Master Index of Archived Threads


88 books that shaped America

Vic Sage Jul 17 2012 12:48 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 17 2012 01:10 PM

The Library of Congress' list of 88 books that shaped America, sorted by title: "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain (1884) "Alcoholics Anonymous" by anonymous (1939) "American Cookery" by Amelia Simmons (1796) "The American Woman's Home" by Catharine E. Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe (1869) "And the Band Played On" by Randy Shilts (1987) "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand (1957) "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Malcolm X and Alex Haley (1965) "Beloved" by Toni Morrison (1987) "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown (1970) "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London (1903) "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss (1957) "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller (1961) "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger (1951) "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White (1952) "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine (1776) "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" by Benjamin Spock (1946) "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan (1980) "A Curious Hieroglyphick Bible" by anonymous (1788) "The Double Helix" by James D. Watson (1968) "The Education of Henry Adams" by Henry Adams (1907) "Experiments and Observations on Electricity" by Benjamin Franklin (1751) "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury (1953) "Family Limitation" by Margaret Sanger (1914) "The Federalist" by anonymous/ thought to be Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (1787) "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan (1963) "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin (1963) "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway (1940) "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell (1936) "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown (1947) "A Grammatical Institute of the English Language" by Noah Webster (1783) "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck (1939) "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) "Harriet, the Moses of Her People" by Sarah H. Bradford (1901) "The History of Standard Oil" by Ida Tarbell (1904) "History of the Expedition Under the Command of the Captains Lewis and Clark" by Meriwether Lewis (1814) "How the Other Half Lives" by Jacob Riis (1890) "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie (1936) "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg (1956) "The Iceman Cometh" by Eugene O'Neill (1946) "Idaho: A Guide in Word and Pictures" by Federal Writers' Project (1937) "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote (1966) "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison (1952) "Joy of Cooking" by Irma Rombauer (1931) "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair (1906) "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman (1855) "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving (1820) "Little Women, or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy" by Louisa May Alcott (1868) "Mark, the Match Boy" by Horatio Alger Jr. (1869) "McGuffey's Newly Revised Eclectic Primer" by William Holmes McGuffey (1836) "Moby-Dick; or The Whale" by Herman Melville (1851) "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Frederick Douglass (1845) "Native Son" by Richard Wright (1940) "New England Primer" by anonymous (1803) "New Hampshire" by Robert Frost (1923) "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac (1957) "Our Bodies, Ourselves" by Boston Women's Health Book Collective (1971) "Our Town: A Play" by Thornton Wilder (1938) "Peter Parley's Universal History" by Samuel Goodrich (1837) "Poems" by Emily Dickinson (1890) "Poor Richard Improved and The Way to Wealth" by Benjamin Franklin (1758) "Pragmatism" by William James (1907) "The Private Life of the Late Benjamin Franklin, LL.D." by Benjamin Franklin (1793) "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane (1895) "Red Harvest" by Dashiell Hammett (1929) "Riders of the Purple Sage" by Zane Grey (1912) "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850) "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" by Alfred C. Kinsey (1948) "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson (1962) "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats (1962) "The Souls of Black Folk" by W.E.B. Du Bois (1903) "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner (1929) "Spring and All" by William Carlos Williams (1923) "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert E. Heinlein (1961) "A Street in Bronzeville" by Gwendolyn Brooks (1945) "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams (1947) "A Survey of the Roads of the United States of America" by Christopher Colles (1789) "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1914) "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston (1937) "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee (1960) "A Treasury of American Folklore" by Benjamin A. Botkin (1944) "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith (1943) "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852) "Unsafe at Any Speed" by Ralph Nader (1965) "Walden; or Life in the Woods" by Henry David Thoreau (1854) "The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes (1925) "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak (1963) "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum (1900) "The Words of Cesar Chavez" by Cesar Chavez (2002) http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/books-that-shaped-america/

Ceetar Jul 17 2012 12:50 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 17 2012 01:11 PM

Think I've only read 7 of them. maybe 9. Forgot about the Federalist and Our Town, which I don't remember off the title.

TransMonk Jul 17 2012 12:56 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I came in at 23. I only have the deisre to read one or two that I haven't yet read.

