TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of May 10, 1992

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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GIVE WAR A CHANCE
P. J. O'Rourke
Cover of GIVE WAR A CHANCE

GIVE WAR A CHANCE

by P. J. O'Rourke · Atlantic Monthly Press

3 wks at #1 · 3 on list

The #1 New York Times bestseller from "one of America's most hilarious and provocative writers . . . a volatile brew of one-liners and vitriol" ( Time). Renowned for his cranky conservative humor, P. J. O'Rourke runs hilariously amok in this book, tackling the death of communism; his frustration with sanctimonious liberals; and Saddam Hussein in a series of classic dispatches from his coverage of the 1991 Gulf War. On Kuwait City after the war, he comments, "It looked like all the worst rock bands in the world had stayed there at the same time." On Saddam Hussein, O'Rourke muses: "He's got chemical weapons filled with . . . with . . . chemicals. Maybe he's got The Bomb. And missiles that can reach Riyadh, Tel Aviv, Spokane. Stock up on nonperishable foodstuffs. Grab those Diet Coke cans you were supposed to take to the recycling center and fill them with home heating oil. Bury the Hummel figurines in the yard. We're all going to die. Details at eleven." And on the plague of celebrity culture, he notes: "You can't shame or humiliate modern celebrities. What used to be called shame and humiliation is now called publicity." Mordant and utterly irreverent, this is a modern classic from one of our great political satirists, described by Christopher Buckley as being "like S. J. Perelman on acid." "Mocking on the surface but serious beneath . . . When it comes to scouting the world for world-class absurdities, O'Rourke is the right man for the job." — Los Angeles Times Book Review "The funniest writer in America." — The Wall Street Journal

4
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BACKLASH
Susan Faludi
Cover of BACKLASH

BACKLASH

by Susan Faludi · Crown

25 wks on list
6
HIGH TREASON 2
Harrison Edward Livingstone
Cover of HIGH TREASON 2

HIGH TREASON 2

by Harrison Edward Livingstone · Carroll & Graf

3 wks on list

The second volume in the two-volume study of the assassination of JFK presents new evidence and an astute analysis of existing documents and facts about the conspiracy, the assassination, and the coverup.

8
REINVENTING GOVERNMENT
David Osborne and Ted Gaebler
Cover of REINVENTING GOVERNMENT

REINVENTING GOVERNMENT

by David Osborne and Ted Gaebler · Patrick/Addison-Wesley

5 wks on list

In this policy-shaping book, Osborne and Gaebler show the way toward nothing less than an American perestroika, shaking up accepted notions of what governance means with success stories of ghetto schools that brilliantly educate, sanitation departments that make a profit, and police departments that are as efficient as any high-tech corporation.

9
THE DISUNITING OF AMERICA
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr
Cover of THE DISUNITING OF AMERICA

THE DISUNITING OF AMERICA

by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr · Norton

6 wks on list

The bestseller that reminded readers of what it means to be an American is more timely than ever in this updated and enlarged edition, including "Schlesinger's Syllabus", an annotated reading list of core books on the American experience. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

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MAUS II
Art Spiegelman
Cover of MAUS II

MAUS II

by Art Spiegelman · Pantheon

14 wks on list

An autobiographical and biographical cartoon in which the author explores his strained relationship with his father, an Auschwitz survivor, while also relating the story of his parent's experiences as Jews in wartime Poland, as told to him by his dad during a series of conversations they had years later in New York and Vermont.

12
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TWO NATIONS
Andrew Hacker
Cover of TWO NATIONS

TWO NATIONS

by Andrew Hacker · Scribners

2 wks on list

A profound analysis of the conditions that keep blacks and whites dangerously far apart in their ability to participate in the American dream. In this groundbreaking study, Hacker offers a fresh and disturbing examination of the divisions of color and class in 1990s America.

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EARTH IN THE BALANCE
Al Gore
Cover of EARTH IN THE BALANCE

EARTH IN THE BALANCE

by Al Gore · Houghton Mifflin

6 wks on list

A U.S. senator convinced that the global environment is on the brink of disaster draws on the latest research on air, water, and soil pollution to develop a strategic plan for a worldwide clean-up effort

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NEW
HEAD TO HEAD
Lester Thurow
Cover of HEAD TO HEAD
16
NEW
TOUJOURS PROVENCE
Peter Mayle
Cover of TOUJOURS PROVENCE

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