A Letter From The Publisher, Apr. 28, 1980

In October 1958, when Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita and Harry Golden's memoir Only in America were the most popular new books in the U.S., TIME published its first weekly list of bestsellers. Compiled from information provided by bookstores to TIME correspondents in 22 cities, the list was then one of the few to be truly national in scope. It has since become a bestseller in its own right, distributed by the Associated Press to its 1,370 member newspapers. But as the technology of publishing books has advanced, so has the arcane art of counting book sales. With this week's chart—led by...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!