TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of January 21, 1979

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
Jump to
1
CHESAPEAKE
James A. Michener
Cover of CHESAPEAKE

CHESAPEAKE

by James A. Michener · Random House

13 wks at #1 · 21 on list
3
1
FOOLS DIE
Mario Puzo
Cover of FOOLS DIE

FOOLS DIE

by Mario Puzo · Putnam's

16 wks on list
4
2
SECOND GENERATION
Howard Fast
Cover of SECOND GENERATION

SECOND GENERATION

by Howard Fast · Houghton Mifflin

16 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.

5
2
THE SILMARILLION
J.R.R. Tolkien
Cover of THE SILMARILLION

THE SILMARILLION

by J.R.R. Tolkien · Houghton Mifflin

61 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.

6
3
THE FAR PAVILIONS
M.M. Kaye
Cover of THE FAR PAVILIONS

THE FAR PAVILIONS

by M.M. Kaye · St. Martin's

16 wks on list

Human sacrifice and love.

8
3
THE STORIES OF JOHN CHEEVER
John Cheever
Cover of THE STORIES OF JOHN CHEEVER

THE STORIES OF JOHN CHEEVER

by John Cheever · Knopf

5 wks on list

This collection of Cheever's short fiction features the Swimmer, The enormous radio, The housebreaker of Shady Hill and fifty-eight other stories written and published over the past three decades.

11
2
THE COUP
John Updike
Cover of THE COUP

THE COUP

by John Updike · Knopf

3 wks on list
12
NEW
WIFEY
Judy Blume
Cover of WIFEY

WIFEY

by Judy Blume · Putnam's

8 wks on list
13
2
PRELUDE TO TERROR
Helen MacInnes
Cover of PRELUDE TO TERROR

PRELUDE TO TERROR

by Helen MacInnes · Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

16 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.

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