Mets – Willets Point Jul 17 2012 12:59 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

34. It would be interesting to see their explanations.

Vic Sage Jul 17 2012 01:09 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

of that list, i've read (all or part of) 25: "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain (1884) - one of the great American novels "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand (1957) - couldn't get through it in HS; no desire to try again "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown (1970) - powerful document "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London (1903) - love London "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss (1957) - Seuss fan "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller (1961) - another of the great American novels "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger (1951) - ditto "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White (1952) - actually, now that i think about it, i just saw the cartoon "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury (1953) - love Bradbury "The Federalist" by anonymous/ thought to be Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (1787) - had to read it in college "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway (1940) - love Hemingway "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown (1947) - read this to my kids at bedtime; never quite got the appeal "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck (1939) - beautiful agitprop "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) - elegant writing "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg (1956) - never got thru the whole thing "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair (1906) - muckraking of the first order "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving (1820)- love them folk tales "Moby-Dick; or The Whale" by Herman Melville (1851) - too much whale blubber; never got thru it. "Native Son" by Richard Wright (1940) - i remember reading it in HS, i just don't remember the book itself. "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac (1957) - read it in college and it has stayed with me "Our Town: A Play" by Thornton Wilder (1938) - sad/beautiful play "Red Harvest" by Dashiell Hammett (1929) - read it after watching YOJIMBO and FISTFUL OF DOLLARS; the movies were better. "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert E. Heinlein (1961) - I grokked it. "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams (1947) - Heartbreaking play. "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1914) - I preferred the John Carter books "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak (1963) - read it to my son; enjoyed its anarchic spirit (loved the movie)

Edgy MD Jul 17 2012 01:13 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Sixteen. Probaply part to most of 10 others. Too oft these lists contain a generous sample from "What had a big impact on the world I wish I lived in."

DocTee Jul 17 2012 01:19 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

25 plus parts of many more. Helps to be a historian.

Swan Swan H Jul 17 2012 01:22 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

28, including two this year - To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Great Gatsby, both for around the tenth time each. I re-read Gatsby in preparation for seeing Gatz at The Public Theater.

Ceetar Jul 17 2012 01:24 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I think I'm going to library Huckleberry. I'm not sure I knew The Wizard Of Oz was a book. Would the story have lived on and shaped things without the movie? Uncle Tom's Cabin is an interesting one. I don't know if this is universality true, but I learned plenty about the book via various American History classes, but never once read it. (Pretty sure anyway) Casualty to rushed curriculum maybe? Surprised no 1984.

TransMonk Jul 17 2012 01:28 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Ceetar wrote: I'm not sure I knew The Wizard Of Oz was a book. Would the story have lived on and shaped things without the movie? The Wizard of Oz is actually a fairly political book disguised as a children's story. Lots of allusion to farming and industry coming into the 20th century.

Ceetar Jul 17 2012 01:35 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

TransMonk wrote: Ceetar wrote: I'm not sure I knew The Wizard Of Oz was a book. Would the story have lived on and shaped things without the movie? The Wizard of Oz is actually a fairly political book disguised as a children's story. Lots of allusion to farming and industry coming into the 20th century. I don't know if I'd get it all 100 years later, but might be an interesting read. I did enjoy Gulliver's travels after all and got very little of those political references. (That clearly being English, not American anyway, as was apparently 1984. )

Edgy MD Jul 17 2012 01:38 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Ceetar wrote: Uncle Tom's Cabin is an interesting one. I don't know if this is universality true, but I learned plenty about the book via various American History classes, but never once read it. (Pretty sure anyway) Casualty to rushed curriculum maybe? Most agree that it's a pretty dreadful book, it's historical impact aside. Historians and professors tell tales of forcing themselves through it for the sake of academia. Ceetar wrote: Surprised no 1984. I think they stuck with 'Merican books by 'Merican authors, thus no King James Bible and no Pilgrim's Progress and no Book of Common Prayer, which were the only books in the typical American house up until the 1880s or so. i imagine few would get the economic allegory in Wizard of Oz without a generous amount of handholding.

themetfairy Jul 17 2012 01:41 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

