'50's Best Sellers - Part 1

1950
THE CARDINAL, by Henry Morton Robinson, 588,000 copies. Fiction.
Later an independent '63 film, produced directed by Otto Preminger, portrays the life of a fictional Irish American, Roman Catholic priest from his 1917 ordination to his appointment to a cardinal on the eve of World War II and his family trials; his climb up the ladder of the church hierarchy back in his Boston parish and later in Rome within the Vatican. Social issues include of interfaith marriage, sex outside of marriage, abortion, racial bigotry, and the rise of Fascism.
BETTY CROCKER PICTURE COOKBOOK, 300,000 copies
Non-fiction. The birth of new-age cooks begins with the cookbook.

1951
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, by James Jones, 249,000 copies. Fiction.
Winner of the National Book Award for fiction in 1952. It is loosely based on Jones' pre-World War II Hawaiian Division's 27th Infantry experience and the unit in which he served, Company E, "The Boxing Company". The 1953 film, 1979 minseries, and 1980 dramatic series were all adapted from the novel.
LOOK YOUNGER, LIVE LONGER, Gayelord Haauser, 287,000 Non-Fiction.
In 1951 the Food and Drug Administration seized copies of Look Younger; Live Longer, which promised to add five “youthful years” to your life, on the grounds that it was promoting the sale of one brand of blackstrap molasses.

1952
THE SILVER CHALICE, Thomas B. Costain, 221,000 copies. Fiction.
The is the fictional story of the making of a silver chalice to hold the Holy Grail.
Two years later Warner Bros. released the film staring Paul Newman, in his first studio role, as Basil the craftsman.
THE HOLY BIBLE, 2,000,000 copies
1953
THE ROBE, Lloyd C. Douglas, 188,000 copies. Fiction. A Roman soldier, Marcellus, wins Chirst's robe as a gambling prize and sets forth on a quest to find the truth about the Nazarene's robe. A quest that reaches to the very roots and hearts of Christianity set against the vividly lined background of ancient Rome.
The Robe remained on the list for another two years and included a movie version released in 1953. "The first motion picture in CinemaScope, the movie miracle you see without glasses."
THE HOLY BIBLE, 1,100,000

1954
NOT AS A STRANGER, Morton Thompson, 178,000 copies. Fiction
Adapted in a ‘55 film was Stanley Kramer's directorial debut and featured Olivia de Havilland and Robert Mitchum.Dr. Lucas Marsh blinded by ambition, looses his idealism after marrying older woman Kristina Hedvigson in order to make it through medical school. Indifferent toward his wife, dedicated only to his work; he climbs his way to the top of the medical profession by using others. Then forced to face his morality after his misjudgment leads to the death of a friend.
THE HOLY BIBLE, 710,000 copies

1955
MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR, Herman Wouk, 191,000 copies. Fiction.
About a woman who wants to become an actress and in ’58 made into a movie starring Natalie Wood.
GIFT FROM THE SEA, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 430,000 copies. Non-fiction.
Anne was a pioneering American aviator, author, and the spouse of fellow aviator Charles Lindbergh. The book centers around the sea and the awesome, incredible symmetry of seashells.