TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of September 3, 1995

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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1
TO RENEW AMERICA
Newt Gingrich
Cover of TO RENEW AMERICA

TO RENEW AMERICA

by Newt Gingrich · HarperCollins

7 wks at #1 · 8 on list

The Speaker of the House of Representatives presents his design for an economic, political, cultural, and educational renewal of America that emphasizes personal motivation and faith

3
2
A GOOD WALK SPOILED
John Feinstein
Cover of A GOOD WALK SPOILED

A GOOD WALK SPOILED

by John Feinstein · Little, Brown

11 wks on list

Follows a year on the PGA tour, sharing portraits of superstars and rising players, the pressures of a high-profile sport, and dramatic tournament moments

4
2
NEW PASSAGES
Gail Sheehy
Cover of NEW PASSAGES

NEW PASSAGES

by Gail Sheehy · Random House

11 wks on list

A provocative sequel to and a significant extension of Sheehy's international bestseller Passages. Sheehy finds a revolution in the adult life cycle as she traces not only radical changes in the earlier phases of the '20s, '30s, and '40s, but discovers and maps out the new frontier--a second adulthood in middle life.

5
1
BEYOND ALL REASON
David Smith with Carol Calef
Cover of BEYOND ALL REASON

BEYOND ALL REASON

by David Smith with Carol Calef · Kensington

4 wks on list

Now, for the first time in paperback, comes David Smith's heartfelt and tragic new York Times bestselling story. Smith, husband of Susan Smtih, the woman convicted of murdering their two young sons in August 1994, speaks out about his marriage, his beloved children, and the painful process of putting his life back together. Smith has updated this edition with a chapter exploring his feelings about Susan's conviction and his life today. 16-pp photos.

6
1
SPONTANEOUS HEALING
Andrew Weil
Cover of SPONTANEOUS HEALING

SPONTANEOUS HEALING

by Andrew Weil · Knopf

13 wks on list

In this revolutionary book, Dr. Andrew Weil, one of the most authoritative, articulate, and important voices in the field of health and healing, makes clear the reality of spontaneous healing. He illuminates the mechanisms and processes of the body's healing system, delineates the ways in which an individual can optimize the functioning of his or her own system, and outlines the alternative medicines and treatments available to aid the healing system, not only in the remission of life-threatening diseases but also in response to everyday illnesses and in day-to-day upkeep of basic health. In clear, concise language, Dr. Weil explains how the healing system operates, its interactions with the mind, its biological organization, its systems of self-diagnosis, self-repair, and regeneration.

9
1
MY OLD MAN AND THE SEA
David Hays and Daniel Hays
Cover of MY OLD MAN AND THE SEA

MY OLD MAN AND THE SEA

by David Hays and Daniel Hays · Algonquin

4 wks on list

More than a tale of adventure, this touching account of a father and son's rite of passage assesses their complex and evolving relationship. Alone with nothing but the mammoth waves of the Southern Ocean, the unceasing wind, a compass, a sextant, and a pet cat, David and Daniel Hays voyage down the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, past the Galapagos Islands, beyond Easter Island, and around their desintation--Cape Horn. Father and son alternately narrate, their voices weaving together an engrossing story of travel, exploration, and difficult, dangerous sailing. 16 maps. Line drawings.

11
3
WHEN ELEPHANTS WEEP
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy
Cover of WHEN ELEPHANTS WEEP

WHEN ELEPHANTS WEEP

by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy · Delacorte Press

8 wks on list

For more than 100 years, scientists have denied that animals experience emotions, yet this remarkable and groundbreaking book proves what animal-lovers have known to be true: wolves, tigers, giraffes, elephants and many other creatures exhibit all kinds of feelings - hope, fear, shame, love, compassion. From Ola, the irritable whale, to Toto, the chimpanzee who nursed his owner back to health, this book collects together for the first time a vast range of case histories which show the extraordinary complexity of the animal world, and the tumult of emotions that govern it.

12
NEW
DARK SUN
Richard Rhodes
Cover of DARK SUN

DARK SUN

by Richard Rhodes · Simon & Schuster

1 wks on list

Here, for the first time, in a brilliant, panoramic portrait by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, is the definitive, often shocking story of the politics and the science behind the development of the hydrogen bomb and the birth of the Cold War. Based on secret files in the United States and the former Soviet Union, this monumental work of history discloses how and why the United States decided to create the bomb that would dominate world politics for more than forty years.

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3
DAVE BARRY'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO GUYS
Dave Barry
Cover of DAVE BARRY'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO GUYS

DAVE BARRY'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO GUYS

by Dave Barry · Random House

14 wks on list

Contains the complete and unabridged texts of: Dave Barry's guide to marriage and/or sex, Babies and other hazards of sex, Stay fit and healthy until you're dead, and Claw your way to the top.

14
3
THE DEATH OF COMMON SENSE
Philip K. Howard
Cover of THE DEATH OF COMMON SENSE

THE DEATH OF COMMON SENSE

by Philip K. Howard · Random House

29 wks on list

Distressing, disturbing, devastatingly detailed--this stunning examination of how modern laws are diminishing America exposes the drawbacks of rule-bound government, tells why nothing gets done, reveals the phony pretensions of law, and shows why well-intentioned laws have actually devalued rights. In short, The Death of Common Sense demonstrates how the buck never stops and how ell-meaning laws are creating a nation of enemies. (Poltics/Current Events)

15
3
THE LIARS' CLUB
Mary Karr
Cover of THE LIARS' CLUB

THE LIARS' CLUB

by Mary Karr · Viking Press

4 wks on list

"Astonishing...one of the most dazzling and moving memoirs to come along in years." -Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "Mary Karr's God-awful childhood has a calamitous appeal...the choice in the book is between howling misery and howling laughter, and the reader veers toward laughter. Karr has survived to write a drop-dead reply to the question, 'Ma, what was it like when you were a little girl?'" -Time "This book is so good I thought about sending it out for a back-up opinion...it's like finding Beethoven in Hoboken. To have a poet's precision of language and a poet's instinct into people applied to one of the roughest, ugliest places in America is an astonishing event." -Molly Ivins, The Nation "Elegiac and searching...her toughness of spirit, her poetry, her language, her very voice are the agents of rebirth on this difficult, hard-earned journey." -New York Times Book Review "Bold, blunt, and cinematic...nothing short of superb." -Entertainment Weekly "Overflows with sparkling wit and humor...Truth beats powerfully at the heart of this dazzling memoir." -San Francisco Chronicle "Karr lovingly retells her parents' best lies and drunken extravagances with an ear for bar-stool phraseology and a winking eye for image. The revelations continue to the final page, with a misleading carelessness as seductive as any world-class liar's." -The New Yorker

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