17 Although really, one refers to The Joy of Cooking more than one reads it.

sharpie Jul 17 2012 01:41 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I have 28. I'm counting "Moby Dick" which I have been reading one chapter a night of for a while. Up to something like Chapter 92. Not counting looking up a recipe in "Joy of Cooking." "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain (1884) "Beloved" by Toni Morrison (1987) "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London (1903) "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss (1957) "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller (1961) "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger (1951) "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White (1952) "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan (1980) "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury (1953) "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin (1963) "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway (1940) "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown (1947) "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck (1939) "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg (1956) "The Iceman Cometh" by Eugene O'Neill (1946) "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote (1966) "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison (1952) "Moby-Dick; or The Whale" by Herman Melville (1851) "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac (1957) "Our Town: A Play" by Thornton Wilder (1938) "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane (1895) "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850) "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert E. Heinlein (1961) "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams (1947) "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee (1960) "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak (1963) "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum (1900)

Benjamin Grimm Jul 17 2012 02:00 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Twenty two: "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain (1884) "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand (1957) "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown (1970) "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss (1957) "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller (1961) "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger (1951) "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White (1952) "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine (1776) "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury (1953) "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway (1940) "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell (1936) "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck (1939) "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) "How the Other Half Lives" by Jacob Riis (1890) "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison (1952) "Moby-Dick; or The Whale" by Herman Melville (1851) "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850) "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert E. Heinlein (1961) "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams (1947) "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee (1960) "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak (1963) "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum (1900)

Vic Sage Jul 17 2012 02:01 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I'm not sure I knew The Wizard Of Oz was a book. Would the story have lived on and shaped things without the movie? It's a good question. But OZ had quite a life before the movie came along. Baum wrote about a dozen sequels himself, and publishers commissioned others to write more over the years. It was adapted as a play and a Broadway musical, long before the movie business even existed, and was adapted in at least half-dozen movie shorts, cartoons and other films before the `39 version. And the `39 version was a FLOP, don't forget. It wasn't until it started having annual telecasts in the late 50s that the film became part of the popular culture. But thats 50-60 years after dozens of books, plays, animation, musicals, film shorts had already imprinted itself on the culture. So, while i'd agree that the movie had alot to do with perpetuating the OZ brand into the 21st century, i think the Baum books had already "lived on and shaped things" in our culture for more than half a century before the movie later came along to kick it into hyperdrive.

Ceetar Jul 17 2012 02:03 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Vic Sage wrote: I'm not sure I knew The Wizard Of Oz was a book. Would the story have lived on and shaped things without the movie? It's a good question. But OZ had quite a life before the movie came along. Baum wrote about a dozen sequels himself, and publishers commissioned others to write more over the years. It was adapted as a play and a Broadway musical, long before the movie business even existed, and was adapted in at least half-dozen movie shorts, cartoons and other films before the `39 version. And the `39 version was a FLOP, don't forget. It wasn't until it started having annual telecasts in the late 50s that the film became part of the popular culture. But thats 50-60 years after dozens of books, plays, animation, musicals, film shorts had already imprinted itself on the culture. So, while i'd agree that the movie had alot to do with perpetuating the OZ brand into the 21st century, i think the Baum books had already "lived on and shaped things" in our culture for more than half a century before the movie later came along to kick it into hyperdrive. fair enough, I didn't know that. thanks. Wasn't the movie one of the first in color as well? That's more "right time, right place" though.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 17 2012 02:05 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

It was an early color film, but not the first. Adventures of Robin Hood was one that came before it. And Gone With the Wind was released the same year as Oz, but I don't know which one was first. I'm glad to see, by the way, that I'm not the only one here who hasn't read "Idaho: A Guide in Word and Pictures" by Federal Writers' Project

RealityChuck Jul 17 2012 02:08 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

25: "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain (1884) "Beloved" by Toni Morrison (1987) "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss (1957) "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller (1961) "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White (1952) "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" by Benjamin Spock (1946) (It was actually a class assignment for a popular culture class when I was in college) "The Education of Henry Adams" by Henry Adams (1907) "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown (1947) "How the Other Half Lives" by Jacob Riis (1890) "The Iceman Cometh" by Eugene O'Neill (1946) "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison (1952) "Joy of Cooking" by Irma Rombauer (1931) "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman (1855) "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving (1820) "Moby-Dick; or The Whale" by Herman Melville (1851) "Our Bodies, Ourselves" by Boston Women's Health Book Collective (1971) "Our Town: A Play" by Thornton Wilder (1938) "Poems" by Emily Dickinson (1890) "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane (1895) "Red Harvest" by Dashiell Hammett (1929) "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner (1929) "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert E. Heinlein (1961) "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams (1947) "Walden; or Life in the Woods" by Henry David Thoreau (1854) "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak (1963)

Edgy MD Jul 17 2012 02:11 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

themetfairy wrote: 17 Although really, one refers to The Joy of Cooking more than one reads it. Probably true of most of these.

