TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of December 3, 1978

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Archive Gap

The New York Times Strike of 1978

The New York Times did not publish for 88 days after its unions walked out on August 9, 1978. The paper resumed on November 5, 1978. No bestseller lists were produced during this period — the gap in the archive reflects the gap in the paper itself.

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3
FOOLS DIE
Mario Puzo
Cover of FOOLS DIE

FOOLS DIE

by Mario Puzo · Putnam's

9 wks on list
4
THE FAR PAVILIONS
M.M. Kaye
Cover of THE FAR PAVILIONS

THE FAR PAVILIONS

by M.M. Kaye · St. Martin's

9 wks on list

Human sacrifice and love.

7
1
PRELUDE TO TERROR
Helen MacInnes
Cover of PRELUDE TO TERROR

PRELUDE TO TERROR

by Helen MacInnes · Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

9 wks on list

"Art may soothe the soul and stimulate the mind but it doesn't save one's life from terrorists' bombs or bullets." New York art expert Colin Grant takes on an easy commission: to travel to Vienna and bid on a priceless Old Master on behalf of a Texan millionaire. The painting has been smuggled out of Hungary by a defector, and Grant must get it at any cost, while keeping his employer's name a secret. But all is not as it seems. No sooner has Grant landed in Austria than his seemingly simple assignment turns into a nightmare, as he finds himself at the centre of a conspiracy to unleash a wave of international terrorism. Grant must now navigate a hidden and terrifying world, as he and the woman he loves become pawns in a war between the secret armies of East and West.

8
5
THE SILMARILLION
J.R.R. Tolkien
Cover of THE SILMARILLION

THE SILMARILLION

by J.R.R. Tolkien · Houghton Mifflin

54 wks on list

The forerunner to The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion tells the earlier history of Middle-earth, recounting the events of the First and Second Ages, and introducing some of the key characters, such as Galadriel, Elrond, Elendil and the Dark Lord, Sauron.

10
NEW
WIFEY
Judy Blume
Cover of WIFEY

WIFEY

by Judy Blume · Putnam's

3 wks on list
14
9
SECOND GENERATION
Howard Fast
Cover of SECOND GENERATION

SECOND GENERATION

by Howard Fast · Houghton Mifflin

9 wks on list

This sequel to "The Immigrants" depicts the life of Barbara Lavette, daughter of the son of a poor Italian immigrant and a woman of San Francisco's elite, from the Depression through World War II.

15
NEW
SCRUPLES
Judith Krantz
Cover of SCRUPLES

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