Skip to content

Search our website or catalog

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

March 4, 2012

1

Private Gamesby James Patterson and Mark Sullivan
A journalist and a member of the Private investigative firm pursue a murderer who is trying to destroy the London Olympics.

2

Kill Shotby Vince Flynn
Mitch Rapp, a C.I.A. super-agent hunting down perpetrators of the Pan Am Lockerbie bombing, finds himself caught in a dangerous trap.

3

The Wolf Giftby Anne Rice
The making of a modern werewolf.

4

I've Got Your Numberby Sophie Kinsella
A frazzled bride-to-be creates havoc when she appropriates a cellphone she found in the trash.

5

Defending Jacobby William Landay
An assistant district attorney’s life is shaken when his shy 14-year-old son is accused of murder. 

6

11/22/63by Stephen King
An English teacher travels back to 1958 by way of a time portal in a Maine diner. His assignment: Stop Lee Harvey Oswald.

7

Death Comes to Pemberleyby P. D. James
Six years after Elizabeth and Darcy marry, their comfortable life is shaken by a murder, as James recreates the world of “Pride and Prejudice” with a mysterious twist.

8

Private: #1 Suspectby James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Jack Morgan, a former Marine and the head of an investigative firm, is accused of murder.

9

Home Frontby Kristin Hannah
Michael and Jolene Zarkades know the pressures of everyday life — children, careers, bills. But then Jolene is deployed to Iraq, leaving Michael unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls.

10

Catch Meby Lisa Gardner
A woman believes she is going to be killed in four days and wants Boston’s top homicide detective, D.D. Warren, to handle the investigation.

11

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nestby Stieg Larsson
In the last volume of the Millennium trilogy, Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander are threatened by an adversary from deep within the government.

12

The House I Lovedby Tatiana de Rosnay
A widow defends her house, which is slated to be torn down during Baron Haussmann’s modernization of Paris in the 1860s.

13

A Dance with Dragonsby George R. R. Martin
After a colossal battle, the Seven Kingdoms face new threats; Book 5 of “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

14

Takenby Robert Crais
When a college student and her boyfriend fall into the hands of kidnappers at the California-Mexico border, the investigators Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are drawn into the deadly world of human traffickers.

15

Robert Ludlum’s the Janson Commandby Paul Garrison
A former American operative builds a network to help him resolve crises without torture or civilian casualties.

----

Hardcover Nonfiction

March 4, 2012

1

American Sniperby Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice
A member of the Navy Seals who has the most career sniper kills in United States military history discusses his childhood, his marriage and his battlefield experiences during the Iraq war.

2

Ameritopiaby Mark R. Levin
A talk-show host warns that Americans must choose between utopianism and liberty.

3

Killing Lincolnby Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
The television host recounts the events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

4

Steve Jobsby Walter Isaacson
A biography of the recently deceased entrepreneur, based on 40 interviews with Jobs conducted over two years.

5

Behind the Beautiful Foreversby Katherine Boo
A journalist reports on families seeking better lives in a Mumbai slum.

6

Once Upon a Secretby Mimi Alford
A former White House intern recounts her affair with John F. Kennedy.

7

Quietby Susan Cain
Introverts — approximately one-third of the population — are undervalued in American society.

8

Bringing Up BÉbÉby Pamela Druckerman
An American mother discovers the principles of French parenting.

9

Unbrokenby Laura Hillenbrand
An Olympic runner’s story of survival as a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II.

10

Hilarity Ensuesby Tucker Max
More stories from a life of serial debauchery.

11

Coming Apartby Charles Murray
The author of "The Bell Curve" explores the state of white America, 1960-2010.

12

Through My Eyesby Tim Tebow with Nathan Whitaker
The Broncos quarterback chronicles his personal and professional course.

13

Thinking, Fast and Slowby Daniel Kahneman
When we can and cannot trust our intuitions in making business and personal decisions.

14

That Womanby Anne Sebba
The life of Wallis Warfield Simpson, for whom Edward VIII gave up his throne.

15

All There isby Dave Isay
Stories of love and marriage from the oral history project StoryCorps.