TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of April 6, 2008

FictionNonfiction
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BEAUTIFUL BOY
David Sheff
Cover of BEAUTIFUL BOY

BEAUTIFUL BOY

by David Sheff · Houghton Mifflin

2 wks at #1 · 4 on list

Sheff's story tells of his teenage son's addiction to meth, in this real-time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the family's gradual emergence into hope.

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LOSING IT
Valerie Bertinelli
Cover of LOSING IT

LOSING IT

by Valerie Bertinelli · Free Press

4 wks on list

Popular actress, Jenny Craig spokeswoman, and America's sweetheart Bertinelli reveals in this courageous and candid memoir her complicated past and how she has taken control of her own life to gain self-esteem and happiness. 8 pages of b&w photographs.

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STORI TELLING
Tori Spelling with Hilary Liftin
Cover of STORI TELLING

STORI TELLING

by Tori Spelling with Hilary Liftin · Simon Spotlight

2 wks on list

A memoir by the actress best known for her role on "Beverly Hills, 90210" challenges popular misconceptions about her privileged life while discussing such topics as her relationship with her late father, her marriages, and her parenting experiences.

4
IN DEFENSE OF FOOD
Michael Pollan
Cover of IN DEFENSE OF FOOD

IN DEFENSE OF FOOD

by Michael Pollan · Penguin Press

12 wks on list

#1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of This is Your Mind on Plants, How to Change Your Mind, The Omnivore's Dilemma, and Food Rules Food. There's plenty of it around, and we all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it? Because in the so-called Western diet, food has been replaced by nutrients, and common sense by confusion--most of what we’re consuming today is longer the product of nature but of food science. The result is what Michael Pollan calls the American Paradox: The more we worry about nutrition, the less healthy we see to become. With In Defense of Food, Pollan proposes a new (and very old) answer to the question of what we should eat that comes down to seven simple but liberating words: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Pollan’s bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we can start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives, enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy, and bring pleasure back to eating.

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LIBERAL FASCISM
Jonah Goldberg

LIBERAL FASCISM

by Jonah Goldberg · Doubleday

11 wks on list

Den konservative kommentator gør op med begreberne højre og venstre i det politiske spektrum.

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1
I AM AMERICA (AND SO CAN YOU!)
Stephen Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello and Allison Silverman
Cover of I AM AMERICA (AND SO CAN YOU!)

I AM AMERICA (AND SO CAN YOU!)

by Stephen Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello and Allison Silverman · Grand Central

24 wks on list

The host of the popular Colbert Report show celebrates the lighter side of the modern world's most relevant issues, providing straightforward discussions of such topics as faith, politics, and how the author believes the country can reacquire its nerve. 500,000 first printing.

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THE REASON FOR GOD
Timothy Keller
Cover of THE REASON FOR GOD

THE REASON FOR GOD

by Timothy Keller · Dutton

5 wks on list

A New York Times bestseller people can believe in—by "a pioneer of the new urban Christians" (Christianity Today) and the "C.S. Lewis for the 21st century" (Newsweek). Timothy Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, addresses the frequent doubts that skeptics, and even ardent believers, have about religion. Using literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and potent reasoning, Keller explains how the belief in a Christian God is, in fact, a sound and rational one. To true believers he offers a solid platform on which to stand their ground against the backlash to religion created by the Age of Skepticism. And to skeptics, atheists, and agnostics, he provides a challenging argument for pursuing the reason for God.

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NEW
RETRIBUTION
Max Hastings
Cover of RETRIBUTION

RETRIBUTION

by Max Hastings · Knopf

1 wks on list

The ensuing drama—that ended in Japan's utter devastation—was acted out across the vast theater of Asia in massive clashes between army, air, and naval forces. In recounting these extraordinary events, Max Hastings draws incisive portraits of MacArthur, Mao, Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, and other key figures of the war in the East. But he is equally adept in his portrayals of the ordinary soldiers and sailors caught in the bloodiest of campaigns. With its piercing and convincing analysis, Retribution is a brilliant telling of an epic conflict from a master military historian at the height of his powers.

