TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of January 6, 1991

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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1
A LIFE ON THE ROAD
Charles Kuralt
Cover of A LIFE ON THE ROAD

A LIFE ON THE ROAD

by Charles Kuralt · Putnam

8 wks at #1 · 8 on list
2
THE CIVIL WAR
Geoffrey C. Ward with Ric Burns and Ken Burns
Cover of THE CIVIL WAR

THE CIVIL WAR

by Geoffrey C. Ward with Ric Burns and Ken Burns · Knopf

13 wks on list

Combining video and audio from Ken Burns’s beloved film with animated maps and hundreds of images—rare photographs as well as paintings, lithographs, and maps in full color—this deluxe eBook brings the Civil War to life in a new way. The acclaimed, best-selling companion volume to the celebrated PBS series—the highest-rated series in the history of public television—has now been enhanced to create one of the richest eBook experiences available today. This edition includes: • Nearly an hour of video and audio from the original film. We get wonderful footage re-creating what life was like during the war, Shelby Foote’s peerless storytelling and analysis, and informed commentary from other prominent historians. • Completely new and original animated maps of the three days at Gettysburg that make it easier than ever to follow this legendary and complicated battle. • Hundreds of illustrations carefully placed to maximize the reading experience without impeding the narrative flow of the text. As we mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, this deluxe eBook allows us to better understand and appreciate the greatest challenge our nation has ever faced.

6
IRON JOHN
Robert Bly
Cover of IRON JOHN

IRON JOHN

by Robert Bly · Addison-Wesley

7 wks on list

On the role of the male mentor, the author seeks to discover the truths about masculinity that gets beyond the stereotypes of our popular culture.

7
THE CAT AND THE CURMUDGEON
Cleveland Amory
Cover of THE CAT AND THE CURMUDGEON

THE CAT AND THE CURMUDGEON

by Cleveland Amory · Little, Brown

12 wks on list

'Twas the night before Christmas when a bedraggled white feline enters the heart--and home--of Cleveland Amory. To say it is a friendly takeover is an understatement. For the cat who came for Christmas is clearly of the Independent Type, and Cleveland Amory, curmudgeon or not, is, where animals are concerned, a pushover.Toe to toe they stand--Amory at six feet three, the cat at six inches--and eyeball to eyeball with each other on every issue: whether or not to come when called; to recognize one's name; to take a trip, a pill, a bath, or a walk on a leash; to be civil to New People; or even in an age when Thin Is In, why anyone in his right mind would want to be the Last Fat Cat. We will not spoil The Cat Who Came For Christmas by telling you who blinks first. Suffice it to say that in this hilarious battle, nine times out of ten, it is not the cat.

8
1
AN AMERICAN LIFE
Ronald Reagan
Cover of AN AMERICAN LIFE

AN AMERICAN LIFE

by Ronald Reagan · Simon & Schuster

7 wks on list

No president in this century has achieved such popularity as President Reagan did in his eight years in office. For the first time he tells the story of his public life and private life, in a book which is frank, revealing, and compellingly readable. Photographs.

11
1
SUDDENLY
George F. Will
Cover of SUDDENLY

SUDDENLY

by George F. Will · Free Press

4 wks on list

Now in paperback, one of America's most influential commentators offers his bestselling collection of writings from recent years, with a revised introduction taking intoll, ller Men At Work.

12
3
IT WAS ON FIRE WHEN I LAY DOWN ON IT
Robert Fulghum
Cover of IT WAS ON FIRE WHEN I LAY DOWN ON IT

IT WAS ON FIRE WHEN I LAY DOWN ON IT

by Robert Fulghum · Villard

52 wks on list

From the author to the reader: Show-and-Tell was the very best part of school for me, both as a student and as a teacher. As a kid, I put more into getting ready for my turn to present than I put into the rest of my homework. Show-and-Tell was real in a way that much of what I learned in school was not. It was education that came out of my life experience. As a teacher, I was always surprised by what I learned from these amateur hours. A kid I was sure I knew well would reach down into a paper bag he carried and fish out some odd-shaped treasure and attach meaning to it beyond my most extravagant expectation. Again and again I learned that what I thought was only true for me . . . only valued by me . . . only cared about by me . . . was common property. The principles guiding this book are not far from the spirit of Show-and-Tell. It is stuff from home—that place in my mind and heart where I most truly live. P.S. This volume picks up where I left off in All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, when I promised to tell about the time it was on fire when I lay down on it.

14
NEW
YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND
Deborah Tannen
Cover of YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND

YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND

by Deborah Tannen · Morrow

22 wks on list

Debra Tannen’s You Just Don’t Understand draws upon groundbreaking research by an acclaimed sociolinguist to show that women and men live in different worlds, made of different words. Using lively and entertaining examples of real conversations, Tannen shows why women and men can walk away from the same conversation with completely different impressions of what was said. With a rare combination of scientific insight and delightful writing, Tannen brings gender differences to students in an entertaining and accessible format. A classic in the field of interpersonal relations, this book will forever change the way students think about—and approach—conversations. “[A] refreshing and readable account of the complexities of communication between men and women.”—The New York Times Book Review

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