TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of October 19, 2003

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LIES (AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM)
Al Franken
Cover of LIES (AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM)

LIES (AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM)

by Al Franken · Dutton

7 wks at #1 · 7 on list

Al Franken, one of America's savviest satirists has been studying the rhetoric of the Right. He has listened to their cries of 'slander', 'bias' and even 'treason'. He has examined the Bush administration's policies of squandering our surplus, ravaging the environment, and alienating the rest of the world. He's even watched Fox News. A lot. And in this fair and balanced report, Al bravely exposes them all for what they are: liars. Lying, lying, liars.

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WHO'S LOOKING OUT FOR YOU?
Bill O'Reilly
Cover of WHO'S LOOKING OUT FOR YOU?

WHO'S LOOKING OUT FOR YOU?

by Bill O'Reilly · Broadway

From the mega-bestselling author of The O'Reilly Factor and The No Spin Zone, a no-holds-barred exposé of the people and institutions who are letting Americans down – and what we should do about it. Bill O’Reilly is mad as hell – and he’s not going to let you take it anymore. In his most powerful and personal book yet, this media powerhouse and unstoppable truth-teller takes on those individuals and institutions in American life who are failing in their duties – big-time. In his inimitable style, mixing wit, pugnacity, and plain common sense, O’Reilly kicks butt and takes (and also names) names – from crooked corporate weasels to venal politicians to lazy and/or politically correct bureaucrats to sexually predatory priests and the Church hierarchy that protects them to a media establishment rife with political bias and economically hooked on violence and smut. At the same time that he calls the famous and powerful to account, he dares to get personal, questioning just how much our closest friends, families, and lovers do look out for us, and delivering a powerful message about personal responsibility and self-reliance in an uncertain world. He forces us to ask just how much genuine altruism is left in a society that thrives on self-indulgence and ruthless competition. Who’s Looking Out for You? is a book that boldly confronts our worst fears and biggest problems in a post-9/11, post-corporate-meltdown world. Its sage, candid advice on regaining control and trust in these troubled times will resonate with the millions of readers and viewers who have come to believe in Bill O’Reilly as the man who speaks for them.

3
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FLYBOYS
James Bradley
Cover of FLYBOYS

FLYBOYS

by James Bradley · Little, Brown

1 wks on list

FLYBOYS is the true story of young American airmen who were shot down over Chichi Jima. Eight of these young men were captured by Japanese troops and taken prisoner. Another was rescued by an American submarine and went on to become president. The reality of what happened to the eight prisoners has remained a secret for almost 60 years. After the war, the American and Japanese governments conspired to cover up the shocking truth. Not even the families of the airmen were informed what had happened to their sons. It has remained a mystery--until now. Critics called James Bradley's last book "the best book on battle ever written." FLYBOYS is even better: more ambitious, more powerful, and more moving. On the island of Chichi Jima those young men would face the ultimate test. Their story--a tale of courage and daring, of war and of death, of men and of hope--will make you proud, and it will break your heart.

4
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THE BURNING TIGRIS
Peter Balakian
Cover of THE BURNING TIGRIS

THE BURNING TIGRIS

by Peter Balakian · HarperCollins

1 wks on list

A New York Times bestseller, The Burning Tigris is "a vivid and comprehensive account" ( Los Angeles Times) of the Armenian Genocide and America's response. Award-winning, critically acclaimed author Peter Balakian presents a riveting narrative of the massacres of the Armenians in the 1890s and of the Armenian Genocide in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Using rarely seen archival documents and remarkable first-person accounts, Balakian presents the chilling history of how the Turkish government implemented the first modern genocide behind the cover of World War I. And in the telling, he resurrects an extraordinary lost chapter of American history. Awarded the Raphael Lemkin Prize for the best scholarly book on genocide by the Institute for Genocide Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY Graduate Center. "Timely and welcome. . . an overwhelmingly convincing retort to genocide deniers." — New York Times Book Review "A story of multiplying horror and betrayal. . . . What happened to the Armenians in Turkey was a harbinger of the Holocaust and of the waves of modern mass murder that have swept the world ever since." — Boston Globe "Encourages America to tap into a forgotten well of knowledge about the genocide and to revive its powerful impulse toward humanitarianism." — New York Newsday

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BUSHWHACKED
Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose
Cover of BUSHWHACKED

BUSHWHACKED

by Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose · Random House

2 wks on list

A simultaneously rollicking and sobering indictment of the policies of President George W. Bush, Bushwhacked chronicles the destructive impact of the Bush administration on the very people who put him in the White House in the first place. Here are the ties that connected Bush to Enron, yes, but here, too, is the story of the woman who walks six miles to the unemployment office daily, wondering what happened to the economic security Bush promised. Here are reports on failed nation-building missions in Kabul and Baghdad. Here, too, the story of a rancher who has fallen prey to a Bush-Cheney interior department that is perhaps a wee bit too cozy with the oil industry. Bushwhacked is highly original and entirely thought-provoking—essential reading for anyone living in George W. Bush's America.

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SHUT UP & SING
Laura Ingraham
Cover of SHUT UP & SING

SHUT UP & SING

by Laura Ingraham · Regnery

3 wks on list

An examination of America's liberal elites argues that high-placed leftists in the nation's media and entertainment industries are endangering the nation with help from the United Nations.

