This is a list of The New York Times Non-Fiction Best Sellers.
The New York Times Best Seller list was first published without fanfare on October 12, 1931. It consisted of five fiction and four non-fiction for the New York City region only. The following month the list was expanded to eight cities, with a separate list for each city. By the early 1940s, fourteen cities were included. A national list was created April 9, 1942 in The New York Times Book Review (Sundays) as a supplement to the regular paper's city lists (Monday edition). The national list ranked by weighting how many times the book appeared in each city list. A few years later, the city lists were eliminated leaving only the national rankings, which was compiled according to "reports from leading booksellers in 22 cities," a system which remains essentially unchanged to this day (though the specifics have changed).
A separate category for "Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous" books was created January 1, 1984. Its number one bestseller (The Body Principal by Victoria Principal) had been number ten and number twelve on the non-fiction lists for the two preceding weeks.
The New York Times Non-Fiction Best Sellers by Year
NY Times Bestseller List Nonfiction - Description.
See also
- List of The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers
- Books in the United States
References