10
REAL CHANGE
Newt Gingrich with Vince Haley and Rick Tyler
Cover of REAL CHANGE

REAL CHANGE

by Newt Gingrich with Vince Haley and Rick Tyler · Regnery

10 wks on list

Can we create a government that is small, efficient, and responsive--from the state house to the White House? Is that kind of real change even possible? Newt Gingrich says it's time for citizens to demand results from our elected officials. He shows how America can achieve transformational change--from a bureaucratic failure to a government that can meet the challenges of the 21st century. First, he busts the myth that America is divided between conservative red states and liberal blue states--the American people are united on almost every important issue facing our country, including immigration, taxes, defending America, and freedom of religion. America believes overwhelmingly that we need a change in course--but our politicians aren't listening. Gingrich reveals why the Democratic Party can't deliver real change and why the Republican Party won't. He provides answers and a step-by-step, issue-by-issue toolkit for building a better America.--From publisher description.

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NEW
COMMON WEALTH
Jeffrey D. Sachs
Cover of COMMON WEALTH

COMMON WEALTH

by Jeffrey D. Sachs · Penguin Press

1 wks on list

Assessment of the environmental degradation, rapid population growth, and extreme poverty that threaten global peace and prosperity, with practical solutions based on a new economic paradigm for our crowded planet.

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PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
Michio Kaku
Cover of PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

by Michio Kaku · Doubleday

1 wks on list

Physics of the Impossible takes us on a journey to the frontiers of science and beyond, giving us an exhilarating insight into what we can really hope to achieve in the future. Everyday we see that what was once declared 'impossible' by scientists has become part of our everyday lives: fax machines, glass sky-scrapers, gas-powered automobiles and a worldwide communications network. Here internationally bestselling author Micho Kaku confidently hurdles today's frontier of science, revealing the actual possibilities of perpetual motion, force fields, invisibility, ray guns, anti-gravity and anti-matter, teleportation, telepathy, psychokinesis, robots and cyborgs, time travel, zero-point energy, even extraterrestrial life. And he shows how few of these ideas actually violate the laws of physics. Where does the realm of science fiction end? What can we really hope to achieve? 'Anything that is not impossible, is mandatory!' declares Kaku in this lucid, entertaining and enlightening read.

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TELL ME WHERE IT HURTS
Nick Trout
Cover of TELL ME WHERE IT HURTS

TELL ME WHERE IT HURTS

by Nick Trout · Broadway

1 wks on list

It's 2:47am when Dr Nick Trout, a British vet working in Boston, USA, is abruptly woken and called in to the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital to see if he can save the life of Sage, a ten year-old German Shephard with a critical stomach condition. The case is severe, the outlook bleak, and Dr Trout is her only chance. So begins an intimate and exhilarating journey into a typical day in a far from typical job. TELL ME WHERE IT HURTS takes the reader to the heart of the trials and tribulations of life as a veterinary surgeon, a life filled with heartbreak, triumph, anxiety, and of course, cuddly pets and their variously crazy, desperate, and demanding owners. The day's events come alive with Trout's breezy and companionable narration, and while he illustrates many of the issues pertinent to 21st century pet medicine, at its heart, the book reminds us that while the technology may have moved on from James Herriot's day, the essential characters, humour, and humanity remain the same as ever.

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THE AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON
Susan Jacoby
Cover of THE AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON

THE AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON

by Susan Jacoby · Pantheon

6 wks on list

A cultural history of the last forty years, The Age of American Unreason focuses on the convergence of social forces—usually treated as separate entities—that has created a perfect storm of anti-rationalism. These include the upsurge of religious fundamentalism, with more political power today than ever before; the failure of public education to create an informed citizenry; and the triumph of video over print culture. Sparing neither the right nor the left, Jacoby asserts that Americans today have embraced a universe of “junk thought” that makes almost no effort to separate fact from opinion.

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LONE SURVIVOR
Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson
Cover of LONE SURVIVOR

LONE SURVIVOR

by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson · Little, Brown

38 wks on list

Four U.S. Navy SEALs fought to the death against 150 armed Taliban in the Afghan mountains. Now, two years later, the lone SEAL survivor pens this spellbinding, first-hand account, a heartbreaking, yet inspiring story of heroism, courage, and sacrifice. 8-page b & w photo insert.

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