"Books that Shaped America"

[erpowers]

The United States Library of Congress has put out a list of books that they claim changed/shaped America. What do members of DU think about the list? Are there books you would have left off the list? Are there books you would added to the list?

http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2012/12-123.html

[HuckleB]

1. Uh, Ayn Rand?

[Odin2005]

3. Let me join you.

[Neoma]

4. I'd say it did in a negative way.

[HuckleB]

15. It's been overplayed by the whole "equal time" crap on MSM.

Ugh.

[Neoma]

19. Didn't Glenn Beck recommend it?

And... Isn't that all you really have to say about it?

[Orangepeel]

5. Terrible is a shape

Its crazy that such a poorly written delusional crapfest could have a big impact on the country, but hard to deny that it has.

Quoting Krugman quoting somebody:

The best line I’ve ever heard about Ayn Rand’s influence:

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/im-ellsworth-toohey/

[HuckleB]

16. Yeah, I love that quote, but...

... I don't think Rand had that much to do with the damage. I think it would have happened regardless.

[DBoon]

20. I like the floating head of Ayn Rand

http://saintaardvarkthecarpeted.com/ayn_rand/

[AnotherMcIntosh]

31. Thanks

[HuckleB]

2. No John Dos Passos?

[ChazII]

6. At least Dr. Seuss

and EB White are there.

[panader0]

7. At least they got Kerouac

[jwirr]

8. I was surprised at the number of fictions that were included. When I started reading I thought I

would find books like Naomi Klein's books.

My favorite is Goodnight Moon. I did not realize it was written in 1947. I still read it to my great grandchildren over and over again. We look for the little mouse on each page.

[Tx4obama]

9. ''Animal Farm'' and ''1984'' are not on the list. n/t

[AnnieBW]

10. Orwell was British

I think that they wanted American writers. Ayn Rand (gag) qualifies because she was a naturalized citizen.

Although, I'm sure that the Freepers are probably gagging over the fact that that Margaret Sanger's book is on the list. And, I'm surprised to see "Stranger in a Strange Land" on there.

One that I would have included was "The Spiral Dance" by Starhawk. It was one of the seminal (if I may use that term) books on Goddess worship.

[Tx4obama]

12. Oops, I missed the part that they were only 'American' books :) n/t

[Tx4obama]

22. Your except says: ''... books written by Americans ...'' n/t

[ChazII]

27. Oops...

Sorry about that. Sometimes multi-tasking makes my brain go numb. Listening to the radio, watching tv and DU on the Sandusky verdict.

[jtuck004]

11. Where's Joe's Bible? Or the other ones? n/t

[no_hypocrisy]

13. No Sinclair Lewis? What a bogus list.

[Mz Pip]

23. I'm reading Babbitt now

certainly seems to be a fine depiction of a sleazy businessman.

[hfojvt]

25. bogus for many other reasons

Uh, where the fuck is "Looking Backward"?

The preface of that book calls is "undoubtably the most influential book on social reform ever to be written in America."

wiki says "It was the third-largest bestseller of its time, after Uncle Tom's Cabin and Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.[1] It influenced a large number of intellectuals, and appears by title in many of the major Marxist writings of the day. "It is one of the few books ever published that created almost immediately on its appearance a political mass movement".[2] In the United States alone, over 162 "Bellamy Clubs" sprang up to discuss and propagate the book's ideas.[3] Owing to its commitment to the nationalization of private property, this political movement came to be known as Nationalism, not to be confused with the political concept of nationalism.[4] The novel also inspired several utopian communities."

Further, where is "Progress and Poverty"? 1869

The preface to that book says "It outsold most of the popular novels of the day" and "During his lifetime, he became the 3rd most famous man in the United States, only surpassed in public acclaim by Thomas Edison and Mark Twain.

And "In His steps" "A conservative estimate would be over 22 million copies of In His Steps distributed, the world's record next to the Scriptures."

And Michael Harrington's "The Other America" does not make the list, in spite of the fact that it basically inspired Johnson's "war on poverty"?

[MarianJack]

14. I knew that this wouldn't be there, but...

...one of my favorite books of all time is E. L. Doctorow's "Ragtime".

Ah, well.

PEACE!

[Zanzoobar]

17. Useless. Stupid. Myopic. Vain.

[pscot]

26. But still a pretty good list

[DBoon]

18. There are a decent number of progressive writings here

I was expecting "Looking Backwards" though and was disappointed that this classic of American socialism was absent despite being a best seller.

[EFerrari]

24. Where is Alice Walker?

No Margaret Mead. No Ezra Pound or T. S. Eliot. No Vonnegut.

A decent list, though.

[limpyhobbler]

28. Notably absent: Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky

A Peoples History of the U.S.
Manufacturing Consent

[EFerrari]

30. Thornton Wilder but no Lillian Hellman.

[HiPointDem]

29. one that wouldn't immediately spring to mind is "Alcoholics Anonymous", but it certainly has

influenced america. i wouldn't have thought of it though.

[surrealAmerican]

32. No Poe?

Edgar Allan Poe didn't make the list.

They also chose the wrong cookbook, if you're to believe their stated reasoning.

[Le Taz Hot]

33. The only one I would leave off

would be "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane. I was FORCED to read it in high school and hated every sentence. Here's the synopsis: He went into battle. He was scared. He ran away. He felt guilty. The End.

I would add: "The People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. I'm surprised it's not on there.