TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of June 21, 1992

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THE SILENT PASSAGE
Gail Sheehy
Cover of THE SILENT PASSAGE

THE SILENT PASSAGE

by Gail Sheehy · Random House

7 wks at #1 · 4 on list

Gail Sheehy's landmark bestseller has become the bible for women concerned about menopause. Since The Silent Passage was originally published in the early 1990s, Gail Sheehy, a member of the board of the New York Menopause Research Foundation, has been at the forefront of the newest research on menopause. She has also continued to interview countless women throughout the country on the subject. In this updated and expanded edition, she presents essential new data in chapters on The Perimenopause Panic, Menopause in the Workplace, Estrogen and Brainpower, and New Frontiers in Treatment. Candid, enlightening, inspiring, and witty, with the latest information on everything from early menopause to Chinese medicine and natural remedies, The Silent Passage is an indispensable reference for every woman.

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HEAD TO HEAD
Lester Thurow
Cover of HEAD TO HEAD
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PEROT
Todd Mason
Cover of PEROT

PEROT

by Todd Mason · Dow Jones-Irwin

3 wks on list
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CHIEF
Daryl F. Gates with Diane K. Shah

CHIEF

by Daryl F. Gates with Diane K. Shah · Bantam

3 wks on list

"For the past twenty years one man has had full responsibility for supervising the enforcement of the law in one of the toughest cities in the world: Los Angeles. That man, who may know more about law enforcement than anyone else, is Chief Daryl F. Gates. Now for the first time, Gates tells the explosive story of his four decades in the LAPD in the same straightforward style that has earned him the reputation as America's most effective top cop." "Creator of the first police SWAT team as well as the highly praised DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, Daryl Gates has earned respect as an innovator and pioneer in law enforcement and as the chief of the most effective police department in the country. But his aggressive style of policing, his outspoken--sometimes outrageous--opinions on crime and criminals, and his clashes with the political elite and the media have made him no stranger to controversy." "In Chief Gates looks back at the headline-making events in which he played a pivotal role: the Watts riots, shootouts with the Black Panthers and the SLA, the investigations of the death of Marilyn Monroe and the assassination of Robert Kennedy, the Patty Hearst kidnapping, the Hillside Strangler investigation, security at the 1984 Olympics, and the ongoing charges of police brutality from the Eulia Love case to the LAPD's controversial "choke-hold" to the now infamous videotaped beating of Rodney King." "Here, with a candor that may surprise even his harshest critics, Gates takes us into the inner sanctums of both the LAPD and the mayor's office to reveal the power struggles, ego clashes, and media manipulation behind the search for the facts in the Rodney King investigation." "Gates also discusses his fight against L.A.'s violent street gangs, his feud with the ACLU, and the secret files he is rumored to have kept on numerous prominent citizens. He speaks openly of his painful and troubling relationship with his son, Scott, a convicted felon and former heroin addict, as well as the personal impact that the Rodney King case has had on his own life. And he presents his seven-point program for keeping our streets--and all of us who walk them--safe." "During his forty-three years as an L.A. cop, Gates has been bitten by a street hustler, protected presidents, crossed swords with politicians, and gone to the mat with the media. A powerful friend and ally, he is also a formidable and unforgiving foe. But whether recalling his tough working-class childhood, reliving his days as a beat cop on L.A.'s meanest streets, or setting the record straight with an old political rival, he always speaks his mind." "Chief is as controversial and candid as the man himself."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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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

9 wks 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

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WHO WILL TELL THE PEOPLE
William Greider
Cover of WHO WILL TELL THE PEOPLE

WHO WILL TELL THE PEOPLE

by William Greider · Simon & Schuster

7 wks on list

Who Will Tell the People exposes the hidden power dynamics in American democracy and inspires citizens to reclaim their voice and reshape the system for the greater good. Who Will Tell the People is a passionate, eye-opening challenge to American democracy. Here is a tough-minded exploration of why we’re in trouble, starting with the basic issues of who gets heard, who gets ignored, and why. Greider shows us the realities of power in Washington today, uncovering the hidden relationships that link politicians with corporations and the rich, and that subvert the needs of ordinary citizens. How do we put meaning back into public life? Greider shares the stories of some citizens who have managed to crack Washington’s “Grand Bazaar” of influence peddling as he reveals the structures designed to thwart them. Without naiveté or cynicism, Greider shows us how the system can still be made to work for the people and delineates the lines of battle in the struggle to save democracy. By showing us the reality of how the political decisions that shape our lives are made, William Greider explains how we can begin to take control once more.

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BACKLASH
Susan Faludi
Cover of BACKLASH

BACKLASH

by Susan Faludi · Crown

31 wks on list
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ACQUIRED TASTES
Peter Mayle
Cover of ACQUIRED TASTES

ACQUIRED TASTES

by Peter Mayle · Bantam

1 wks on list

Internationally bestselling author of A Year in Provence, Mayle comes out with a new bestseller about the true pleasure of fine living.

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PLAYING IN THE DARK
Toni Morrison
Cover of PLAYING IN THE DARK

PLAYING IN THE DARK

by Toni Morrison · Harvard University Press

6 wks on list

Morrison brings her genius to this personal inquiry into the significance of African-Americans in the American literary imagination. Through her investigation of black characters, narrative strategies, and idiom in the fiction of white American writers, Morrison provides a perspective sure to alter conventional notions about American literature.

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AFTER HENRY
Joan Didion
Cover of AFTER HENRY

AFTER HENRY

by Joan Didion · Simon & Schuster

1 wks on list

Incisive essays on Patty Hearst and Reagan, the Central Park jogger and the Santa Ana winds, from the New York Times–bestselling author of South and West. In these eleven essays covering the national scene from Washington, DC; California; and New York, the acclaimed author of Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album "capture[s] the mood of America" and confirms her reputation as one of our sharpest and most trustworthy cultural observers ( The New York Times). Whether dissecting the 1988 presidential campaign, exploring the commercialization of a Hollywood murder, or reporting on the "sideshows" of foreign wars, Joan Didion proves that she is one of the premier essayists of the twentieth century, "an articulate witness to the most stubborn and intractable truths of our time" (Joyce Carol Oates, The New York Times Book Review) . Highlights include "In the Realm of the Fisher King," a portrait of the White House under the stewardship of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, two "actors on location;" and "Girl of the Golden West," a meditation on the Patty Hearst case that draws an unexpected and insightful parallel between the kidnapped heiress and the emigrants who settled California. "Sentimental Journeys" is a deeply felt study of New York media coverage of the brutal rape of a white investment banker in Central Park, a notorious crime that exposed the city's racial and class fault lines. Dedicated to Henry Robbins, Didion's friend and editor from 1966 until his death in 1979, After Henry is an indispensable collection of "superior reporting and criticism" from a writer on whom we have relied for more than fifty years "to get the story straight" ( Los Angeles Times).

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