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Which books have profoundly shaped American life?

A new exhibit at the Library of Congress compiles 65 of the most influential books by American authors — book that have both formed and informed the public consciousness over the country's history. 

The list: "America Reads" — The most influential books by American authors

The list, which was put together with input from curators and the general public, ranges from children's books (Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree") to founding documents ("The Federalist" papers). It touches on topics from feminism (Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique") to battling alcoholism (Alcoholic Anonymous' foundational text).

It's an update of a similar list the Library of Congress complied in 2012: The 

 list included 88 titles, all chosen by curators.

And it's by no means comprehensive: This recent list is a random sampling from the public, which voted on and suggested books via the internet. There's no other way to explain three books by Ayn Rand — or the fact that only two of the 65 books were written by authors who aren't white.

The new list, the library notes, is not intended to be a definitive ruling on the 

 in literature, nor does it fully reflect "the diversity of our nation and the books it produces." 

Rather, the list was created to spark conversation: What books have contributed to American culture, and why? 

Exhibition director Carroll Johnson said it's easy to find examples of these books and their enduring cultural influence: "The Crucible" and "The Color Purple," both of which are on the list, are also both still on Broadway, decades after being written. Many of the other titles appear on high school and college syllabi. 

 is Thomas Paine's "Common Sense," from 1776. 

 is Tim O'Brien's autobiographical novel on the Vietnam War, "The Things They Carried," which was published in 1990. 

The 1700s only contribute two titles to the list; the 1800s have ten — and the 1900s have 43. 

, the oldest of which is Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," from 1852.

Numerous authors have two entries on the list, but the 

 is small: Only Ayn Rand and John Steinbeck pulled off hat tricks.

: More than 40 of the 65 books are novels or plays.

: Only Walt Whitman's collection "Leaves of Grass" — and Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat" make an appearance. 

Sci-fi and fantasy left their mark on America

: More than 20 percent of the fiction titles toy with reality, from L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" to Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow." 

"America Reads": The most influential books by American authors


• "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut


• "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder


• "The Book of Mormon" by Joseph Smith


• "Roots: The Saga of an American Family" by Alex Haley


• "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien


• "All the President's Men" by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein


• "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller


• "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway


• "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey


• "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream" by Hunter S. Thompson


• "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway


• "Profiles in Courage" by John F. Kennedy


• "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" by Judy Blume


• "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn


• "The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757" by James Fenimore Cooper


• "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert A. Heinlein


• "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls


• "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle


• "Gravity's Rainbow" by Thomas Pynchon


• "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle and Julia Child


• "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein


• "Capitalism and Freedom" by Milton Friedman

Arts and Culture

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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Tracy Mumford

Author

The Library of Congress just opened a new exhibit highlighting 65 books that it says have shaped the country.

Books from Library of Congress's 'America Reads'

The books that have shaped American life

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