Here are the top 25 best sellers of the 1980s, compiled from data from large-city bookstores, bookstore chains and local best seller lists across the United States.
FICTION
1. Clear and Present Danger. Tom Clancy. (Putnam, 1989)
2. The Dark Half. Stephen King. (Viking, 1989)
3. The Tommyknockers. Stephen King. (Putnam, 1987)
4. The Mammoth Hunters. Jean M. Auel (Crown, 1985)
5. Daddy. Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press, 1989)
6. Lake Wobegon Days. Garrison Keillor (Viking, 1985)
7. The Cardinal of the Kremlin. Tom Clancy. (Putnam, 1988)
8. Texas. James A. Michener. (Random House, 1985)
9. Red Storm Rising. Tom Clancy. (Putnam, 1986)
10. It. Stephen King. (Viking, 1986)
11. Kaleidoscope. Danielle Steel. (Delacorte Press, 1987)
12. Zoya. Danielle Steel. (Delacorte Press, 1988)
13. Star. Danielle Steel. (Delacorte Press, 1989)
14. Patriot Games. Tom Clancy. (Putnam, 1987)
15. Misery. Stephen King. (Viking, 1987)
16. The Sands of Time. Sidney Sheldon. (Morrow, 1988).
17. The Talisman. Stephen King and Peter Straub. (Viking, 1984)
18. Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories. Garrison Keillor. (Voking, 1987)
19. The Satanic Verses. Salman Rushdie. (Viking, 1989)
20. The Icarus Agenda. Robert Ludlum. (Random House, 1988)
21. Poland. James A. Michener. (Random House, 1984)
22. The Eyes of the Dragon. Stephen King. (Viking, 1987)
23. Caribbean. James A. Michener. (Random House, 1989)
24. The Bonfire of the Vanities. Tom Wolfe. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1987)
25. Skeleton Crew. Stephen King. (Putnam, 1985)
NON-FICTION
1. Iacocca: An Autobiography. Lee Iacocca with William Novak. (Bantam, 1984)
2. Fatherhood. Bill Cosby. (Doubleday/Dolphin, 1986)
3. The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure. (Robert e. Kowalski. (Harper & Row, 1987)
4. Fit for Life. Harvey and Marilyn Diamond. (Warner Books, 1985)
5. In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies. Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr. (Harper & Row, 1982)
6. All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Robert Fulghum. (Villard, 1988) 7. Jane Fond'a Workout Book. Jane Fonda. (Simon & Schuster, 1981).
8. The Frugal Gourmet. Jeff Smith. (Morrow, 1985).
9. A Brief History of Time. Stephen W. Hawking. (Bantam Books, 1988)
10. Yeager, An Autobiography. Gen. Chuck Yeager and Leo Janos. (Bantam, 1985)
11. Nothing Down. Robert Allen. (Simon & Schuster, 1980).
12. Time Flies. Bill Cosby (Do7bleday/Dolphin, 1987).
13. A Day in the Life of America. Rick Smolan and David Cohen. (Collins Publishers, 1986)
14. Cosmos. Carl Sagan. (Random House, 1980)
15. The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine. Jeff Smith. (Morrow, 1985)
16. The Rotation Diet. Martin Katahn. (Norton, 1986).
17. Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession. Erma Bombeck. (McGraw-Hill)
18. Trump: The Art of the Deal. Donald W. Trump with Tony Schwartz. (Random House, 1987)
19. Loving Each Other. Leo Buscaglia. (Slack/Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984)
20. His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra. Kitty Kelley. (Bantam, 1986).
21. Elvis and Me. Priscilla Bleulieu Presley with Sandra Harmon. (Putnam, 1985)
22. Spycatcher: The Candid Biography of a Senior Intelligence Officer. Peter Wright with Paul Greengrass. (Viking, 1987)
23. The One Minute Manager. Spencer Johnson with Kenneth Blanchard. (Morrow, 1982)
24. Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives. John Naisbitt. (Warner Books, 1982)
25. Talking Straight. Lee Iacocca with Sonny Kleinfeld. (Bantam Books, 1988).
c 1989 Reed Publishing USA