# /research/top1000/monographs98.htm

originally: http://www.oclc.org/research/top1000/monographs98.htm

# 1997 top 100 monographs in WorldCat

by Patrick McClain, OCLC Research

[Excerpted from the OCLC Newsletter, 232 (March/April 1998).]

Moral, social and political issues dominate the topics found in the top 100 monographs of 1997. This list is based on the number of holding symbols attached to the WorldCat bibliographic record for a particular monograph published in 1997. The Moral Intelligence of Children by Robert Coles tops the list, while The Partner by John Grisham is the highest ranked fiction title, coming in at number seven.

The list includes 27 works of fiction. Of them, seven reached number one on The New York Times Best Sellers List (Hardcover Fiction) during 1997: The Partner by John Grisham, Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, Pretend You Don't See Her by Mary Higgins Clark, Sole Survivor by Dean Koontz, Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwell, Plum Island by Nelson DeMille, and Special Delivery by Danielle Steel. Only two fiction titles published in 1997, Flood Tide by Clive Cussler and The Ghost by Danielle Steel, reached number one on The New York Times Best Sellers List (Hardcover Fiction) in 1997 but failed to make this list.

An unexpected entry, The Inheritance, a previously unpublished first work by 19th century author Louisa May Alcott, is the 55th highest held monograph published in 1997.

—Patrick McClain is senior systems analyst, OCLC Office of Research.

