Books That Shaped America

The Library of Congress wants you to consider its new exhibition a starting point - the beginning of what it hopes will spark a national conversation about books and the way they have shaped our nation.

"This list is not a register of the ‘best’ American books--although many of them fit that description. Rather, it is intended to spark a national conversation on books written by Americans that have influenced our lives, whether they appear on this initial list or not," says Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "We hope people will view the list and then nominate other titles. Finally, we hope people will choose to read and discuss some of the books on this list, reflecting our nation’s unique and extraordinary literary heritage.

Eight-eight books were chosen for the exhibition, which is titled Books That Shaped America. You can see an annotated list of the books by clicking here.

Copies of all 88 books, many of them 1st editions and all part of the Library's vast collection, are displayed in cases for viewing. You can hear people talking about the books as they wander through the exhibition, often singling out books that they first read in school and then reread many years later.

You can also learn about the history of the books. For example, I had no idea that the extremely popular children's book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, which I first experienced in a scene from the HBO TV series The Wire, was actually written in 1947.

The books are grouped 4 or 5 to a case. You can play a fun game of trying to decide which case holds the most important or influential or interesting books. For me, that case contained 5 modern classics. They were:

• The Cat in the Hat
• On the Road
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Catch-22
• Stranger in a Strange Land

The comprehensive selection spans the entire history of the United States. The first titles are Experiments and Observations of Electricity (1751) by Benjamin Franklin and Common Sense by Thomas Paine (1776). The most recently published are And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts (1987) and The Words of Ceasar Chavez by Ceasar Chavez  (2002)

You can offer your opinions about the books on the list or suggest titles for future lists by clicking here.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
Obviously, before they shape nations, books first shape the individuals who read them. It was appropriate that this post was published on June 11, as that date marked the 52nd anniversary of the publishing of To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee's classic, and, in particular her memorable character Atticus Finch, has had, and continues to have, a tremendous influence on my attempts to develop and sustain my own personal character. Consider these lines from Atticus:

• You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.
• The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.
• There's a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep 'em all away from you. That's never possible.
•  Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.

Some great words to live by. After 50 years of reading, re-reading, and teaching To Kill a Mockingbird, I know I am no Atticus Finch. But that doesn't mean I can't keep trying.