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New York Times Best Seller lists

The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is updated online every Wednesday evening. Below are best seller lists for hardcover fiction and non-fiction. For more lists, visit our New York Times Children’s Best Sellers page or The New York Times’s Best Sellers page.

Hardcover Fiction

August 2, 2009

1

Best Friends Foreverby Jennifer Weiner
Childhood friends, estranged in high school, reunite years later when the popular one needs the mousy one’s help.

2

Swimsuitby James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
The former cop Ben Hawkins, now a reporter, investigates the disappearance of a supermodel.

3

Black Hillsby Nora Roberts
A South Dakota wildlife biologist and an ex-cop, childhood sweethearts, reunite to pursue a serial killer.

4

Finger Lickin’ Fifteenby Janet Evanovich
The bounty hunter Stephanie Plum tracks a celebrity chef’s killer.

5

The Helpby Kathryn Stockett
Three women — a white socialite and two black maids — work on a tell-all book about black domestic servants in 1960s Mississippi.

6

Rain Godsby James Lee Burke
A Texas sheriff investigates a mass murder of illegal aliens and tries to find the young Iraq war veteran who may have been involved — before the F.B.I. can.

7

The Doomsday Keyby James Rollins
Sigma Force operatives attempt to solve an ancient mystery that has deadly consequences.

8

The Devil’s Punchbowlby Greg Iles
The mayor of Natchez, Miss., pursues a killer who opposes his attempt to clean up riverboat gambling.

9

The Apostleby Brad Thor
Scot Harvath, a Homeland Security superagent, is asked to free an Al Qaeda mastermind from a Pakistani prison as part of a ransom deal.

10

Guardian of Liesby Steve Martini
The lawyer Paul Madriani unravels a mystery involving gold coins, the C.I.A., and a weapon forgotten since the Cuban missile crisis.

11

The Castawaysby Elin Hilderbrand
A Nantucket couple drowns, raising questions and precipitating conflicts among their group of friends.

12

Dead and Goneby Charlaine Harris
Sookie Stackhouse searches for the killer of a werepanther.

13

Shanghai Girlsby Lisa See
Two Chinese sisters in the 1930s are sold as wives to men from California.

14

Undoneby Karin Slaughter
Dr. Sara Linton works with agents of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to stop a killer who tortures his victims.

15

Return to Sullivans Islandby Dorothea Benton Frank
A young woman returns to her family’s South Carolina island home.

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Hardcover Nonfiction

August 2, 2009

1

Unmaskedby Ian Halperin
Michael Jackson’s final years.

2

Outliersby Malcolm Gladwell
Unexpected factors that explain why some people succeed, such as upbringing, timing and 10,000 hours of deliberate practice.

3

Liberty and Tyrannyby Mark R. Levin
A conservative manifesto from a talk-show host and president of Landmark Legal Foundation.

4

Catastropheby Dick Morris and Eileen McGann
Stopping President Obama before he transforms America into a socialist state.

5

The Accidental Billionairesby Ben Mezrich
How two Harvard undergraduates created Facebook.

6

Horse Soldiersby Doug Stanton
Special Forces soldiers fought the Taliban on horseback shortly after 9/11. The basis of the movie "12 Strong."

7

The End of Overeatingby David A. Kessler
How eating sugar, fat and salt affects our minds and bodies and encourages overindulgence.

8

Bobby and Jackieby C. David Heymann
The connection between Bobby and Jackie Kennedy.

9

The Beckham Experimentby Grant Wahl
David Beckham’s attempt to transform soccer into a popular sport in America.

10

Mommywoodby Tori Spelling with Hilary Liftin
Humorous stories about Hollywood motherhood, from the author of “Stori Telling” and star of “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood.”

11

Tears in the Darknessby Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman
The Bataan death march and its aftermath.

12

The Girls from Amesby Jeffrey Zaslow
An enduring friendship among a group of Midwestern women.

13

Born to Runby Christopher McDougall
Secrets of distance running from a Mexican Indian tribe.

14

Magnificent Desolationby Buzz Aldrin with Ken Abraham
A first-person account of the first lunar landing and a description of personal challenges back on Earth, by the former astronaut.

15

The Evolution of Godby Robert Wright
How Western religions have become more tolerant over time, creating a worldview that has room for both science and the divine.