Hello Everyone!
This time I have chosen one bestseller from each year of 1900 to 1999 in the Nonfiction genre, although you will notice that for fifteen of those years there were no nonfiction books mentioned for me to add. What I found was books published that were “critically acclaimed and historically significant.” I might post those another time. If you know of any nonfiction bestsellers for those missing fifteen years, please post in the comments.
For two years there was a War Nonfiction Bestseller list from which I have chosen and added here. Also, in the case of a specific book continuing to be on the Bestsellers’ list in other years, I have included an additional book in that same year.
1900-1911- none
1912: The Promised Land by Mary Antin
1913: Crowds by Gerald Stanley Lee
1914 – 1916: none
1917 & 1918: Rhymes of a Red Cross Man by Robert W. Service;
1917: War Nonfiction Bestseller: The First Hundred Thousand by Ian Hay
1918: Treasury of War Poetry by G.H. Clark;
1918: War Nonfiction Bestseller: My Four Years in Germany by James W. Gerard
1919: The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams
1920: Now It Can Be Told by Philip Gibbs
1921 & 1922: The Outline of History by H.G. Wells
1922: The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem Van Loon
1923: Etiquette by Emily Post
1924 – 1926: Diet and Health by Lulu Hunt Peters
1925 & 1926: The Boston Cooking School Cook Book by Fannie Farmer, ed.
1926: The Man Nobody Knows by Bruce Barton
1927: The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant
1928: Disraeli by Andre’ Maurois
1929: The Art of Thinking by Ernest Dimnet
1930 & 1931: The Story of San Michele by Axel Munthe
1931: Education of a Princess by Grand Duchess Marie
1932: The Epic of America by James Truslow Adams
1933 & 1934: Life Begins at Forty by Walter B. Pitkin
1934 & 1935: While Rome Burns by Alexander Woollcott
1935 & 1936: North to the Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
1936: Man the Unknown by Alexis Carrell
1937 & 1938: How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
1938: The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang
1939 & 1940: Days of Our Years by Pierre Van Paasen
1940: I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson
1941: Berlin Diary by William L. Shirer
1942 & 1943: See Here, Private Hargrove by Marion Hargrove
1943 & 1944:Under Cover by John Roy Carlson
1944: I Never Left Home by Bob Hope
1945: Brave Men by Ernie Pyle
1946, 1945 & 1947: The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald
1947 & 1948: Peace of Mind by Joshua L. Liebman
1948: Crusade in Europe by Dwight D. Eisenhower
1949: White Collar Zoo by Clare Barnes Jr.
1950 & 1951: Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book
1951: Look Younger, Live Longer by Gayelord Hauser
1952 – 1954: The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version
1953 – 1955: The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
1954: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
1955: Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindberg
1956: Arthritis and Common Sense, rev. ed. by Dan Dale Alexander
1957 & 1958: Kids Say the Darndest Things! by Art Linkletter
1958 & 1959: Twixt Twelve and Twenty by Pat Boone
1959 & 1960: Folk Medicine by D.C. Jarvis
1960: Better Homes and Gardens First Aid for Your Family
1961 & 1962: The New English Bible: The New Testament
1962 & 1961: Calories Don’t Count by Dr. Herman Taller
1963 & 1962: Happiness Is a Warm Puppy by Charles M. Schulz
1964: Four Days by American Heritage and United Press International
1965: How To Be a Jewish Mother by Dan Greenburg
1966: How to Avoid Probate by Norman F. Dacey
1967: Death of a President by William Manchester
1968: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
1969 & 1970: American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language by William Morris, ed.
1970: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex but Were Afraid To Ask by David Reuben
1971: The Sensous Man by “M”
1972 & 1973: The Living Bible by Kenneth Taylor
1973: Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution by Robert C. Atkins
1974: The Total Woman by Marabel Morgan
1975 & 1976: Angels: God’s Secret Agents by Billy Graham
1976: The Final Days by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
1977 & 1976: Roots by Alex Haley
1978: If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? by Erma Bombeck
1979: Aunt Erma’s Cope Book by Erma Bombeck
1980: Crisis Investing: Opportunities and Profits in the Coming Great Depression by Douglas R. Casey
1981: The Beverly Hills Diet by Judy Mazel
1982 & 1983: Jane Fonda’s Workout Book by Jane Fonda
1983: In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr.
1984 & 1985: Iacocca: An Autobiography by Lee Iacocca with William Novak
1985: Yeager: An Autobiography by Gen. Chuck Yeager and Leo Janos
1986: Fatherhood by Bill Cosby
1987: Time Flies by Bill Cosby
1988: The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure by Robert E. Kowalski
1989: All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things by Robert Fulghum
1990: A Life on the Road by Charles Kuralt
1991: Me: Stories of My Life by Katharine Hepburn
1992: The Way Things Ought To Be by Rush Limbaugh
1993: See, I Told You So by Rush Limbaugh
1994: In the Kitchen with Rosie by Rosie Daley
1995 (1993 – 1997): Men Are from Mars, Women are From Venus by John Gray
1996: Make the Connection by Oprah Winfrey, and Bob Greene Hyperion
1997: Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
1998: The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman
1999 & 1998: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
I hadn’t heard of most of the above 87 bestsellers, and I can remember reading only 6 of the ones that I recognized: The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version; Roots; If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits?; Aunt Erma’s Cope Book; Angela’s Ashes; Tuesdays with Morrie; and some of Men Are from Mars, Women are From Venus. One I have had on my to-read list for some time is The Egg and I.
I found it fascinating how interests changed during times of war, including the few years before and after.
How did you do this time? How many have you read, and are there any you would now like to find to enjoy?
Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! – Lynn
Polilla Writes 