TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of October 13, 1974

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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1
1
CENTENNIAL
James Michener

CENTENNIAL

by James Michener · Random House

28 wks at #1 · 7 on list

The editors of Random House, having heard Mr. Michener relate the circumstances that led to the writing of Centennial, and his experiences during his long preparation for the task, felt that an account of these matters would be of particular interest to those who are concerned with the making and dissemination of books.

3
THE DOGS OF WAR
Frederick Forsyth

THE DOGS OF WAR

by Frederick Forsyth · Viking Press

14 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.

4
JAWS
Peter Benchley
Cover of JAWS

JAWS

by Peter Benchley · Doubleday

32 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.

5
1
THE WAR BETWEEN THE TATES
Alison Lurie
Cover of THE WAR BETWEEN THE TATES

THE WAR BETWEEN THE TATES

by Alison Lurie · Random House

7 wks on list

A husband's affair pushes a suburban wife to her breaking point in this "near perfect comedy of manners" by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Real People ( The New York Times). Erica Tate wouldn't mind getting up in the morning if her children were less intolerable. Until puberty struck, Jeffrey and Matilda were absolute darlings, but in the last year, they have become sullen, insufferable little monsters. A forty-year-old housewife out of work and out of mind, she finds little happiness in the small college town of Corinth. Erica's husband, Brian, a political science professor, is so deeply immersed in university life—or more accurately in the legs of his mistress, a half-literate flower child named Wendy—that he either doesn't notice his wife's misery or simply doesn't care. Worst of all, their pleasant little neighborhood is transforming into a subdivision. As new ranch houses spring up around their once idyllic home, Erica's marriage inches closer to disaster. When the Tate household tips into full-scale emotional combat, Erica must do her best to ensure that she comes out on top. In this darkly comic tale of a family at civil war, the National Book Award–shortlisted author of Foreign Affairs dives into the deterioration of a marriage. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Alison Lurie including rare images from the author's collection.

7
2
WATERSHIP DOWN
Richard Adams
Cover of WATERSHIP DOWN

WATERSHIP DOWN

by Richard Adams · Macmillan

27 wks 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.

8
NEW
THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION
Nicholas Meyer
Cover of THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION

THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION

by Nicholas Meyer · Dutton

Back in print to tie-in with The Canary Trainer, this "rediscovered" Sherlock Holmes adventure recounts the unique collaboration of Holmes and Sigmund Freud in the solution of a mystery on which the lives of millions may depend.

9
1
CASHELMARA
Susan Howatch
Cover of CASHELMARA

CASHELMARA

by Susan Howatch · Simon & Schuster

21 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.

10
NEW
THE RHINEMANN EXCHANGE
Robert Ludlum
Cover of THE RHINEMANN EXCHANGE

THE RHINEMANN EXCHANGE

by Robert Ludlum · Dial Press

An exchange of diamonds for gyroscopes between Germany and the United States in the autumn of 1943 is arranged so that each country can carry out its planned strategy for winning the war.

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