Post Date:
May 31, 2003 Issue Date:
May 31, 2003

Bestsellers

Name: WORLD
Price range: $

The Top 5 best-selling nonfiction hardbacks as measured by four leading lists as of May 19

You have {{ remainingArticles }} free {{ counterWords }} remaining. You've read all of your free articles.

Full access isn’t far.

We can’t release more of our sound journalism without a subscription, but we can make it easy for you to come aboard.

Get started for as low as $3.99 per month.

Current WORLD subscribers can log in to access content. Just go to "SIGN IN" at the top right.

LET'S GO

Already a member? Sign in.

Scoring system:10 points for first place, 9 for second, down to 1 for tenth, on the lists of the American Booksellers Association (independent, sometimes highbrow stores), The New York Times (4,000 bookstores, plus wholesalers), USA Today (3,000 large-inventory bookstores), and Amazon.com (web purchases). 1 Leap of Faith Queen Noor

30 Points

CONTENT Memoir of a Princeton-educated American woman who becomes the Queen of Jordan.

GIST Part jet-set love story and part Arab apologetic, Queen Noor's tale of her unlikely romance with Jordan's King Hussein is more political than personal. Defending her late husband's reputation, she explains his positions on Iraq and the Arab-Israeli crisis. Although the book was finished at the end of 2002, she writes nothing about extremist Islam or al-Qaeda.

2 Patriot's Handbook Caroline Kennedy

23 Points

CONTENT A collection of poems, songs, speeches, and other writings celebrating American virtues.

GIST Ms. Kennedy sometimes shows her partisan leanings, but the inclusion of critical pieces adds interest. In the section on the flag, for instance, she includes "The Star Spangled Banner" and the Pledge, as well as the Supreme Court decision on flag burning. But she also includes the lyrics to the Grateful Dead's "U.S. Blues" and Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A."

3 Krakatoa Simon Winchester

21 Points

CONTENT Part history of science, part history of Dutch colonialism, part history of a disastrous volcanic eruption, and part political history, Krakatoa rewards patient readers.

GIST Geologist Simon Winchester tells a meandering tale of a volcanic eruption in which the main event doesn't occur until 150 pages into the book. His leisurely approach may put off some readers. Others will enjoy the time spent with a knowledgeable and usually entertaining tour guide.

4 What Should I Do With My Life? Po Bronson

13 Points

CONTENT Profiles of young professionals who have had interesting career paths. Examples: the college dropout in her 30s trying to balance her passion for shot-putting and the time demands of her daughter; the Pittsburgh lawyer who quit his job to become a trucker.

GIST Without simple answers, Bronson gently shows that people should follow their passions in choosing jobs and careers.

5 Dereliction of Duty Robert Patterson

13 Points

CONTENT A thin, anecdotal volume by the guy who carried the nuclear football for President Clinton for two years.

GIST Lt. Col. Patterson witnessed the president's contempt for the military, cheating at golf, and fondling of a military stewardess on Air Force One. Mr. Clinton also failed to act decisively against terrorism, on at least one occasion reportedly paying more attention to one of his pastimes than to urgent national security needs.

CAUTION Some profanity.

Bestsellers

The Top 5 best-selling nonfiction hardbacks as measured by four leading lists as of May 19

Full access isn’t far.

Comments