RealityChuck Jul 17 2012 02:15 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Benjamin Grimm wrote: It was an early color film, but not the first. Adventures of Robin Hood was one that came before it. And Gone With the Wind was released the same year as Oz, but I don't know which one was first. Considering there were silent films in color, none of those are even close. Even if you're limiting it to the three-strip Technicolor process which was used in Oz and GWTW, that was first used for short subjects by Walt Disney in the early 30s and the first feature was Becky Sharp in 1934, five years before Oz and GWTW.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 17 2012 02:22 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Vic Sage wrote: "Moby-Dick; or The Whale" by Herman Melville (1851) - too much whale blubber; never got thru it. You, me and Zelig.

DocTee Jul 17 2012 02:33 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Oz as political parable: [url]http://www.amphigory.com/oz.htm

Mets – Willets Point Jul 17 2012 02:57 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm glad to see, by the way, that I'm not the only one here who hasn't read "Idaho: A Guide in Word and Pictures" by Federal Writers' Project This is why I'm curious about their methodology for selection. The FWP wrote books about every state and numerous things besides that are all considered influential, so I wonder why the Idaho book was singled out.

Edgy MD Jul 17 2012 03:00 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Idaho was first, for what that's worth.

Vic Sage Jul 17 2012 03:31 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

the rationales for each selection are listed on the website. Here's the IDAHO book: Federal Writers’ Project, "Idaho: A Guide in Word and Pictures" (1937) - "Idaho" was the first in the popular American Guide Series of the Federal Writers’ Project, which ended in 1943. The project employed more than 6,000 writers and was one of the many programs of the Works Progress Administration, a Depression-era federal government employment program. These travel guides cover the lower 48 states plus the Alaska Territory, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Each volume details a state’s history, geography and culture and includes photographs, maps and drawings.

Mets – Willets Point Jul 17 2012 03:32 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

So they're recognizing the entire project through the first volume.

Vic Sage Jul 17 2012 03:34 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

yes. and here's the link for the rest of their explanations: http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2012/12-123.html

Nymr83 Jul 17 2012 08:07 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I have a hard time believing, just from the descriptions, that some of these books were truly "influential" at all. Cesar Chavez? - a 2002 book with only 3 reviews on Amazon? probably not influential, probably just fits the list authors' preferences/politics. the man may have been influential, but i doubt the book was very influential at all. The rational for that Idaho book makes some sense, but i guess they just needed a clear definition of "influential" as a baseline. to be "influential" mean that the books had an effect on people, changed or altered their ways of thinking or brought to light issues that were then acted upon... which is why i found that 2002 book to be such a laughable inclusion. Raise your hand if you are suprised I've never read "Atlas Shrugged"! heres what I've read (19): "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain (1884) "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London (1903) "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss (1957) "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller (1961) "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger (1951) "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White (1952) "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine (1776) "The Federalist" by anonymous/ thought to be Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (1787) "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway (1940) "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck (1939) "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) "History of the Expedition Under the Command of the Captains Lewis and Clark" by Meriwether Lewis (1814) "How the Other Half Lives" by Jacob Riis (1890) "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison (1952) "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving (1820) "Moby-Dick; or The Whale" by Herman Melville (1851) "Poor Richard Improved and The Way to Wealth" by Benjamin Franklin (1758) "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850) "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee (1960) "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak (1963)

Edgy MD Jul 17 2012 08:40 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Nymr83 wrote: Cesar Chavez? - a 2002 book with only 3 reviews on Amazon? probably not influential, probably just fits the list authors' preferences/politics. the man may have been influential, but i doubt the book was very influential at all. Of course. It's about the stature of the man. They don't really say anything about the book in the "justification" text. I don't want to say they were at the end of the list and realized how light it was on Latin Americans, but.... this list seems more about coalition building.

