Publishers Weekly's entire list of the bestselling book for each year from 1900 to 1998. Impress your friends & family - read the bestselling book for each year in the Twentieth century.
1900 - 1909
- (1900) To Have and To Hold, Mary Johnston
- (1901) The Crisis, Winston Churchill
- (1902) The Virginian, Owen Wister
- (1903) Lady Rose's Daughter, Mary Augusta Ward
- (1904) The Crossing, Winston Churchill
- (1905) The Marriage of William Ashe, Mary Augusta Ward
- (1906) Coniston, Winston Churchill
- (1907) The Lady of the Decoration, Frances Little
- (1908) Mr. Crewe's Career, Winston Churchill
- (1909) The Inner Shrine, anonymous (Basil King)
1910 - 1919
- (1910) The Rosary, Florence Barclay
- (1911) The Broad Highway, Jeffrey Farnol
- (1912) The Harvester, Gene Stratton Porter
- (1913) The Inside of the Cup, Winston Churchill
- (1914) The Eyes of the World, Harold Bell Wright
- (1915) The Turmoil, Booth Tarkington
- (1916) Seventeen, Booth Tarkington
- (1917) Mr. Britling Sees It Through, H. G. Wells
- (1918) The U. P. Trail, Zane Grey
- (1919) Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, V. Blasco Ibañez
1920 - 1929
- (1920) The Man of the Forest, Zane Grey
- (1921) Main Street, Sinclair Lewis
- (1922) If Winter Comes, A.S.M. Hutchinson
- (1923) Black Oxen, Gertrude Atherton
- (1924) So Big, Edna Ferber
- (1925) Soundings, A. Hamilton Gibbs
- (1926) The Private Life of Helen of Troy, John Erskine
- (1927) Elmer Gantry, Sinclair Lewis
- (1928) The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Thornton Wilder
- (1929) All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
1930 - 1939
- (1930) Cimarron, Edna Ferber
- (1931) The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck
- (1932) The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck
- (1933) Anthony Adverse, Hervey Allen
- (1934) Anthony Adverse, Hervey Allen
- (1935) Green Light, Lloyd C. Douglas
- (1936) Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
- (1937) Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
- (1938) The Yearling, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
- (1939) The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
1940 - 1949
- (1940) How Green Was My Valley, Richard Llewellyn
- (1941) The Keys of the Kingdom, A. J. Cronin
- (1942) The Song of Bernadette, Franz Werfel
- (1943) The Robe, Lloyd C. Douglas
- (1944) Strange Fruit, Lillian Smith
- (1945) Forever Amber, Kathleen Winsor
- (1946) The King's General, Daphne du Maurier
- (1947) The Miracle of the Bells, Russell Janney
- (1948) The Big Fisherman, Lloyd C. Douglas
- (1949) The Egyptian, Mika Waltari
1950 - 1959
- 1950 The Cardinal, Henry Morton Robinson
- (1951) From Here to Eternity, James Jones
- (1952) The Silver Chalice, Thomas B. Costain
- (1953) The Robe, Lloyd C. Douglas
- (1954) Not as a Stranger, Morton Thompson
- (1955) Marjorie Morningstar, Herman Wouk
- (1956) Don't Go Near the Water, William Brinkley
- (1957) By Love Possessed, James Gould Cozzens
- (1958) Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak
- (1959) Exodus, Leon Uris
1960 - 1969
- (1960) Advise and Consent, Allen Drury
- (1961) The Broad Highway, Jeffrey Farnol
- (1962) The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone
- (1963) Ship of Fools, Katherine Anne Porter
- (1964) The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, John Le Carré
- (1965) The Source, James A. Michener
- (1966) Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann
- (1967) The Arrangement, Elia Kazan
- (1968) Airport, Arthur Hailey
- (1969) Portnoy's Complaint, Philip Roth
1970 - 1979
(1970) Love Story, Erich Segal
(1971) Wheels, Arthur Hailey
(1972) Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach
(1973) Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach
(1974) Centennial, James A. Michener
(1975) Ragtime, E. L. Doctorow
(1976) Trinity, Leon Uris
(1977) The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien; Christopher Tolkien
(1978) Chesapeake, James A. Michener
(1979) The Matarese Circle, Robert Ludlum
1980 - 1989
- (1980) The Covenant, James A. Michener
- (1981) Noble House, James Clavell
- (1982) E.T., William Kotzwinkle
- (1983) Return of the Jedi Storybook, Joan D. Vinge
- (1984) The Talisman, Stephen King and Peter Straub
- (1985) The Mammoth Hunters, Jean M. Auel
- (1986) It, Stephen King
- (1987) The Tommyknockers, Stephen King
- (1988) The Cardinal of the Kremlin, Tom Clancy
- (1989) Clear and Present Danger, Tom Clancy
1990 - 1999
- (1990) The Plains of Passage, Jean M. Auel
- (1991) Scarlett: Sequel to Gone with the Wind, Alexandra Ripley
- (1992) Dolores Claiborne, Stephen King
- (1993) The Bridges of Madison County, Robert James Waller
- (1994) The Chamber, John Grisham
- (1995) The Rainmaker, John Grisham
- (1996) The Runaway Jury, John Grisham
- (1997) The Partner, John Grisham
- (1998) The Street Lawyer, John Grisham
- (1999) The Testament, John Grisham
