TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of August 14, 1988

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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1
THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN
Tom Clancy

THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN

by Tom Clancy · Putnam

12 wks at #1 · 2 on list

Jack Ryan, CIA analyst, must rescue Colonel Filitov, America's highest agent in the Kremlin, from the KGB as the race to build the first Star Wars missile defense system continues.

3
TO BE THE BEST
Barbara Taylor Bradford
Cover of TO BE THE BEST

TO BE THE BEST

by Barbara Taylor Bradford · Doubleday

6 wks on list

Continues the story of the Harte family. Emma's message to her grandaughter Paula - "hold the dream"--Becomes vital as Paula strives to be more relentless and courageous in order to preserve the Harte empire.

4
4
DOCTORS
Erich Segal
Cover of DOCTORS

DOCTORS

by Erich Segal · Bantam

3 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Writing with all the passion of Love Story and power of The Class, Erich Segal sweeps us into the lives of the Harvard Medical School's class of 1962. His stunning novel reveals the making of doctors—what makes them tick, scheme, hurt . . . and love. From the crucible of med school’s merciless training through the demanding hours of internship and residency to the triumphs—and sometimes tragedies—beyond, Doctors brings to vivid life the men and women who seek to heal but who must first walk through fire. At the novel’s heart is the unforgettable relationship of Barney Livingston and Laura Castellano, childhood friends who separately find unsettling celebrity and unsatisfying love—until their friendship ripens into passion. Yet even their devotion to each other, even their medical gifts may not be enough to save the one life they treasure above all others. Doctors—heartbreaking, witty, inspiring, and utterly, grippingly real—is a vibrant portrait that culminates in a murder, a trial . . . and a miracle.

6
1
ZOYA
Danielle Steel
Cover of ZOYA
13
NEW
LIBRA
Don DeLillo
Cover of LIBRA

LIBRA

by Don DeLillo · Viking Press

1 wks on list

Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. Friday, November 22, 1963. 12.30 PM. Shots ring out. A president dies. And a nation is plunged into psychosis. Don DeLillo's extraordinary Librais a brilliant reimagining of the events and people surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Concentrating on the lives of Lee Harvey Oswald, some rogue former spooks unhappy with Kennedy's presidency, and Nicholas Branch, a CIA archivist, trying to make sense of or draw inferences from the mass of information after the assassination, Libra presents an unapologeticly provocative picture of America in the second half of the last century.

14
2
PEOPLE LIKE US
Dominick Dunne
Cover of PEOPLE LIKE US

PEOPLE LIKE US

by Dominick Dunne · Crown

14 wks on list

The way journalist Gus Bailey tells it, old money is always preferred, but occasionally new money sneaks in--even where it is most unwelcome. After moving from Cincinnati, Elias and Ruby Renthal strike it even richer in New York, turning their millions into billions. It would be impolite for high society to refuse them now. Not to mention disadvantageous. As long as the market is strong, there's absolutely nothing to worry about--except for those nasty secrets from the past. Scandal, anyone? Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

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