Books That Changed America
Dec 23rd 2008, 5:54 am
#31
You Are All Diseased
Joined: Feb 2004
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Re: Books That Changed America
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
Dec 23rd 2008, 9:06 am
#32
Not dead yet
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Dec 23rd 2008, 9:07 am
#33
Not dead yet
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Dec 23rd 2008, 9:22 am
#34
Maño-Americano
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: In the heart of the Ozarks
Posts: 10,216
Re: Books That Changed America
The most influential book on US history is easy- The # 1 best seller of all time:
The Holy Bible
The Holy Bible
Dec 23rd 2008, 9:54 am
#35
Sursum corda
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Location: Richmond Hill, GA USA
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Dec 23rd 2008, 9:58 am
#36
Sursum corda
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Location: Richmond Hill, GA USA
Posts: 38,860
Re: Books That Changed America
Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
Dec 23rd 2008, 11:37 am
#37
Unmitigated Gall
Joined: Dec 2006
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Re: Books That Changed America
The OP didn't say the author had to be American, just that the book changed America. As for it's influence (not only in the US) I'll put forth the term "Big Brother" and it's use not only in it's original context referencing Govt. surveillence but as a pop culture item: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Brother_(TV_series)
Dec 23rd 2008, 12:08 pm
#38
Queen of my house
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Ohio
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Re: Books That Changed America
Caught the last few minutes of a program on the radio this morning, On Point with Tom Ashbrook. He was talking with Jay Parini who has published Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America .... These are the thirteen books;
- Of Plymouth Plantation (1620-47), by William Bradford
- The Federalist Papers (1787-88)
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1793)
- The Journals of Lewis and Clark (1803-06)
- Walden (1854), by Henry David Thoreau
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), by Mark Twain
- The Souls of Black Folk (1903), by W.E.B. DuBois
- The Promised Land (1912), by Mary Antin
- How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936), by Dale Carnegie
- The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946), by Benjamin Spock
- On the Road (1957), by Jack Kerouac
- The Feminine Mystique (1963), by Betty Friedan
The only one I've read is Kerouac's On the Road but Souls of Black Folk and The Promised Land are definitely on my "to read" list.
Anyone else, thoughts on this list? Any recommendations? (Hey - I've got a twelve day holiday coming up!!)
- Of Plymouth Plantation (1620-47), by William Bradford
- The Federalist Papers (1787-88)
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1793)
- The Journals of Lewis and Clark (1803-06)
- Walden (1854), by Henry David Thoreau
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), by Mark Twain
- The Souls of Black Folk (1903), by W.E.B. DuBois
- The Promised Land (1912), by Mary Antin
- How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936), by Dale Carnegie
- The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946), by Benjamin Spock
- On the Road (1957), by Jack Kerouac
- The Feminine Mystique (1963), by Betty Friedan
The only one I've read is Kerouac's On the Road but Souls of Black Folk and The Promised Land are definitely on my "to read" list.
Anyone else, thoughts on this list? Any recommendations? (Hey - I've got a twelve day holiday coming up!!)
The other ones are Spock's updated 'bible,' Twain, Stowe, and Thoreau. I have a nice 150 year anniversary edition of Walden.
If you like nature stuff, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold are good. A nice read for those that do not like to read is The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter, aka Asa Earl Carter. It was recommended by my American history professor years ago.
I am a bookaholic and absolutely love reading, so I could bore you to death with book recommendations of all sorts (Russian novels to science non-fiction). Before I went into science, I was an English literature major.
I read Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick last year and it was great! It was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in history.
Last edited by tamms_1965; Dec 23rd 2008 at 12:17 pm.
Dec 23rd 2008, 12:19 pm
#39
Banned
Joined: Oct 2004
Location: Santa Monica,CA from Birmingham, UK
Posts: 18,402
Re: Books That Changed America
Maybe the book of Mormon is another good one and actually originated within the US. I'd say the koran also in light of 911 and post events
The OP didn't say the author had to be American, just that the book changed America. As for it's influence (not only in the US) I'll put forth the term "Big Brother" and it's use not only in it's original context referencing Govt. surveillence but as a pop culture item: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Brother_(TV_series)
I beg to differ, with the obvious exception of religious texts the books should come from within America to really understand and have an impact on the US.
If you claim Orwell you might as well throw in the works of Shakespeare for all the common phrases he spawned;
http://www.worsleyschool.net/sociala...e/sayings.html
Last edited by Lord Lionheart; Dec 23rd 2008 at 12:32 pm.
Dec 23rd 2008, 12:25 pm
#41
Banned
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Location: Santa Monica,CA from Birmingham, UK
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Dec 23rd 2008, 2:25 pm
#43
Riding on silver wings
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 10,543
Re: Books That Changed America
I read the list and was surprised that 'Common Sense' by Thomas Paine didn't make the cut. It galvanized the colonies to revolt against the British thus leading us towards independence.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense_(pamphlet)
BTW, hello y'all. All's good here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense_(pamphlet)
BTW, hello y'all. All's good here.
Dec 23rd 2008, 4:28 pm
#44
Maño-Americano
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Dec 23rd 2008, 8:33 pm
#45
Boomshacalaca!!
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Re: Books That Changed America
