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88 Books That Shaped America

madurobob

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madurobob
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Apparently the Library of congress recently published a list of "88 Books that Shaped America"

See the list in all its glory: 88 Books
The library released its picks of the most influential books Friday. Librarian of Congress James Billington says the titles aren't meant as "best" books. Instead, he says the library wants to spark a conversation about books that influenced the nation.
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Um, yeah. Something will certainly be sparked by that list.

So, what book would you prefer to see on the list? For me, it would be Ellicott's "Young Mill-Wrights and Miller's Guide". In the late 1700s through the early 1900s nearly every community had access to a water-powered mill and a majority of those were built and run based on Ellicot's book. Seems a bit more impactful than "The Words of Cesar Chavez" to me.
 
I can't say I really disagree with any of the authors picked. Though in a couple of cases maybe some of their other stories might be at least as well qualified. And I think there are at least another 88 authors who would be equally qualified.

Amusingly, the page illustrates the gap between the Two Solitudes of Art and Science: The entry for Fahrenheit 451 states -- "Its name comes from the minimum temperature at which paper catches fire by spontaneous combustion." <snicker>
 
What bugs me most, I think, is the publishing dates. Most are Post-Civil war.

There is no Poe, no Longfellow, no James Fennimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson, etc...
 
What!!!! No mention of Slayer at all???? And Clapton as #2 best all time metal guitar?


Ooops.. sorry, wrong 'Best of ' list...

:roll:
 
madurobob said:
What bugs me most, I think, is the publishing dates. Most are Post-Civil war.

There is no Poe, no Longfellow, no James Fennimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson, etc...
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At least this list included Dr. Suess. I can remember seeing lists published back at the turn of the century, when the "Top 100 20th Century..." lists were popular, I barely saw mention of Suess except in a couple of childrens books lists (where he obviously was expected).

I wasn't surprised to see "The Jungle", but was a little surprised to see "The History of Standard Oil". Outside of those of us who grew up in the oilfields and those studying monopoly law, I didn't think it was widely known or read.
 
TheDoLittle said:
At least this list included Dr. Suess. I can remember seeing lists published back at the turn of the century, when the "Top 100 20th Century..." lists were popular, I barely saw mention of Suess except in a couple of childrens books lists (where he obviously was expected).

I wasn't surprised to see "The Jungle", but was a little surprised to see "The History of Standard Oil". Outside of those of us who grew up in the oilfields and those studying monopoly law, I didn't think it was widely known or read.
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I'd have put 'All the King's Men' in its place.
 
Those writings that I thought MUST be on the list ... were indeed on the list! There was one that I thought MIGHT be on the list ("Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville) that was not on the list.
 
I wonder about the inclusion of The Great Gatsby in the list. Whom did it influence, and how? Perhaps it effected subtle mental changes among some readers, but surely only in their perceptions of an already bygone era. "Yes, they were more foppish and foolish than I knew, Biff, but just as human and desperate for happiness as anyone else."

If I were to nominate any one writer as being responsible for making generations of schoolchildren detest the very idea of literature qua literature, F. Scott would be he.
 
I know there are some issues with plagiarism but I'd have thought Roots might have found a place?
 
mummymonkey said:
I know there are some issues with plagiarism but I'd have thought Roots might have found a place?
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Roots was one I thought had a chance of being there, provided it didn't knock out even greater works like Native Son (one of my MUSTs) or The Autobiography of Malcolm X (which Haley co-wrote).

I had thought that Kurt Vonnegut might get one book on the list, but ....
 
Also surprised to see no Asimov. Surely I, Robot deserves a place for its impact on Science Fiction alone, let alone on TV, Movies and Real Life.
 
It does seem odd that a country largely defined by it's technological innovation has been shaped books with little technical detail.
 
Robert E. Heinlein, "Stranger in a Strange Land" (1961).

Who's he?

I thought it was Robert A. Heinlein wrote that book.
(Can't even get their authors right :( )
 
I've only read 12 of them, but there were a few others I started but didn't finish, or saw the movie of.

Not bad going for a non-American?
 
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