TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of September 18, 1988

FictionNonfiction
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME
Stephen W. Hawking
Cover of A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME

A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME

by Stephen W. Hawking · Bantam

19 wks at #1 · 22 on list

Stephen Hawking has earned a reputation as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein. In this landmark volume, Professor Hawking shares his blazing intellect with nonscientists everywhere, guiding us expertly to confront the supreme questions of the nature of time and the universe. Was there a beginning of time? Will there be an end? Is the universe infinite or does it have boundaries? From Galileo and Newton to modern astrophysics, from the breathtakingly cast to the extraordinarily tiny, Professor Hawking leads us on an exhilarating journey to distant galaxies, black holes, alternate dimensions--as close as man has ever ventured to the mind of God. From the vantage point of the wheelchair from which he has spent more than twenty years trapped by Lou Gehrig's disease, Stephen Hawking has transformed our view of the universe. Cogently explained, passionately revealed, "A Brief History of Time is the story of the ultimate quest for knowledge: the ongoing search for the tantalizing secrets at the heart of time and space.

5
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THE DUCHESS OF WINDSOR
Charles Higham
Cover of THE DUCHESS OF WINDSOR

THE DUCHESS OF WINDSOR

by Charles Higham · McGraw-Hill

9 wks on list

In the first biography since her death, Charles Higham (Brando) paints the most revealing portrait ever of the legendary American woman who caused an English king to renounce his throne--the Duchess of Windsor, a.k.a. Wallis Warfield Simpson. Illustrated.

6
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TRUMP: The Art of the Deal
Donald J. Trump with Tony Schwartz
Cover of TRUMP: The Art of the Deal

TRUMP: The Art of the Deal

by Donald J. Trump with Tony Schwartz · Random House

40 wks on list

President Donald J. Trump lays out his professional and personal worldview in this classic work—a firsthand account of the rise of America’s foremost deal-maker. “I like thinking big. I always have. To me it’s very simple: If you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big.”—Donald J. Trump Here is Trump in action—how he runs his organization and how he runs his life—as he meets the people he needs to meet, chats with family and friends, clashes with enemies, and challenges conventional thinking. But even a maverick plays by rules, and Trump has formulated time-tested guidelines for success. He isolates the common elements in his greatest accomplishments; he shatters myths; he names names, spells out the zeros, and fully reveals the deal-maker’s art. And throughout, Trump talks—really talks—about how he does it. Trump: The Art of the Deal is an unguarded look at the mind of a brilliant entrepreneur—the ultimate read for anyone interested in the man behind the spotlight. Praise for Trump: The Art of the Deal “Trump makes one believe for a moment in the American dream again.”—The New York Times “Donald Trump is a deal maker. He is a deal maker the way lions are carnivores and water is wet.”—Chicago Tribune “Fascinating . . . wholly absorbing . . . conveys Trump’s larger-than-life demeanor so vibrantly that the reader’s attention is instantly and fully claimed.”—Boston Herald “A chatty, generous, chutzpa-filled autobiography.”—New York Post

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TRANSFORMATION
Whitley Strieber
Cover of TRANSFORMATION

TRANSFORMATION

by Whitley Strieber · Beech Tree/Morrow

3 wks on list

Chronicles the author's efforts to form a relationship with the unknown reality he has come to call "the visitors."

11
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ALMOST GOLDEN
Gwenda Blair
Cover of ALMOST GOLDEN

ALMOST GOLDEN

by Gwenda Blair · Simon & Schuster

7 wks on list

A network correspondent at age 30, Jessica Savitch came up on the fast track in the hectic, hard-driving field of TV news. But by the time of her accidental death in 1983, Jessica--plagued by drugs, depression, and disastrous romances--had already lost the race. A look at TV news, where the quest for celebrity and the values of journalism collide. Photos.

13
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CAPOTE
Gerald Clarke
Cover of CAPOTE

CAPOTE

by Gerald Clarke · Simon & Schuster

12 wks on list

From instant celebrity at age 23 to overweight, alcoholic loner in his 50s, Truman Capote streaked across the middle of this century on a comet of genius, self-destruction, and fame. Drawing upon hundreds of hours of interviews with Capote and with nearly everyone who knew him, and with exclusive access to personal papers, Gerald Clarke has written the definitive biography of an incomparable man and his time. "Extraordinary . . . Rich in intelligence and compassion . . . One can't put the book down. Few literary biographies in recent memory have been so vivid and absorbing." -- Bruce Bawer, The Wall Street Journal

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THRIVING ON CHAOS
Tom Peters
Cover of THRIVING ON CHAOS

THRIVING ON CHAOS

by Tom Peters · Knopf

44 wks on list

The national bestseller that offers prescriptions for an economic world turned upside down. A New York Times bestseller for eleven months.

15
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THE PREDATOR'S BALL
Connie Bruck
Cover of THE PREDATOR'S BALL

THE PREDATOR'S BALL

by Connie Bruck · American Lawyer/Simon & Schuster

1 wks on list

Shows how Michael Milken, more than any other single individual, fueled the takeover mania which swept the American business world in the 1980s and changed the rules of the takeover game.

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A LIGHT IN THE ATTIC
Shel Silverstein
Cover of A LIGHT IN THE ATTIC

A LIGHT IN THE ATTIC

by Shel Silverstein · Harper & Row

181 wks on list

NOW AVAILABLE AS AN EBOOK! From New York Times bestselling author Shel Silverstein, the creator of the beloved poetry collections Where the Sidewalk Ends, Falling Up, and Every Thing On It, comes an imaginative book of poems and drawings—a favorite of Shel Silverstein fans young and old. This digital edition also includes twelve poems previously only available in the special edition hardcover. A Light in the Attic delights with remarkable characters and hilariously profound poems in a collection readers will return to again and again. Here in the attic you will find Backward Bill, Sour Face Ann, the Meehoo with an Exactlywatt, and the Polar Bear in the Frigidaire. You will talk with Broiled Face, and find out what happens when Somebody steals your knees, you get caught by the Quick-Digesting Gink, a Mountain snores, and They Put a Brassiere on the Camel. Come on up to the attic of Shel Silverstein and let the light bring you home. And don't miss these other Shel Silverstein ebooks, The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and Falling Up!

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