Article: Korda misses transformation of American readers in best-seller tome.(The Dallas Morning News)

DALLAS_Michael Korda likes having things both ways, which may be a key to writing best sellers: Give readers what they want, even if you contradict yourself.

As the esteemed editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster, Korda has helped shape any number of blockbusters, and he's even penned a few himself, including "Queenie" and "Power!"

So Korda knows something about moving the merchandise. In his new book, "Making the List: A Cultural History of the American Bestseller, 1900-1999," he takes a quick look, decade by decade, at what has sold and what all those sales might mean.

Scanning Publishers Weekly's lists of top sellers (the more influential New ...