TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of September 24, 1995

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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1
MY POINT ... AND I DO HAVE ONE
Ellen DeGeneres
Cover of MY POINT ... AND I DO HAVE ONE

MY POINT ... AND I DO HAVE ONE

by Ellen DeGeneres · Bantam

2 wks at #1 · 3 on list

In this #1 New York Times bestseller, Ellen DeGeneres shares her hilarious take on everything from our most baffling human foibles–including how we behave in elevators, airplanes, and restrooms, and why we’re so scared of the boogeyman–to fashion trends, celebrity, and her secret recipe for Ellen’s Real Frenchy French Toast. Most of all, this witty, engaging book offers insights into the mind of one of America’s most beloved comics.… Dear Reader, I was awfully excited when I was asked to write a book. I was however, nervous. I was afraid I didn’t have anything important to say. But when I began writing, I realized that although I don’t know a lot about any one thing, I know a little about a whole bunch of things: baking a pie; dancing; curing the common cold; running the Iditarod–it’s all in the book. And I realized I notice things that maybe some people don’t notice (or they don’t notice that they don’t notice). That’s all in the book, too.

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

A GOOD WALK SPOILED

by John Feinstein · Little, Brown

14 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
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

7 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.

6
2
NEW PASSAGES
Gail Sheehy
Cover of NEW PASSAGES

NEW PASSAGES

by Gail Sheehy · Random House

14 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.

8
1
TO RENEW AMERICA
Newt Gingrich
Cover of TO RENEW AMERICA

TO RENEW AMERICA

by Newt Gingrich · HarperCollins

11 wks 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

9
4
SPONTANEOUS HEALING
Andrew Weil
Cover of SPONTANEOUS HEALING

SPONTANEOUS HEALING

by Andrew Weil · Knopf

16 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.

10
NEW
THE LIARS' CLUB
Mary Karr
Cover of THE LIARS' CLUB

THE LIARS' CLUB

by Mary Karr · Viking Press

5 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

14
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

17 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.

15
DARK SUN
Richard Rhodes
Cover of DARK SUN

DARK SUN

by Richard Rhodes · Simon & Schuster

4 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.

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