Sunday, August 12, 2007
| Paperback | ||
| Fiction | ||
| 1 | WATER FOR ELEPHANTS(Algonquin, $13.95) By Sara Gruen. An orphan discovers love when he joins a traveling circus amid the Great Depression. | 14 |
| 2 | THE KITE RUNNER(Riverhead, $14) By Khaled Hosseini. An Afghan returns to his Taliban-ruled country to atone for a past betrayal. | 126 |
| 3 | RICOCHET(Pocket, $9.99). By Sandra Brown A homicide detective's effort to take down a drug lord is thwarted by an influential judge. | 2 |
| 4 | ECHO PARK(Grand Central, $7.99) By Michael Connelly. Det. Bosch suspects political meddling in a killer's guilty plea in a 1993 case. | 2 |
| 5 | THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM(Bantam, $7.99) By Robert Ludlum. A master assassin renews his struggle against an international terrorist. | 6 |
| 6 | THE EMPEROR'S CHILDREN(Vintage, $14.95) By Claire Messud. A social satire revolving around a vainglorious clique of young Manhattanites. | 4 |
| 7 | MIDDLESEX(Picador USA, $15) By Jeffrey Eugenides. A genetic anomaly causes a teen to become a hermaphrodite. | 17 |
| 8 | THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER (Penguin, $14). By Kim Edwards. A doctor regrets deceiving his wife about their twins' birth. | 56 |
| 9 | THE ROAD(Vintage, $14.95) By Cormac McCarthy. A man and his son travel to the sea through a charred, post-apocalyptic land. | 19 |
| 10 | THE RUINS(Vintage, $7.99). By Scott Smith A Mexican holiday turns terrifying for four Americans who encounter a carnivorous plant. | 1 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | EAT PRAY LOVE: ONE WOMAN'S SEARCH FOR EVERYTHING ACROSS ITALY, INDIA AND INDONESIA(Penguin, $15). By Elizabeth Gilbert | 26 |
| 2 | THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(Picador USA, $16) By Thomas L. Friedman. A further revised edition. | 3 |
| 3 | BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT THINKING(Back Bay, $15.99) By Malcolm Gladwell. Behind our snap decisions. | 18 |
| 4 | THE GLASS CASTLE(Scribner, $14) By Jeannette Walls. A daughter's memoir of her eccentric parents and an unorthodox upbringing. | 75 |
| 5 | FIASCO: THE AMERICAN MILITARY ADVENTURE IN IRAQ(Penguin, $16). By Thomas E. Ricks The choices of U.S. military commanders. | 1 |
| 6 | THE TIPPING POINT: HOW LITTLE THINGS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE(Back Bay, $14.95 ) By Malcolm Gladwell. Fads and their origins. | 83 |
| 7 | THREE CUPS OF TEA: ONE MAN'S MISSION TO PROMOTE PEACE(Penguin, $15) By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin | 17 |
| 8 | 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN: A TRUE STORY OF DEATH AND LIFE(Revell, $12.99). By Don Piper. A Baptist minister declared dead returns to life. | 6 |
| 9 | STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS(Vintage, $14.95) By Daniel Gilbert. A psychology professor examines why we err in anticipating the future. | 17 |
| 10 | THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY (Vintage, $14.95).By Erik Larson. A killer preys on Chicago residents amid the 1893 World's Fair. | 129 |
| Hardcover | ||
| Fiction | ||
| 1 | A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS (Riverhead, $25.95). By Khaled Hosseini Two Afghani women cope with a brutish husband. | 11 |
| 2 | THE QUICKIE(Little, Brown, $27.99) By James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge A scorned wife finds revenge isn't so sweet. | 5 |
| 3 | THE SECRET SERVANT(Putnam, $25.95) By Daniel Silva. When an Israeli agent's murder exposes a terrorist plot, in steps Gabriel Allon. | 2 |
| 4 | HIGH NOON(Putnam, $26.95). By Nora Roberts Heady emotions from past trauma surface when a top hostage negotiator finds herself a target. | 4 |
| 5 | LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN(St. Martin's, $27.95) By Janet Evanovich. Stephanie Plum becomes a suspect in her ex-husband's presumed death. | 7 |
| 6 | IN AT THE DEATH: SETTLING ACCOUNTS #4 (Del Rey, $26.95). By Harry Turtledove The 20th century alt-history saga concludes. | 1 |
| 7 | THE CHILDREN OF HÚRIN(Houghton Mifflin, $26) By J.R.R. Tolkien. Men and elves battle the minions of Morgoth in this tale of Middle Earth's First Age. | 15 |
| 8 | UP CLOSE AND DANGEROUS(Ballantine, $25.95) By Linda Howard. A wealthy widow, resented by her stepchildren, dodges attempts on her life. | 3 |
| 9 | THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN (Simon & Schuster, $26). By James Lee Burke Robicheaux in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. | 3 |
| 10 | THE 6TH TARGET(Little, Brown, $27.99) By James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Kids and their nannies are being kidnapped off the street. | 9 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS (Collins, $24.95). By Conn and Hal Iggulden For boys at heart, a paean to simple pastimes. | 14 |
| 2 | LEGACY OF ASHES: THE HISTORY OF THE CIA (Doubleday, $27.95). By Tim Weiner. Exposing the good, the bad and the ugly in covert ops. | 5 |
| 3 | PROMISES TO KEEP: ON LIFE AND POLITICS (Random House, $25.95). By Joe Biden A memoir from Delaware's veteran U.S. senator. | 1 |
| 4 | LONE SURVIVOR: THE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF OPERATION REDWING ...(Little, Brown, $24.99) By Marcus Luttrell. The Navy SEALs' greatest loss. | 8 |
| 5 | THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS: 50 YEARS OF REPORTINGIN WASHINGTON (Crown Forum, $29.95). By Robert D. Novak | 3 |
| 6 | THE WORLD WITHOUT US (Thomas Dunne, $24.95). By Alan Weisman The fate of the planet if humans ceased to exist. | 1 |
| 7 | A LONG WAY GONE: MEMOIRS OF A BOY SOLDIER (FSG, $22). By Ishmael Beah. Recalling the horrors of the civil war in Sierra Leone. | 22 |
| 8 | GOD IS NOT GREAT: HOW RELIGION POISONS EVERYTHING(Twelve, $24.99) By Christopher Hitchens. Faith and its downfalls. | 14 |
| 9 | QUIET STRENGTH: THE PRINCIPLES, PRACTICES, & PRIORITIES OF A WINNING LIFE(Tyndale, $26.99). By Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker | 4 |
| 10 | THE DIANA CHRONICLES(Doubleday, $27.50) By Tina Brown. Copious interviews and research back this new profile of the late Princess of Wales. | 8 |
Rankings reflect sales for the week ended Aug. 5, 2007. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from Nielsen BookScan. Copyright © 2007 by Nielsen BookScan. (The right-hand column of numbers represents weeks on this list, which premiered in Book World on Jan. 11, 2004. Advice, reference and self-help books appear on a separate, monthly list.)
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