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An unexpected entry, The Inheritance, a previously unpublished first work by 19th century author Louisa May Alcott, is the 55th highest held monograph published in 1997.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