 wks on list

A writer in Stockholm who is to accept the Nobel Prize becomes involved in a spy plot to kidnap a scientist.

14
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DEARLY BELOVED
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Cover of DEARLY BELOVED

DEARLY BELOVED

by Anne Morrow Lindbergh · Harcourt, Brace

31 wks on list

A June wedding sets the scene for Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s bestselling novel, Dearly Beloved. The ceremony is a great moment during which the “gathered together” survey not just this couple, this occasion, but their own lives, hopes, and fears. As the family and guests follow the familiar marriage service, they are stirred to new insights—on love, on marriage, and on all the stages of development involved. For the young and eager bridesmaid and best man, marriage still lies ahead; but for the mothers of the bride and groom, and for friends and relatives, the sight of the young couple and the words of the minister evoke more troubling thoughts and deeper questions. Anne Morrow Lindbergh wisely chose the framework of a wedding as a meditation on togetherness to contrast the questions she contemplated on solitude in her bestselling classic Gift from the Sea. The novel's structure also gave her scope for her reflections—some of them autobiographical—and intuitions about the most crucial of human relationships, reflections she calls “a theme and variations.” This classic book, first published in 1962 and long out of print, illuminates the truths behind marriage, not with easy optimism, but with perception, compassion, candor, and courage.

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