TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of March 17, 1963

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6
3
TRIUMPH
Philip Wylie

TRIUMPH

by Philip Wylie · Doubleday

2 wks on list

In the world's upper hemisphere, only one small group has survived World War III: fourteen people, sheltered deep within a limestone mountain in Connecticut and with enough supplies and equipment to maintain their subsistence for upwards of two years. The group includes a forward-thinking millionaire and his family, a levelheaded Jewish scientist, a playboy, an aging African American servant and his daughter, a gigolo and the glamorous woman who has been his mistress, a beautiful Chinese girl, a young meter reader, two children, and a Japanese engineer. Fully aware of the outcome of the war that had raged briefly above them, the survivors seethe with hatred, fall into depression over their losses, rise to moments of superhuman bravery, and lapse into behavior that reflects their human weaknesses. Philip Wylie mercilessly predicts the inevitable end of a world that continues to function as selfishly and as barbarously as our own.

7
NEW
A SHADE OF DIFFERENCE
Allen Drury
Cover of A SHADE OF DIFFERENCE

A SHADE OF DIFFERENCE

by Allen Drury · Doubleday

14 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

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