# List of The New York Times number-one books of 1948

This is a list of books that topped The New York Times best-seller list in 1948.

## Fiction

The following list ranks the number-one best-selling fiction books.
The American publisher Bennett Cerf noted that there had been "only three novels published [in 1948] that were worth reading ... Cry, The Beloved Country, The Ides of March, and The Naked and the Dead." Only Cry did not top the list that year. A total of ten other novels did, however, with most titles spending only a few weeks at the top. The strongest performing title was The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer's first best seller, published when he was just 25 years old, which spent 19 weeks at Number 1 and more than 6 months in the top 10. It was the first "big" novel about World War II, based on his own experiences. The Ides of March was by Thornton Wilder and it spent 2 weeks at Number 1 but only 13 weeks in the top 15. The year ended with The Big Fisherman heading the list, Lloyd C. Douglas's follow-up to his huge 1942 best seller, The Robe.
| Date | Book | Author |
| January 3 | House Divided | Ben Ames Williams |
| January 10 | House Divided | Ben Ames Williams |
| January 17 | House Divided | Ben Ames Williams |
| January 24 | House Divided | Ben Ames Williams |
| January 31 | House Divided | Ben Ames Williams |
| February 7 | East Side, West Side | Marcia Davenport |
| February 14 | East Side, West Side | Marcia Davenport |
| February 21 | House Divided | Ben Ames Williams |
| February 28 | House Divided | Ben Ames Williams |
| March 7 | Eagle in the Sky | Van Wyck Mason |
| March 14 | Eagle in the Sky | Van Wyck Mason |
| March 21 | Eagle in the Sky | Van Wyck Mason |
| March 28 | Eagle in the Sky | Van Wyck Mason |
| April 4 | The Ides of March | Thornton Wilder |
| April 11 | Eagle in the Sky | Van Wyck Mason |
| April 18 | The Ides of March | Thornton Wilder |
| April 25 | Raintree County | Ross Lockridge Jr. |
| May 2 | Raintree County | Ross Lockridge Jr. |
| May 9 | unknown; not clear from source | unknown; not clear from source |
| May 16 | Raintree County | Ross Lockridge |
| May 23 | Pilgrim's Inn | Elizabeth Goudge |
| May 30 | Raintree County | Ross Lockridge |
| June 6 | Pilgrim's Inn | Elizabeth Goudge |
| June 13 | Pilgrim's Inn | Elizabeth Goudge |
| June 20 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| June 27 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| July 4 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| July 11 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| July 18 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| July 25 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| August 1 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| August 8 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| August 15 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| August 22 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| August 29 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| September 5 | Shannon's Way | A. J. Cronin |
| September 12 | Shannon's Way | A. J. Cronin |
| September 19 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| September 26 | Shannon's Way | A. J. Cronin |
| October 3 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| October 10 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| October 17 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| October 24 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| October 31 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| November 7 | The Young Lions | Irwin Shaw |
| November 14 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| November 21 | The Naked and the Dead | Norman Mailer |
| November 28 | The Young Lions | Irwin Shaw |
| December 5 | The Young Lions | Irwin Shaw |
| December 12 | The Young Lions | Irwin Shaw |
| December 19 | The Big Fisherman | Lloyd C. Douglas |
| December 26 | The Big Fisherman | Lloyd C. Douglas |

## Nonfiction

The following list ranks the number-one best-selling nonfiction books.