The only other book to top the list in 1961 was The Last of the Just by André Schwarz-Bart. That book, a multi-generational saga translated from the French, spent 18 weeks slowly rising to the top, and spent 4 weeks there before being toppled by The Agony and the Ecstasy. It continued among the top 15 best sellers for another 20 weeks.[1]
Franney and Zooey was a huge No. 1 bestseller for J.D. Salinger. His best known book, Catcher in the Rye, first published ten years earlier, never reached the No. 1 spot
^John Bear, The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times bestsellers since the first list, 50 years ago, Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1992, pp. 79-83
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