TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of August 29, 1999

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YESTERDAY, I CRIED
Iyanla Vanzant
Cover of YESTERDAY, I CRIED

YESTERDAY, I CRIED

by Iyanla Vanzant · Simon & Schuster

21 wks on list

“The most powerful spiritual healer, fixer, teacher on the planet.” —Oprah Winfrey What if your deepest pain held the key to your greatest healing? In Yesterday, I Cried, New York Times bestselling author and spiritual teacher Iyanla Vanzant shares her powerful personal story—a journey marked by abuse, neglect, heartbreak, and loss. With unflinching honesty and raw emotion, she invites us to witness how life’s most painful moments can transform into profound lessons of resilience, self-love, and spiritual growth. Through deeply personal reflections, Iyanla shows how crying—once seen as a sign of weakness—became her pathway to strength, clarity, and healing. Her story is not just her own, but one many will recognize: the struggle to rise above past wounds and reclaim inner peace. This soul-stirring work is for anyone who’s ever felt broken by life, yet still hopes to find wholeness. If you’ve ever asked, “Why me?” or “How do I move forward?”—this book offers an honest, compassionate answer.

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THE GREATEST GENERATION
Tom Brokaw
Cover of THE GREATEST GENERATION

THE GREATEST GENERATION

by Tom Brokaw · Random House

37 wks on list

In this superb book, Tom Brokaw goes out into America, to tell through the stories of individual men and women the story of a generation - America's citizen heroes and heroines who came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to build modern America. This was a generation united by common values - by duty, honour, courage, service and love of family and country. Here you'll meet people like Charles Van Gorder, who set up during D-Day a MASH-like medical facility in the middle of the fighting, and then came home to create a clinic and hospital in his hometown. You'll hear ex-President George Bush talk about how, as a Navy Air Corps combat pilot, one of his assignments was to read the mail of the enlisted men under him, to be sure no sensitive military information would be compromised. You'll meet Trudy Elion, winner of the Nobel Prize in medicine, one of the many women in this book who found fulfilling careers in the changed society as a result of the war. And you'll meet Martha Putney, one of the first black women to serve in the newly formed WACs. In the spirit of Band of Brothers, The Greatest Generation tells the stories of ordinary men and women caught up in extraordinary events - individuals united by a common purpose - working, living and dying in the service of their country.

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THE ART OF HAPPINESS
the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler
Cover of THE ART OF HAPPINESS

THE ART OF HAPPINESS

by the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler · Riverhead

32 wks on list

In this unique and important book, one of the world's great spiritual leaders offers his practical wisdom and advice on how we can overcome everyday human problems and achieve lasting happiness. The Art of Happiness is a highly accessible guide for a western audience, combining the Dalai Lama's eastern spiritual tradition with Dr Howard C. Cutler's western perspective. Covering all key areas of human experience, they apply the principles of Tibetan Buddhism to everyday problems and reveal how one can find balance and complete spiritual and mental freedom. For the many who wish to understand more about the Dalai Lama's approach to living, there has never been a book which brings his beliefs so vividly into the real world.

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SHADOW
Bob Woodward
Cover of SHADOW

SHADOW

by Bob Woodward · Simon & Schuster

9 wks on list

Twenty-five years after Nixon's resignation, investigative journalist Bob Woodward examines the legacy of Watergate. Based on hundreds of interviews and research of government archives, he explains how Watergate has affected American politics.

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BILL AND HILLARY
Christopher Andersen
Cover of BILL AND HILLARY

BILL AND HILLARY

by Christopher Andersen · Morrow

2 wks on list

Presents a look inside the marriage of Bill and Hillary Clinton, discussing the qualities that drew them to one another, the effects of his infidelities on their relationship with each other and on their daughter Chelsea, and the reasons they stay together.

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ETHICS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
the Dalai Lama
Cover of ETHICS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM

ETHICS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM

by the Dalai Lama · Riverhead

2 wks on list

Only during a time when we have so little faith in one another, so little confidence in the willingness of others to do what is right, can a strong voice emerge to dispel disillusionment and show us hope. It takes a person of great courage, such as the Dalai Lama, to face these times and say there is hope. There is an argument to be made for basic human goodness. The number of people who spend their lives being violent or dishonest is tiny compared with the number of people -- the vast majority we don't hear about -- who would wish others only well. According to the Dalai Lama, our survival has depended and will depend on our basic goodness. "Much more effective and important than legislation is our regard for one another's feelings at a simple human level....Here, I refer to the capacity we all have to empathize with one another...to arrive at the inability to bear the sight of another's suffering." The Dalai Lama presents an ethical system that not only is based on commonsense and reason, as opposed to religious dogma or punitive legislation, but has at its goal ultimate happiness for every individual. The Dalai Lama demonstrates that human beings are better than we think we are, and that a society and a life that cultivate love and compassion are completely within our reach. If enough people operate from the understanding of their "original purity," a global revolution of peace will ensue.

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THE FIRST WORLD WAR
John Keegan
Cover of THE FIRST WORLD WAR

THE FIRST WORLD WAR

by John Keegan · Knopf

8 wks on list

Studies the causes, social and economic impact, and military strategies of World War I and profiles the world leaders who played important roles in the war's outcome.