Edgy MD Jul 17 2012 08:42 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Nymr83 wrote: Raise your hand if you are suprised I've never read "Atlas Shrugged"! You're not missing much. Ayn Rand books are the sort of thing that's really cool... if it's like the first big book you ever read. Even conservatives recognized claptrap wrapped in a potboiler is still claptrap even if it's individualist claptrap.

Frayed Knot Jul 17 2012 08:54 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Edgy DC wrote: I don't want to say they were at the end of the list and realized how light it was on Latin Americans, but.... this list seems more about coalition building. I usually suspect motives like that in lists like these. 'Hey, let's put out a list of the greatest _________, but so as to not piss anyone off, let's make sure to include ... ' I started 'Cat in the Hat' but never got around to finishing it.

Vic Sage Jul 17 2012 09:05 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

it turns out all right in the end... in case you were wondering.

Mets – Willets Point Jul 17 2012 09:06 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

"The Words of Cesar Chavez" by Cesar Chavez is not a book written in 2002. Chavez was already dead in 2002. It's a collection of speeches and writings by Chavez. I would argue that Chavez's speeches and writings played a role in shaping America. I would also argue that his speeches and writings were not a book and it's kind of cheap to nominate the posthumous compilation as a book.

Mets – Willets Point Jul 17 2012 09:11 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Here's my list: "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain (1884) "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Malcolm X and Alex Haley (1965) "Beloved" by Toni Morrison (1987) "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown (1970) "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London (1903) "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss (1957) "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller (1961) "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger (1951) "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White (1952) "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury (1953) "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway (1940) "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown (1947) "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck (1939) "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg (1956) "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison (1952) "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving (1820) "Moby-Dick; or The Whale" by Herman Melville (1851) "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Frederick Douglass (1845) "Native Son" by Richard Wright (1940) "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac (1957) "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane (1895) "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats (1962) "The Souls of Black Folk" by W.E.B. Du Bois (1903) "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner (1929) "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert E. Heinlein (1961) "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston (1937) "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee (1960) "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith (1943) "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852) "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak (1963) "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum (1900)

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 17 2012 09:18 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

My 36-and-a-half. (I put down "Atlas Shrugged" about 2/3 of the way through, and never picked it back up.) "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain (1884) "And the Band Played On" by Randy Shilts (1987) "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand (1957) "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Malcolm X and Alex Haley (1965) "Beloved" by Toni Morrison (1987) "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London (1903) "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss (1957) "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller (1961) "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White (1952) "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine (1776) "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury (1953) "The Federalist" by anonymous/ thought to be Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (1787) "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway (1940) "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell (1936) "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown (1947) "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck (1939) "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) "The Iceman Cometh" by Eugene O'Neill (1946) "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote (1966) "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison (1952) "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair (1906) "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman (1855) "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving (1820) "Moby-Dick; or The Whale" by Herman Melville (1851) "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Frederick Douglass (1845) "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac (1957) "Our Town: A Play" by Thornton Wilder (1938) "Poems" by Emily Dickinson (1890) "Red Harvest" by Dashiell Hammett (1929) "The Souls of Black Folk" by W.E.B. Du Bois (1903) "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner (1929) "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams (1947) "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston (1937) "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee (1960) "Walden; or Life in the Woods" by Henry David Thoreau (1854) "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak (1963) "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum (1900)

Vic Sage Jul 17 2012 09:21 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Edgy DC wrote: Nymr83 wrote: Raise your hand if you are suprised I've never read "Atlas Shrugged"! You're not missing much. Ayn Rand books are the sort of thing that's really cool... if it's like the first big book you ever read. Even conservatives recognized claptrap wrapped in a potboiler is still claptrap even if it's individualist claptrap. the cult of personality that has grown up over the years around her books never ceases to amaze me. Its practically scientology, in its baseless cultism. I mean, i get the appeal of "i got mine; fuck you" as a personal philosophy, but as a sacred text on which to build a religion... well, it seems a little thin to me. But what do i know?

seawolf17 Jul 17 2012 10:22 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

20, and honestly not much interest the overwhelming majority of the ones I haven't read yet.

Nymr83 Jul 18 2012 06:44 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

You guys are really missing out not reading The Cat in the Hat.

