LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLERS / September 16, 2001

FICTION

Southern California

1 THE SMOKE JUMPER by Nicholas Evans (Delacorte: $26.95) A love triangle among best friends is played out in the world of firefighting in the Montana wilderness. Last Week: 5 Weeks on List: 2

2 THE CORRECTIONS by Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $26) The tragicomic saga of the Lamberts, a dysfunctional Midwestern family living at the end of the 20th century. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

3 WHAT YOU OWE ME by Bebe Moore Campbell (Putnam: $25.95) Friendship and betrayal between 2 unlikely business partners in 1940s L.A. Reviewed by Susan Straight, Page 4. Last Week: 6 Weeks on List: 3

4 VALHALLA RISING by Clive Cussler (Putnam: $27.95) A luxury cruise ship sinks, and National Underwater Maritime Administration Director Dirk Pitt must investigate. Last Week: 1 Weeks on List: 3

5 CANE RIVER by Lalita Tademy (Warner: $24.95) A family chronicle about the experiences of four generations of women born into slavery on the Cane River in Louisiana. Last Week: 8 Weeks on List: 10

6 THE FORGOTTEN by Faye Kellerman (William Morrow: $26) Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus return to solve a double murder and help a troubled teen. Last Week: 3 Weeks on List: 3

7 SUZANNE’S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $22.95) A woman gains insights into the boyfriend who left her from a diary written by his late wife. Last Week: 4 Weeks on List: 6

8 LAKE WOBEGON SUMMER 1956 by Garrison Keillor (Viking: $24.95) The sorrows of adolescence and the not-so-virtuous beginnings of a young writer in a sleepy Midwestern burg. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

9 PEACE LIKE A RIVER by Leif Enger (Atlantic Monthly: $24) In 1960s Minnesota, a father struggles to raise three children, one of whom is on the lam. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

10 ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS by E. Lynn Harris (Doubleday: $19.95) A retired bisexual NFL tight end is reunited with the actress-recording star he left at the altar. Last Week: 9 Weeks on List: 7

11 STORMY WEATHER by Paula Woods (W.W. Norton: $24.95) The LAPD’s Charlotte Justice investigates a black filmmaker’s death and finds plenty of racial tension in the City of Angels. Last Week: 12 Weeks on List: 3

12 BLUE DIARY by Alice Hoffman (Putnam: $24.95) A happy marriage and idyllic family life are rocked by a dark revelation about the husband, a seemingly all-around good guy. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 5

13 MINUTES TO BURN by Gregg Andrew Hurwitz (Cliff Street Books: $25) Stranded on an island in the Galapagos, scientists and Navy SEALs fight to survive an evolutionary catastrophe. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 4

14 WHITE SWAN, BLACK SWAN by Adrienne Sharp (Random House: $21.95) A collection of short stories about ballet dancers and choreographers seeking perfection in dance and in life. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 4

15 HEMLOCK BAY by Catherine Coulter (Putnam: $24.95) Husband-and-wife FBI agents pursue myriad killers, including a collector whose art forgeries are part of an intricate conspiracy. Last Week: 14 Weeks on List: 4

NONFICTION

1 JOHN ADAMS by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster: $35) The story of our second president, a man Thomas Jefferson called “the colossus of independence.” Last Week: 1 Weeks on List: 16

2 THE ROAD TO WEALTH by Suze Orman (Riverhead: $29.95) An encyclopedic reference for managing your financial situation from the “Nine Steps to Financial Freedom” money guru. Last Week: 4 Weeks on List: 4

3 THE WILD BLUE by Stephen Ambrose (Simon & Schuster: $26) The story of the men and boys who flew the B-24s over Nazi Germany in World War II. Last Week: 2 Weeks on List: 3

4 SEABISCUIT by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House: $24.95) How three men transformed a thoroughbred horse from a neurotic also-ran into an American sports icon. Last Week: 7 Weeks on List: 27

5 WHO MOVED MY CHEESE? by Spencer Johnson (Putnam: $19.95) The co-author of “The One Minute Manager” uses the parable of mice in a maze to show people how to manage change. Last Week: 3 Weeks on List: 77

6 THE MAP THAT CHANGED THE WORLD by Simon Winchester (HarperCollins: $26) The story of William Smith, who founded modern geology despite being snubbed by the scientific elite. Last Week: 5 Weeks on List: 4

7 FOUNDING BROTHERS by Joseph J. Ellis (Alfred A. Knopf: $26 ) The intertwined lives of America’s founders, their squabbles and collaborations, long before they were deified in history books. Last Week: 13 Weeks on List: 20

8 HEAVIER THAN HEAVEN by Charles R. Cross (Hyperion: $24.95) A biography of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain examines the circumstances of his life and the events that led to his suicide. Last Week: 9 Weeks on List: 3

9 GHOST SOLDIERS by Hampton Sides (Doubleday: $24.95) How a small group of elite American soldiers made a daring rescue of British and American war prisoners in 1945. Last Week: 11 Weeks on List: 16

10 A SHORT GUIDE TO A HAPPY LIFE by Anna Quindlen (Random House: $12.95) The columnist reflects on what it takes to “get a life” by living deeply rather than merely existing. Last Week: 8 Weeks on List: 41

11 THE BOTANY OF DESIRE by Michael Pollan (Random House: $24.95) How four plants and their products--apple, potato, tulip and cannabis--have influenced human destiny. Last Week: 12 Weeks on List: 5

12 IT’S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE by Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins (Putnam: $24.95) Triumph in the life of a champion cyclist, from overcoming cancer to winning the Tour de France. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 18

13 JUSTICE by Dominick Dunne (Crown: $24) The bespectacled writer describes the high-profile crimes he’s covered as well as a painfully private one: his daughter’s murder. Last Week: 6 Weeks on List: 9

14 TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom (Doubleday: $19.95) A sportswriter’s story of the life lessons he received during weekly visits to an older, dying friend. Last Week: 10 Weeks on List: 177

15 FAST FOOD NATION by Eric Schlosser (Houghton Mifflin: $25) A journalist exposes the fast-food industry’s strategies to control consumers, from meatpacking factories to the boardrooms. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 15