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CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD: Book 1
Neale Donald Walsch
Cover of CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD: Book 1

CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD: Book 1

by Neale Donald Walsch · Putnam

124 wks on list

In a world where organized religion fails to resonate with a growing number of people, Neale Donald Walsch's Conversations with God offers a refreshing and thought-provoking alternative. Delve into thought-provoking discussions on free speech, creativity, and discernment, as Walsch's empathetic and empowering words guide you towards a life of inner harmony and awakening. Unveiling the secrets to unlocking your true potential, this timeless classic explores the profound connection between humanity and the divine presence. With unwavering honesty and startling clarity, Walsch invites you to embrace love over fear, reminding you that you hold the power to transform your reality.

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ENCORE PROVENCE
Peter Mayle
Cover of ENCORE PROVENCE

ENCORE PROVENCE

by Peter Mayle · Knopf

12 wks on list
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BELLA TUSCANY
Frances Mayes
Cover of BELLA TUSCANY

BELLA TUSCANY

by Frances Mayes · Broadway

19 wks on list

Frances Mayes, whose enchanting #1 New York Times bestseller Under the Tuscan Sun made the world fall in love with Tuscany, invites readers back for a delightful new season of friendship, festivity, and food, there and throughout Italy. Having spent her summers in Tuscany for the past several years, Frances Mayes relished the opportunity to experience the pleasures of primavera, an Italian spring. A sabbatical from teaching in San Francisco allowed her to return to Cortona—and her beloved house, Bramasole—just as the first green appeared on the rocky hillsides. Bella Tuscany, a companion volume to Under the Tuscan Sun, is her passionate and lyrical account of her continuing love affair with Italy. Now truly at home there, Mayes writes of her deepening connection to the land, her flourishing friendships with local people, the joys of art, food, and wine, and the rewards and occasional heartbreaks of her villa's ongoing restoration. It is also a memoir of a season of change, and of renewed possibility. As spring becomes summer she revives Bramasole's lush gardens, meets the challenges of learning a new language, tours regions from Sicily to the Veneto, and faces transitions in her family life. Filled with recipes from her Tuscan kitchen and written in the sensuous and evocative prose that has become her hallmark, Bella Tuscany is a celebration of the sweet life in Italy. Now with an excerpt from Frances Mayes's latest southern memoir, Under Magnolia.

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THE LEXUS AND THE OLIVE TREE
Thomas L. Friedman
Cover of THE LEXUS AND THE OLIVE TREE

THE LEXUS AND THE OLIVE TREE

by Thomas L. Friedman · Farrar, Straus & Giroux

15 wks on list

A brilliant investigation of globalization, the most significant socioeconomic trend in the world today, and how it is affecting everything we do-economically, politically, and culturally-abroad and at home. As foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman crisscrosses the globe talking with the world's economic and political leaders, and reporting, as only he can, on what he sees. Now he has used his years of experience as a reporter and columnist to produce a pithy, trenchant, riveting look at the worldwide market forces that are driving today's economies and how they are playing out both internationally and locally. Globalization is the technologically driven expression of free-market capitalism, and as such is essentially an American creation. It has irrevocably changed the way business is done and has raised living standards throughout the world. But powerful local forces-of religion, race, ethnicity, and cultural identity-are in competition with technology for the hearts and minds of their societies. Finding the proper balance between the Lexus and the olive tree is the great game of globalization-and the ultimate theme of Friedman's challenging, provocative book, essential reading for all who care about how the world really works.

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I AIN'T GOT TIME TO BLEED
Jesse Ventura
Cover of I AIN'T GOT TIME TO BLEED

I AIN'T GOT TIME TO BLEED

by Jesse Ventura · Villard

12 wks on list

When he left the navy SEALs to become a pro wrestler, the fans knew him as "Jesse, the Body." When he hosted his hard-hitting KFAN radio talk show, he became "Jesse, the Mouth." And now that this body-slamming, straight-talking, charismatic hero is masterminding Minnesota's gubernatorial decisions, you'd better start calling him "Jesse, the Mind." In I Ain't Got Time to Bleed, Jesse Ventura reveals the secret of his landslide electoral success—with record voter turnout—and maps his innovative strategies for pioneering a new era in American government. In his own inimitable words, he takes on bloated government, career politicians, and apathetic voters, and tells the wildly colorful story of his days as a navy SEAL, his nights in the pro-wrestling ring, and his experiences on radio and in films like Predator and Batman and Robin . I Ain't Got Time to Bleed is Rocky meets Mr. Smith Goes to Washington—a book that will challenge readers' ideas of traditional government as it introduces them to one of American politics' most ferocious new heroes.

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SEE JANE WIN
Sylvia Rimm with Sara Rimm-Kaufman and Ilonna Rimm
Cover of SEE JANE WIN

SEE JANE WIN

by Sylvia Rimm with Sara Rimm-Kaufman and Ilonna Rimm · Crown

5 wks on list

Noted child psychologist Sylvia Rimm, along with her daughters, a research psychologist and a pediatric oncology researcher, conducted a three-year survey of more than a thousand successful women to uncover what elements of their childhood and adolescence contributed to their success -- and how today's parents can give their own daughters the same advantages. Should you encourage your daughter's competitive streak? How important are social skills? Does birth order make a difference? Based on extensive original research, See Jane Win provides invaluable information distilled from women in nontraditional and traditional fields, from medicine, science, law, politics, and business to arts, education, homemaking, and mental health. Here is informed advice on helping girls deal with middle-school grade decline; math anxiety; eating disorders; social insecurity; self-esteem and competition; the career/family balance; the glass ceiling; and more.

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