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THE GREAT UNRAVELING
Paul Krugman
Cover of THE GREAT UNRAVELING

THE GREAT UNRAVELING

by Paul Krugman · Norton

4 wks on list

The Self-Organizing Economy In the last few years the concept of self-organizing systems—complex systems in which randomness and chaos seem spontaneously to evolve into unexpected order—has linked together researchers in many fields, from artificial intelligence to chemistry, from evolution to geology. Now leading economist Paul Krugman shows how principles that explain the growth of hurricanes and embryos can also explain the formation of cities and business cycles; how the same principles of “order from random growth” can explain the strangely simple rules that describe the sizes of earthquakes, meteorites, and metropolitan areas. Weaving together strands from many disciplines, from location theory to biology, The Self-Organizing Economy offers a surprising new view of how the economy structures itself in space and time.

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AFTER LIFE
John Edward with Natasha Stoynoff
Cover of AFTER LIFE

AFTER LIFE

by John Edward with Natasha Stoynoff · Princess

5 wks on list

John Edward takes his talents to new levels and new countries in After Life, the sequel to Crossing Over. Published for the all-essential Christmas season and the ensuing January sales, this limited edition of the international bestseller After Life is guaranteed to fly off the shelves and become a keepsake. As on his highly rated hit show Crossing Over with John Edward, John will connect you with celebrities both here and on the other side - because, as he happily notes, there are no red-velvet ropes or VIP sections over there

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PERSECUTION
David Limbaugh
Cover of PERSECUTION

PERSECUTION

by David Limbaugh · Regnery

2 wks on list

In this New York Times bestseller, David Limbaugh exposes the liberal hypocrisy of promoting political correctness while discriminating against Christianity. From the elimination of school prayer to the eradication of the story of Christianity from history textbooks, this persuasive book shows that our social engineers inculcate hostility toward this religion and its values in the name of "diversity," "tolerance," and "multiculturalism." Through court cases, case studies, and true stories, Limbaugh details the widespread assault on the religious liberties of Christians in America today and urges believers to fight back in order to restore their First Amendment right of religious freedom.

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REAGAN: A Life in Letters
Kiron K. Skinner, Annelise Anderson and Martin Anderson
Cover of REAGAN: A Life in Letters

REAGAN: A Life in Letters

by Kiron K. Skinner, Annelise Anderson and Martin Anderson · Free Press

Throughout his career, Reagan expressed himself through storytelling. Here--drawn from original manuscripts--are 34 of his best, most touching and wisest stories. Writing samples, photos and illustrations throughout.

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MONEYBALL
Michael Lewis
Cover of MONEYBALL

MONEYBALL

by Michael Lewis · Norton

19 wks on list

"One of the best baseball—and management—books out.... Deserves a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame."—Forbes Moneyball is a quest for the secret of success in baseball. Following the low-budget Oakland Athletics, their larger-than-life general manger, Billy Beane, and the strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts, Michael Lewis has written not only "the single most influential baseball book ever" (Rob Neyer, Slate) but also what "may be the best book ever written on business" (Weekly Standard). I wrote this book because I fell in love with a story. The story concerned a small group of undervalued professional baseball players and executives, many of whom had been rejected as unfit for the big leagues, who had turned themselves into one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball. But the idea for the book came well before I had good reason to write it—before I had a story to fall in love with. It began, really, with an innocent question: how did one of the poorest teams in baseball, the Oakland Athletics, win so many games? With these words Michael Lewis launches us into the funniest, smartest, and most contrarian book since, well, since Liar's Poker. Moneyball is a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the front offices of major league teams, and the dugouts, perhaps even in the minds of the players themselves. Lewis mines all these possibilities—his intimate and original portraits of big league ballplayers are alone worth the price of admission—but the real jackpot is a cache of numbers—numbers!—collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers and physics professors. What these geek numbers show—no, prove—is that the traditional yardsticks of success for players and teams are fatally flawed. Even the box score misleads us by ignoring the crucial importance of the humble base-on-balls. This information has been around for years, and nobody inside Major League Baseball paid it any mind. And then came Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland Athletics. Billy paid attention to those numbers —with the second lowest payroll in baseball at his disposal he had to—and this book records his astonishing experiment in finding and fielding a team that nobody else wanted. Moneyball is a roller coaster ride: before the 2002 season opens, Oakland must relinquish its three most prominent (and expensive) players, is written off by just about everyone, and then comes roaring back to challenge the American League record for consecutive wins. In a narrative full of fabulous characters and brilliant excursions into the unexpected, Michael Lewis shows us how and why the new baseball knowledge works. He also sets up a sly and hilarious morality tale: Big Money, like Goliath, is always supposed to win... how can we not cheer for David?

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UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN
Jon Krakauer
Cover of UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN

UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN

by Jon Krakauer · Doubleday

12 wks on list

NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES STARRING ANDREW GARFIELD True crime in the American heartland. Under the Banner of Heaven is a riveting account of Mormon fundamentalism and renegade prophets, from the bestselling author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air. Brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty insist they were commanded to kill by God. In Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer's investigation is a meticulously researched, bone-chilling narrative of polygamy, savage violence and unyielding faith. An incisive look inside isolated Mormon Fundamentalist communities in America, this gripping work of non-fiction illuminates an otherwise confounding realm of human behaviour. PRAISE FOR UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN 'A provocative look at the twisted roots of American fundamentalism.' Will Self, Evening Standard 'Books of the Year' 'Excellent . . . a lucid, judicious, even sympathetic account not just of Mormon Fundamentalism but of the seductive power of fanaticism in general.' Daily Telegraph 'Remarkable . . . for anyone interested in the wilder frontiers of spiritual conviction, this book is a must.' Independent 'Powerfully illuminating. . . . Almost every section of the book is fascinating in its own right, and together the chapters make a rich picture. . . . An arresting portrait of depravity.' New York Times Book Review ' Illuminating . . . provocative. . . . Krakauer is an adept chronicler of extremists [and] the tour guide of choice for secular quests.' Los Angeles Times Book Review

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