Rank | OCLC Number | Holdings | Publication Title
--- | --- | --- | ---
1 | 34951335 | 1468 | The Moral Intelligence of Children, by Robert Coles
2 | 36241724 | 1401 | Terrorism in the United States, edited by Frank McGuckin
3 | 36104001 | 1373 | McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, 8th ed.
4 | 36001300 | 1365 | Personal History, by Katharine Graham
5 | 36800540 | 1336 | Rights to Privacy, edited by Robert Emmet Long
6 | 36713219 | 1321 | Wildlife Conservation, edited by Hilary D. Claggett
7 | 36158821 | 1223 | The Partner, by John Grisham
8 | 35701208 | 1216 | American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America, by Robert Hughes
9 | 36430653 | 1208 | Mason & Dixon, by Thomas Pynchon
10 | 37011419 | 1196 | Substance Abuse, edited by Joseph Sora
11 | 34789572 | 1182 | When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867-1973, by Leslie J. Reagan
12 | 35115028 | 1180 | Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man, by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
13 | 34617796 | 1156 | Interlibrary Loan Practices Handbook, by Virginia Boucher, 2nd ed.
14 | 34934008 | 1155 | American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, by Joseph J. Ellis
15 | 36954546 | 1138 | Even the Stars Look Lonesome, by Maya Angelou
16 | 36130642 | 1126 | Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster, by Jon Krakauer
17 | 36352242 | 1122 | Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier
18 | 35305158 | 1088 | The Oxford Companion to African American Literature, edited by William L. Andrews, Frances Smith Foster, Trudier Harris
19 | 36225259 | 1078 | Just as I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham, by Billy Graham
20 | 34912692 | 1077 | For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War, by James M. McPherson
21 | 35280570 | 1076 | Color-blind: Seeing Beyond Race in a Race-obsessed World, by Ellis Cose
22 | 35723753 | 1061 | Resurrection: The Struggle for a New Russia, by David Remnick
23 | 36352257 | 1056 | Deadly Feasts: Tracking the Secrets of a Terrifying New Plague, by Richard Rhodes
24 | 35969314 | 1055 | American Pastoral, by Philip Roth
25 | 36446763 | 1051 | American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence, by Pauline Maier
26 | 36066119 | 1050 | Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, by Carl Sagan
27 | 35620411 | 1046 | An Original Man: The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad, by Claude Andrew Clegg III
28 | 36138331 | 1041 | The Gospel According to the Son, by Norman Mailer
29 | 35318483 | 1030 | Cloud Chamber: A Novel, by Michael Dorris
30 | 36454987 | 1028 | Pretend You Don't See Her: A Novel, by Mary Higgins Clark
31 | 35360561 | 1027 | Dr. Susan Love's Hormone Book: Making Informed Choices About Menopause, by Susan M. Love, with Karen Lindsey
32 | 35919386 | 1027 | 3001: The Final Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
33 | 35792200 | 1012 | Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond
34 | 37599922 | 1004 | The Merck Manual of Medical Information, Robert Berkow, editor-in-chief, Home ed.
35 | 36645959 | 1002 | Denial of the Soul: Spiritual and Medical Perspectives on Euthanasia and Mortality, by M. Scott Peck
36 | 35995392 | 993 | Sole Survivor: A Novel, by Dean Koontz
37 | 36017249 | 984 | The Actual, by Saul Bellow
38 | 35627745 | 981 | Zeke and Ned: A Novel, by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana
39 | 35955194 | 972 | Jimmy Carter: A Comprehensive Biography from Plains to Post-presidency, by Peter G. Bourne
40 | 34640774 | 968 | Informed Decisions: The Complete Book of Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment, and Recovery, by Gerald P. Murphy, Lois B. Morris, and Dianne Lange
41 | 34705111 | 967 | The Death Penalty: Opposing Viewpoints, Paul A. Winters, book editor, 3rd ed., rev.
42 | 34710909 | 967 | Illegal Immigration: Opposing Viewpoints, Charles P. Cozic, book editor
43 | 34839757 | 966 | The Clinic, by Jonathan Kellerman
44 | 35744382 | 960 | The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy
45 | 35559204 | 959 | The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety, by M. Scott Peck
46 | 35159311 | 959 | One World, Ready or Not: The Manic Logic of Global Capitalism, by William Greider
47 | 36716980 | 957 | Locked in the Cabinet, by Robert B. Reich
48 | 35110227 | 955 | Virus-X: Tracking the New Killer Plagues: Out of the Present and into the Future, by Frank Ryan
49 | 35262491 | 954 | Unnatural Exposure, by Patricia Cornwell
50 | 35593598 | 948 | Silent Witness, by Richard North Patterson
51 | 35919253 | 939 | The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, editors-in-chief R.J. Zwi Werblowsky, Geoffrey Wigoder
52 | 34767482 | 939 | Juvenile Crime: Opposing Viewpoints, A.E. Sadler, book editor
53 | 34357859 | 938 | Seduced by Death: Doctors, Patients, and the Dutch Cure, by Herbert Hendin
54 | 35249564 | 937 | Whittaker Chambers: A Biography, by Sam Tanenhaus
55 | 36159610 | 932 | The Inheritance, by Louisa May Alcott
56 | 36446930 | 930 | Myth of the Welfare Queen: A Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist's Portrait of Women on the Line, by David Zucchino
57 | 36824733 | 928 | Timequake, by Kurt Vonnegut
58 | 36783742 | 927 | Underworld, by Don DeLillo
59 | 35701209 | 925 | The Wisdom of the Body, by Sherwin B. Nuland
60 | 36219387 | 924 | Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life, by Jon Lee Anderson
61 | 35029719 | 921 | Welfare: Opposing Viewpoints, Charles P. Cozic, Paul A. Winters, book editors
62 | 36411144 | 920 | The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, edited by F.L. Cross, 3rd ed.
63 | 34958707 | 919 | Small Town Girl, by LaVyrle Spencer
64 | 36029662 | 916 | Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, by John M. Barry
65 | 36060001 | 913 | Eight Weeks to Optimum Health: A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body's Natural Healing Power, by Andrew Weil
66 | 34618183 | 910 | Abortion: Opposing Viewpoints, Tamara L. Roleff, book editor
67 | 34411946 | 909 | Have No Fear: The Charles Evers Story, by Charles Evers and Andrew Szanton
68 | 29356808 | 908 | The Dictionary of Global Culture, edited by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
69 | 36658287 | 906 | Without a Doubt, by Marcia Clark with Teresa Carpenter
70 | 36277962 | 906 | Plum Island, by Nelson DeMille
71 | 35128189 | 906 | Total Control, by David Baldacci
72 | 36241722 | 905 | The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work, by Arlie Russell Hochschild
73 | 35986423 | 904 | The Gift of Peace: Personal Reflections, by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin
74 | 35128211 | 903 | Mexico: Biography of Power: A History of Modern Mexico, 1810-1996, by Enrique Krauze
75 | 35741322 | 901 | The Coming Conflict With China, by Richard Bernstein and Ross H. Munro
76 | 35774363 | 901 | Chromosome 6, by Robin Cook
77 | 36143575 | 898 | The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence, by Gavin de Becker
78 | 36423427 | 898 | Up Island: A Novel, by Anne Rivers Siddons
79 | 35262470 | 895 | The Ranch, by Danielle Steel
80 | 36528149 | 890 | News of a Kidnapping, by Gabriel García Márquez
81 | 36103589 | 890 | Into the Storm: A Study in Command, by Tom Clancy, with Fred Franks, Jr.
82 | 36243884 | 887 | Black Art and Culture in the 20th Century, by Richard J. Powell
83 | 35397863 | 887 | The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, by Sebastian Junger
84 | 35068191 | 886 | Censorship: Opposing Viewpoints, Byron L. Stay, book editor
85 | 34989961 | 885 | The Cat Who Tailed a Thief, by Lilian Jackson Braun
86 | 34746022 | 884 | Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance, 10th ed.
87 | 35001846 | 882 | Pornography: Opposing Viewpoints, Carol Wekesser, book editor
88 | 35658036 | 881 | We Won't Go Back: Making the Case for Affirmative Action, by Charles R. Lawrence III and Mari J. Matsuda
89 | 35701201 | 879 | The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms With America's Changing Families, by Stephanie Coontz
90 | 36011697 | 879 | Journey into Darkness: Follow the FBI's Premier Investigative Profiler as He Penetrates the Minds and Motives of the Most Terrifying Serial Killers, by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
91 | 35397820 | 878 | Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer's Activism, by Alice Walker
92 | 35990287 | 876 | The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the-universe(s) Report, by Timothy Ferris
93 | 35192181 | 870 | The Divorce Culture, by Barbara Dafoe Whitehead
94 | 35830182 | 869 | John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity, by Garry Wills
95 | 36350593 | 867 | Special Delivery, by Danielle Steel
96 | 36164865 | 866 | Gone Fishin': An Easy Rawlins Novel, by Walter Mosley
97 | 35450531 | 864 | Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa, by Keith B. Richburg
98 | 35235302 | 863 | The Island of the Colorblind; and, Cycad Island, by Oliver Sacks
99 | 36755664 | 863 | Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia, by Peter Maas
100 | 34470921 | 862 | Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History, by Bruce Cumings