Edgy MD Jul 18 2012 06:59 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Mets – Willets Point wrote: "The Words of Cesar Chavez" by Cesar Chavez is not a book written in 2002. Chavez was already dead in 2002. It's a collection of speeches and writings by Chavez. I would argue that Chavez's speeches and writings played a role in shaping America. I would also argue that his speeches and writings were not a book and it's kind of cheap to nominate the posthumous compilation as a book. Sort of what I'm getting at. Maybe I'm wrong, but I would guess that biography of Harriet Tubman also wasn't a game-changer so much as Harriet herself was. And her story resounding through the American narrative in oral retelling, the writing of Frederick Douglas, school syllabi, etc. is the real legacy.

Edgy MD Jul 18 2012 07:13 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Top-of-my-head things I'd've included, given the assignment: Little House in the Big Woods Science and Health and Key to the Scriptures The Power of Positive Thinking Advise and Consent The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent ("The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story and shouldn't be included except as part of this book.) The Innocents Abroad The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Jonathan Livingston Seagull Profiles in Courage The Waste Land Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to kick back with some Margaret Sanger.

Ceetar Jul 18 2012 07:20 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Nymr83 wrote: You guys are really missing out not reading The Cat in the Hat. The sequel was good too!

Vic Sage Jul 18 2012 08:42 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

my mother-in-law gave me a copy of GONE WITH THE WIND as a Birthday present once a long while ago. I felt like saying, "Gee, an overrated, overheated romance novel about how cool slavery was... thanks!", but i feigned appreciation instead. It is typical of her to give a gift that SHE would like with no interest at all at what the giftee would like. I hated the movie, too, for the same reasons. and nice call on JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL, Edgy. I remember getting that in the school book club and it freaked me out... in a good way.

Edgy MD Jul 18 2012 08:54 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I put Gone with the Wind in the same category as In Cold Blood. If not for the former, "Romance" would be a more-or-less respectable genre of fiction, but it helped establish an industry of the mass market romance relegated to it's own section of the book store --- and the drug store. In Cold Blood did the same, creating a whole new ghetto of non-fiction called "True Crime." So if shaping America means founding literary ghettos, I guess I tip my hat to them. Truman Capote was great, but his career was more than a little Goodenesque. In Cold Blood was the literary equivalent of a six-walk, five-strikeout, no-hitter for the Yankees while wearing a goofy fade.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 18 2012 09:10 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Edgy DC wrote: I put Gone with the Wind in the same category as In Cold Blood. If not for the former, "Romance" would be a more-or-less respectable genre of fiction, but it helped establish an industry of the mass market romance relegated to it's own section of the book store --- and the drug store. In Cold Blood did the same, creating a whole new ghetto of non-fiction called "True Crime." So if shaping America means founding literary ghettos, I guess I tip my hat to them. Truman Capote was great, but his career was more than a little Goodenesque. In Cold Blood was the literary equivalent of a six-walk, five-strikeout, no-hitter for the Yankees while wearing a goofy fade. I loved In Cold Blood. I can't get enough of it. I've read it three times, and was recently pondering another re-read. It's a masterpiece of writing, I think, notwithstanding some of the criticism out there that focuses purely on its historical accuracy.

Edgy MD Jul 18 2012 09:18 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Hey, a no-hitter's a no-hitter, but it still opened the door on this ugly-assed exploitation genre.

Nymr83 Jul 18 2012 10:40 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Edgy DC wrote: Hey, a no-hitter's a no-hitter, but it still opened the door on this ugly-assed exploitation genre. My reading is (by choice) generally confined to History and Science Fiction, with the occasional sports-related book thrown in so I haven't read "In Cold Blood", what genre did it create? Why is said genre "ugly" and "exploitative"?

Edgy MD Jul 18 2012 10:56 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

True crime.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 18 2012 11:07 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

It's like blaming Picasso for all of the velvet Elvis's.

Vic Sage Jul 18 2012 11:29 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

no, it's like blaming Warhol for the velvet Elvi. and i think he had something to answer for there.

Ceetar Jul 18 2012 11:36 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Vic Sage wrote: no, it's like blaming Warhol for the velvet Elvi. and i think he had something to answer for there. unrelated, I'm disappointed we haven't seen Elvis in True Blood.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 18 2012 12:23 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

That would make a stupid (but fun) show even stupider.

