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Eras · The 1950s

1959 in books

Who ruled 1959? Leon Uris was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1959, the biggest books and the top authors.

NYT Hardcover Fiction

Author of the Year 1959

Leon Uris

20 crowns · 51 weeks among the top five authors · Era Power 662

Top authors of 1959
#AuthorEra PowerCrownsTop-five weeks
1Leon Uris6622051
2Boris Pasternak4991938
3Taylor Caldwell341036
4Vladimir Nabokov316025
5Eugene Burdick25800
6William J. Lederer25800
7Allen Drury2521318
8D.H. Lawrence251022
9Paul Gallico20008
10John O'Hara189018
Every #1 bestseller of 19593 books reached #1 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list
First week at #1TitleAuthorWeeks at #1
Jan 4, 1959Doctor ZhivagoBoris Pasternak19
May 17, 1959ExodusLeon Uris20
Oct 4, 1959Advise and ConsentAllen Drury13
Biggest books of 1959Titles that entered the list in 1959, by Book Power
#TitleAuthorPeakWeeksBook Power
1Advise and ConsentAllen Drury#11021,181.1
2HawaiiJames A. Michener#1941,112.3
3Dear and Glorious PhysicianTaylor Caldwell#364509.9
4Lady Chatterly's LoverD.H. Lawrence#227250.6
5The Devil's AdvocateMorris L. West#438202.4
6Poor No MoreRobert Ruark#326192.2
7Mrs. Arris Goes to ParisPaul Gallico#637187.4
8The War LoverJohn Hersey#222166.8
9Celia GarthGwen Bristow#621118.3
10Nine Coaches WaitingMary Stewart#727110.3

Author of the Year and the rankings are the ChartReign Power model: the author with the most chart power over the year, not the most #1s. Crowns are weeks crowned Author of the Week. How it works