Jump to content

List of The New York Times number-one books of 1949

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of books that topped The New York Times best-seller list in 1949.

Fiction

[edit]

The following list ranks the number-one best-selling fiction books.[1]

Only five novels topped the list that year, which was dominated by John P. Marquand's Point of No Return which spent 22 straight weeks at the top of the list though it only lasted 34 weeks in the top 15 overall. Marquand's book is notable for its lampooning of W. Lloyd Warner, an anthropologist with whom Marquand had a personal grudge.[2] Point of No Return was toppled by Marguerite Steen's Twilight on the Floods and then by John O'Hara's A Rage To Live, which spent 6 weeks at the top. That book stayed in the top five for another 20 weeks but the remainder of the year was dominated by The Egyptian by the Finnish author Mika Waltari.[3] The Egyptian was translated from a Swedish translation by Naomi Walford.[4]

Date Book Author
January 2 The Big Fisherman Lloyd Douglas
January 9
January 16
January 23
January 30
February 6
February 13
February 20
February 27
March 6
March 13
March 20
March 27
April 3
April 10 Point of No Return John P. Marquand
April 17
April 24
May 1
May 8
May 15
May 22
May 29
June 5
June 12
June 19
June 26
July 3
July 10
July 17
July 24
July 31
August 7
August 14
August 21
August 28
September 4
September 11 Twilight on the Floods Marguerite Steen
September 18 A Rage To Live John O'Hara
September 25
October 2
October 9
October 16
October 23
October 30 The Egyptian Mika Waltari
November 6
November 13
November 20
November 27
December 4
December 11
December 18
December 26

Nonfiction

[edit]

The following list ranks the number-one best-selling nonfiction books.[5]

Date Book Author
January 2 Crusade in Europe Dwight D. Eisenhower
January 9
January 16
January 23
January 30
February 6
February 13
February 20
February 27
March 6
March 13 Cheaper by the Dozen Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
March 20
March 27
April 3
April 10
April 17
April 24
May 1 The Greatest Story Ever Told Fulton Oursler
May 8
May 15
May 22 Cheaper by the Dozen Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
May 29
June 5
June 12
June 19
June 26
July 3
July 10
July 17
July 24
July 31
August 7
August 14
August 21
August 28
September 4 White Collar Zoo Clare Barnes Jr.
September 11
September 18
September 25
October 2
October 9
October 16
October 23
October 30
November 6
November 13
November 20
November 27
December 4
December 11
December 18
December 26


See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Adult New York Times Best Seller Lists for 1949
  2. ^ Gordon Milne (1977), The Sense of Society: A History of the American Novel of Manners, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, pp.183-184
  3. ^ John Bear, The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times bestsellers since the first list, 50 years ago, Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1992, pp. 39-43
  4. ^ Ann-Marie Vinde (2004), "A Translator's Look at 'Flowering Nettle', Harry Martinson's 'Nässlorna blomma' Archived 2018-05-07 at the Wayback Machine, Swedish Book Review, vol. 1
  5. ^ Adult New York Times Best Seller Lists for 1949