I don't have the stats, but I can't hardly believe that The Godfather is "the best-selling novel in publishing history." That's gotta' be hype, man...and yes, I like the novel a lot. But with so many other timeless classics, not to mention the great works that have been published since, I cannot believe it's sold more copies than, say, Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, or Bram Stoker's Dracula. And this is to say nothing of Clancy, Rice, Grisham, etc. But, as I said, I don't have any "proof"...still, I think it's gotta' be hype.