TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of July 21, 1974

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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1
WATERSHIP DOWN
Richard Adams
Cover of WATERSHIP DOWN

WATERSHIP DOWN

by Richard Adams · Macmillan

13 wks at #1 · 15 on list

A phenomenal worldwide bestseller for over forty years, Richard Adams’ spellbinding classic Watership Down is one of the best-loved novels of all time. Set in the beautiful English countryside of the Berkshire Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage, and survival follows a band of very special rabbits fleeing the destruction of their home by a developer. Led by a stout-hearted pair of brothers, they leave the safety of Sandleford Warren in search of a safe haven and a mysterious promised land, skirting danger at every turn.

2
JAWS
Peter Benchley
Cover of JAWS

JAWS

by Peter Benchley · Doubleday

20 wks on list

"Relentless terror." The Philadelphia Inquirer.The classic, blockbuster thriller of man-eating terror that inspired the Steven Spielberg movie and made millions of beachgoers afraid to go into the water. Experience the thrill of helpless horror again -- or for the first time!From the Paperback edition.

3
1
CASHELMARA
Susan Howatch
Cover of CASHELMARA

CASHELMARA

by Susan Howatch · Simon & Schuster

9 wks on list

There were two subjects which lonely widower Edward de Salis never discussed: his dead wife and his family home in Ireland, 'matchless Cashelmara'. So when he meets Marguerite, a bright young American with whom he can talk freely about both, he is able to love again and takes her back to Ireland as his wife. But Marguerite soon discovers that married life is not what she expected, and that she has married into a troubled family bitterly divided by love and hatred. Cashelmara becomes the curse of three generations as they play out their fates in a spellbinding drama, which moves inexorably towards murder and retribution.

6
THE DOGS OF WAR
Frederick Forsyth

THE DOGS OF WAR

by Frederick Forsyth · Viking Press

2 wks on list

In a remote corner of Zangaro, a small republic in Africa, lies Crystal Mountain. At certain times of the day the mountain emits a strange glow. Only Sir James Manson knows why. The mountain contains ten billion dollar's worth of the world's most valuable mineral, platinum. " Not only exciting but truly surprising" --Atlantic. Now the only question is, how to get hold of it. Sir James knows how. Invade the country with a band of savage, cold-blooded mercenaries. Topple the government and set up a puppet dictatorship. Unleash the dogs of war.

8
BURR
Gore Vidal
Cover of BURR

BURR

by Gore Vidal · Random House

36 wks on list
9
I HEARD THE OWL CALL MY NAME
Margaret Craven
Cover of I HEARD THE OWL CALL MY NAME

I HEARD THE OWL CALL MY NAME

by Margaret Craven · Doubleday

19 wks on list

A young minister who has two years to live learns about the meaning of life when he is sent to an Indian parish in British Columbia. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

10
NEW
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
James Baldwin

IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

by James Baldwin · Dial Press

Go Tell It on the Mountain (fiction): James Baldwin's portrayal of black people in Harlem caught up in a dramatic struggle, and of a society confronting inevitable change. The Fire Next Time (non-fiction): The powerful evocation of a childhood in Harlem that helped to galvanize the early days of the civil rights movement examines the deep consequences of racial injustice to both the individual and the body politic. If Beale Street Could Talk (fiction): A love story about two badly frightended but intensely brave, black young people.

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