1974 in books
Who ruled 1974? Peter Benchley was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1974, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Benchley | 421 | 0 | 33 |
| 2 | Gore Vidal | 361 | 17 | 24 |
| 3 | Richard Adams | 349 | 13 | 26 |
| 4 | John le Carré | 322 | 10 | 25 |
| 5 | Frederick Forsyth | 243 | 0 | 16 |
| 6 | James Michener | 228 | 12 | 16 |
| 7 | Helen MacInnes | 209 | 0 | 16 |
| 8 | Allen Drury | 195 | 0 | 13 |
| 9 | Irving Wallace | 195 | 0 | 12 |
| 10 | Susan Howatch | 161 | 0 | 11 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 6, 1974 | Burr | Gore Vidal | 17 |
| May 5, 1974 | Watership Down | Richard Adams | 13 |
| Aug 4, 1974 | Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy | John le Carré | 10 |
| Oct 13, 1974 | Centennial | James Michener | 12 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Centennial | James Michener | #1 | 60 | 701.3 |
| 2 | Jaws | Peter Benchley | #2 | 45 | 433.1 |
| 3 | Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy | John le Carré | #1 | 40 | 398.7 |
| 4 | The Seven-Per-Cent Solution | Nicholas Meyer | #2 | 40 | 368.6 |
| 5 | Watership Down | Richard Adams | #1 | 33 | 357.8 |
| 6 | Something Happened | Joseph Heller | #1 | 29 | 298.7 |
| 7 | The Dogs of War | Frederick Forsyth | #2 | 35 | 291.8 |
| 8 | The Pirate | Harold Robbins | #3 | 26 | 214.5 |
| 9 | The Snare of the Hunter | Helen MacInnes | #2 | 24 | 209.2 |
| 10 | The Fan Club | Irving Wallace | #2 | 24 | 194.8 |
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