TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of August 19, 1979

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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2
CRUEL SHOES
Steve Martin
Cover of CRUEL SHOES

CRUEL SHOES

by Steve Martin · Putnam's

12 wks on list

A collection of short humorous pieces including "Women Without Bones," "The Day the Dopes Came Over," "How to Fold Soup," Dogs in My Nose," "Cruel Shoes," and "What to Say When the Ducks Show up."

4
1
HOW TO PROSPER DURING THE COMING BAD YEARS
Howard J. Ruff
Cover of HOW TO PROSPER DURING THE COMING BAD YEARS

HOW TO PROSPER DURING THE COMING BAD YEARS

by Howard J. Ruff · Times Books

25 wks on list

The author prescribes solid, easily understood, easily managed investment plan as hedges against inflation and details and where to acquire them safely, and even how to profit from the decisions when the economy eventually statilizes.

5
THE BRONX ZOO
Sparky Lyle and Peter Golenbock
Cover of THE BRONX ZOO

THE BRONX ZOO

by Sparky Lyle and Peter Golenbock · Crown

19 wks on list

The former "New York Times" bestseller is now available in trade paperback a quarter century after Golenbock's detailed examination of the 1979 New York Yankees World Series championship became hailed as one of the best baseball books written.

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BROCA'S BRAIN
Carl Sagan
Cover of BROCA'S BRAIN

BROCA'S BRAIN

by Carl Sagan · Random House

9 wks on list

Dr. Carl Sagan Takes Us on a Great Reading Adventure, Offering his Vivid and Startling Insight Into the Brain of Man and Beast, the Origin of Human Intelligence, the Function of our Most Haunting Legends -- and Their Amazing Links to Recent Discoveries. Book jacket.

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THE POWERS THAT BE
David Halberstam
Cover of THE POWERS THAT BE

THE POWERS THAT BE

by David Halberstam · Knopf

14 wks on list

A Pulitzer Prize winner's in-depth look at four media-business giants: CBS-TV, Time magazine, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. In this fascinating New York Times bestseller, the author of The Best and the Brightest, The Fifties, and other acclaimed histories turns his investigative eye to the rise of the American media in the twentieth century. Focusing on the successes and failures of CBS Television, Time magazine, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, David Halberstam paints a portrait of the era when large, powerful mainstream media sources emerged as a force, showing how they shifted from simply reporting the news to becoming a part of it. By examining landmark events such as Franklin D. Roosevelt's masterful use of the radio and the unprecedented coverage of the Watergate break-in, Halberstam demonstrates how print and broadcast media as a whole became a player in society and helped shape public policy. Drawn from hundreds of exhaustive interviews with insiders at each company, and hailed by the Seattle Times as "a monumental X-ray study of power," The Powers That Be reveals the tugs-of-war between political ambition and the quest for truth in a page-turning read. This ebook features an extended biography of David Halberstam.

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THE MEDUSA AND THE SNAIL
Lewis Thomas
Cover of THE MEDUSA AND THE SNAIL

THE MEDUSA AND THE SNAIL

by Lewis Thomas · Viking Press

12 wks on list

A Pulitzer Prize Finalist The medusa is a tiny jellyfish that lives on the ventral surface of a sea slug found in the Bay of Naples. Readers will find themselves caught up in the fate of the medusa and the snail as a metaphor for eternal issues of life and death as Lewis Thomas further extends the exploration of man and his world begun in The Lives of a Cell. Among the treasures in this magnificent book are essays on the human genius for making mistakes, on disease and natural death, on cloning, on warts, and on Montaigne, as well as an assessment of medical science and health care. In these essays and others, Thomas once again conveys his observations of the scientific world in prose marked by wonder and wit.

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THE WHITE ALBUM
Joan Didion

THE WHITE ALBUM

by Joan Didion · Simon & Schuster

5 wks on list

Uncorrected proof copy of The white album by Joan Didion, her second collection of essays, following her first, Slouching toward Bethlehem, published in 1968. The white album continues, and expands her first collection of essays in which she chronicled the dissolution of American moral culture in the late 1960s and beyond. Like the Beatles album from which this volume took its title, this collection is now considered something of a classic, with essays that may not have had quite the immediate impact of some of her earlier pieces but which have quietly endured and enjoyed a kind of timelessness.

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MOMMIE DEAREST
Christina Crawford
Cover of MOMMIE DEAREST

MOMMIE DEAREST

by Christina Crawford · Morrow

39 wks on list

The fortieth anniversary edition of the "shocking" #1 New York Times bestseller with a bonus story by the author, "Never Got to Say Goodbye" ( Los Angeles Times). When Christina Crawford's harrowing chronicle of child abuse was first published in 1978, it brought global attention to the previously closeted subject. It also shed light on the guarded world of Hollywood and stripped away the façade of Christina's relentless, alcoholic abuser: her adoptive mother, movie star Joan Crawford. Christina was a young girl shown off to the world as a fortunate little princess. But at home, her lonely, controlling, even ruthless mother made her life a nightmare. A fierce battle of wills, their relationship could be characterized as an ultimately successful, for Christina, struggle for independence. She endured and survived, becoming the voice of so many other victims who suffered in silence, and giving them the courage to forge a productive life out of chaos. This book features an exclusive introduction by Christina Crawford, rare photographs from her personal collection, revealing material not found in the original manuscript, and her bonus story, "Never Got to Say Goodbye," which attempts to bring a healthy close her traumatic childhood.

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I'M DANCING AS FAST AS I CAN
Barbara Gordon
Cover of I'M DANCING AS FAST AS I CAN

I'M DANCING AS FAST AS I CAN

by Barbara Gordon · Harper & Row

7 wks on list

Discover the captivating journey of a woman who almost lost everything on her road to recovery. An Emmy-award-winning documentary producer, Barbara Gordon has a man she loves, an amazing group of friends, and a stunning apartment in the heart of Manhattan; yet, she is barely aware of the fact that her life is about to spiral out of control. A nameless terror begins to disrupt her daily life, and in spite of the prescriptions from her doctor, Barbara is consumed by crippling anxiety and panic attacks. Who once had been a strong and successful woman had now become a shadow of her former self, engulfed in paralysis and fear. When Barbara finds herself unable to leave her apartment, she decides to take action into her own hands. She doesn't want more pills; she wants answers. But this is only the start of her downfall—as Barbara stops taking her medicine, her so-called perfect life further unravels at an alarming rate. She quickly learns of the inept mental health system in the United States, but ultimately finds solace in another patient who helps her rediscover her voice and identity. I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can is a strikingly honest look at a life gone off the rails. Throughout her journey, Gordon's hope and strength make her an incredible heroine worth rooting for.

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