TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of October 27, 1996

FictionNonfiction
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3
NEW
DON'T BLOCK THE BLESSINGS
Patti LaBelle with Laura B. Randolph
Cover of DON'T BLOCK THE BLESSINGS

DON'T BLOCK THE BLESSINGS

by Patti LaBelle with Laura B. Randolph · Riverhead

1 wks on list

From girl group sensation to hair-raising disco-diva to high-octane superstar, Patti LaBelle has reinvented her image many times over. But Patti, the woman, is the same as she has always been--funny, sassy, and down-to-earth. Now, Patti tells all--from her wild encounters with some of the biggest names in show business to overcoming her own fear of death. Most of all, she reveals how she has survived, and made her own choices, for better or for worse.

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UNLIMITED ACCESS
Gary Aldrich
Cover of UNLIMITED ACCESS
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THE RUN OF HIS LIFE
Jeffrey Toobin
Cover of THE RUN OF HIS LIFE

THE RUN OF HIS LIFE

by Jeffrey Toobin · Random House

5 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The inspiration for American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson on FX, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., John Travolta, David Schwimmer, and Connie Britton The definitive account of the O. J. Simpson trial, The Run of His Life is a prodigious feat of reporting that could have been written only by the foremost legal journalist of our time. First published less than a year after the infamous verdict, Jeffrey Toobin’s nonfiction masterpiece tells the whole story, from the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman to the ruthless gamesmanship behind the scenes of “the trial of the century.” Rich in character, as propulsive as a legal thriller, this enduring narrative continues to shock and fascinate with its candid depiction of the human drama that upended American life. Praise for The Run of His Life “This is the book to read.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times “This book stands out as a gripping and colorful account of the crime and trial that captured the world’s attention.”—Boston Sunday Globe “A real page-turner . . . strips away the months of circuslike televised proceedings and the sordid tell-all books and lays out a simple, but devastating, synopsis of the case.”—Entertainment Weekly “A well-written, profoundly rational analysis of the trial and, more specifically, the lawyers who conducted it.”—USA Today “Engrossing . . . Toobin’s insight into the motives and mind-set of key players sets this Simpson book apart from the pack.”—People (one of the top ten books of the year)

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ANGELA'S ASHES
Frank McCourt
Cover of ANGELA'S ASHES

ANGELA'S ASHES

by Frank McCourt · Scribner

6 wks on list

<b><i>Angela's Ashes</i>, imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's astounding humor and compassion, is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic.</b><br><br><i>"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood."</i><br> <br> So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank's mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank's father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy -- exasperating, irresponsible and beguiling-- does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father's tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies. Perhaps it is story that accounts for Frank's survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig's head for Christmas dinner and gathering coal from the roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors--yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance and remarkable forgiveness.

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NEW
DOGBERT'S TOP SECRET MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK
Scott Adams
Cover of DOGBERT'S TOP SECRET MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK

DOGBERT'S TOP SECRET MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK

by Scott Adams · Harper Business

1 wks on list

Why do all modern managers do the same bizarre things? Are these methods taught in business schools? Do managers learn by watching more experienced managers? Is it the result of mentoring? None of the above! Every manager follows the doctrine set out in Dogbert's Top Secret Management Handbook. Here you can learn about: Pretending to care -- how to hear without listening! Making decisions -- be a leader without making any! Empty promises of promotion -- enjoy all the motivational benefits with none of the costs! An essential management bible for new managers, teaching them how to transform themselves from bitter and bewildered 'little people' into fully functioning, paradigm-spewing management zombies!

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JAMES HERRIOT'S FAVORITE DOG STORIES
James Herriot
Cover of JAMES HERRIOT'S FAVORITE DOG STORIES

JAMES HERRIOT'S FAVORITE DOG STORIES

by James Herriot · St. Martin's

4 wks on list

This illustrated gift book contains ten of James Herriot's stories about cats. Six of the stories come from Every Living Thing and include the tale of Ginny and Olly, the Woodshed Cats - and four come from the earlier James Herriot books. There is also the story of Buster, the kitten who arrived on Christmas Day, and Emily who lived with the gentleman up the road. There is humour with the story of Tristan Farnon trying to catch Mrs Bond's fierce cat Boris, and sadness with the story of the cat that James and Helen loved but had to give back to its original owner.

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LOVE, LUCY
Lucille Ball with Betty Hannah Hoffman
Cover of LOVE, LUCY

LOVE, LUCY

by Lucille Ball with Betty Hannah Hoffman · Putnam

3 wks on list

Over thirty years ago, when she was at the pinnacle of her success, Lucille Ball set down for the record the story of her life, which her son and daughter unexpectedly discovered in 1989. This autobiography up to 1964 offers a genuinely interesting picture of her life. A glamorous era in show business, this book includes many excellent black and white photographs

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JOURNEY TO JUSTICE
Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. with Tim Rutten
Cover of JOURNEY TO JUSTICE

JOURNEY TO JUSTICE

by Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. with Tim Rutten · One World/Ballantine

2 wks on list

In 1954, Brown vs. the Board of Education galvanized the young Cochran. Taking Thurgood Marshall as his role model, Cochran embarked on a legal career in which he won landmark decisions against official misconduct within the criminal justice system.

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LEADING WITH MY CHIN
Jay Leno with Bill Zehme
Cover of LEADING WITH MY CHIN

LEADING WITH MY CHIN

by Jay Leno with Bill Zehme · HarperCollins

2 wks on list

Long before he became the host of the tonight show, Jay Leno was dubbed by the media and his peers alike as the "Hardest-working Man in Show Business." Performing comedy at a breakneck pace, he played more than 300 dates a year and traveled to every corner of the nation. Or as his mother who never quite understood what he did for a living, liked to say, "Going from town to town, putting on his little skits."--

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