Ceetar Jul 18 2012 01:03 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Benjamin Grimm wrote: That would make a stupid (but fun) show even stupider. well, he's in the books, which is why I mention it.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 18 2012 01:26 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I know. There were many reasons that I stopped after the first book, and the "Bubba" character was one of the main ones.

metsguyinmichigan Jul 18 2012 01:35 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I had 16, which is more than I thought. Some of those are very disputable -- the one about the roads? I'd opt for "Green Eggs and Ham" over "Cat in the Hat," and think one of the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys/Sally, Dick and Jane types if they are really looking at what shaped the country. And no "Baseball Encyclopedia?" Bastards! And clearly, the omissions of "Faith and Fear in Flushing" and "Mets by the Numbers" make this list a farce, at best!

Edgy MD Jul 18 2012 01:37 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I was thinking Hardy Boys too. The Missing Chums.

Edgy MD Jul 18 2012 01:41 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I think they have the wrong Thoreau book there. Civil Disobedience, man. You don't think that shaped America? Sheesh, we're a nation of selective law abiders.

Ceetar Jul 18 2012 01:47 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Edgy DC wrote: I was thinking Hardy Boys too. The Missing Chums. I was more into the Bobbsey Twins and Boxcar children growing up. Never really got into the Hardy Boys. I don't know if those particularly relate, but I always related them. Also some series with an older brother called The Brain or some such. Although he often came off as more of a scammer than a brain. I remember one instance of him taking advantage of no shot-clock rules to win a bet that his basketball team wouldn't lose by 40.

Edgy MD Jul 18 2012 01:51 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

The Great Brain. My wife was a fan. Yeah, all of those youth-oriented serials, but I would guess The Hardys to be the most impactful and all.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 18 2012 02:11 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I'm thinking of making a list of the books that I myself found most influential. It would probably be a short list; I'm thinking five or six books. If I actually compile the list, I'll post it here. I'd invite anyone else to do the same. Might be interesting.

Mets – Willets Point Jul 18 2012 02:29 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm thinking of making a list of the books that I myself found most influential. It would probably be a short list; I'm thinking five or six books. If I actually compile the list, I'll post it here. I'd invite anyone else to do the same. Might be interesting. It probably would help to set some ground rules for what influential means in this context. And unlike LOC, we should also stick to just books.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 18 2012 02:38 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I would say that it would be books that inspired us to do something, or changed our outlook on some significant issue. Anyone care to expand on that?

Vic Sage Jul 18 2012 03:37 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Jonathan Livingston Seagull - as a kid, reading it made me feel better about being an outcast A Separate Peace - it did for me what CATCHER IN THE RYE has done for others Cat's Cradle - opened my mind to SF 1984 - established my worldview, regarding man v govt Catch 22 - reinforced that view, plus laughs Camus' Myth of Sisyphus - made existentialism personal and relevant to me

Centerfield Jul 18 2012 04:27 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I've read 14 completely, which I thought was ok until: 1. I saw how many you guys have read. 2. I realized my 6 year old has already read 2.

Centerfield Jul 18 2012 04:32 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I remember reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand and realizing that my friends who cited this as their favorite book were imbeciles.

Frayed Knot Jul 18 2012 04:55 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Edgy DC wrote: I think they have the wrong Thoreau book there. Civil Disobedience, man. You don't think that shaped America? Sheesh, we're a nation of selective law abiders. Yeah, but 'Walden' was the hit single off his greatest hits album -- which kind of gets back to the 'One from Column A/One from Column B' concern we were citing earlier.

Edgy MD Jul 18 2012 04:57 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Vic Sage wrote: "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman (1855) Would Bill Clinton have gotten a single girl without this book?

metsmarathon Jul 18 2012 07:43 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

"The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss (1957) "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White (1952) "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan (1980) "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury (1953) "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown (1947) "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck (1939) "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane (1895) "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee (1960) i'm sure i've read 6 books on the list, and am fairly certain i've read two more. hi, everybody, i'm an engineer.

Ashie62 Jul 18 2012 10:24 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Catch-22 first.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 19 2012 04:36 AM Re: 88 books that shaped America

Vic Sage wrote: no, it's like blaming Warhol for the velvet Elvi. and i think he had something to answer for there. I'm surprised that Warhol never demanded royalties on all those velvet Elvis's.

HahnSolo Jul 20 2012 12:43 PM Re: 88 books that shaped America

I've read 19. 20 would have been On the Road, but I gave up on that one pretty quickly.