
Books That Shaped America - mudil
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/books-that-shaped-america/
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tvm
I'm fan of Thoreau and I live in Europe.

I don't understand how exactly he shaped America?

During the "Walden" period he lived simple, frugal life and invested his time
into things he cared about (eg., measuring the depth of the Walden pond in
winter). After his crops were ready for the harvest, he took them to the city
and sold them with minimal effort, being fascinated by the fact that he didn't
have to do almost anything, while he enjoyed all the luxuries of sensible,
spiritual life.

He wasn't only author that did such things, but the society really never cared
or cares.

Thoreau is forgotten, but for me, at least during his Walden period - he was a
proper "hacker".

I'm quite sure that he would condemn the mark of being one of these who shaped
the America (or world), because this is not what he wanted.

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pionar
> I don't understand how exactly he shaped America?

You answered that right below. That way that he lived is something that a lot
of Americans dream of (myself included), just to have a little plot of land
all to yourself and be with nature for a while.

> Thoreau is forgotten

Maybe in Europe, but not here. Thoreau is seen as having outlined a very
idyllic life, especially for modern times, of living semi-lazily "off the
grid".

> I'm quite sure that he would condemn the mark of being one of these who
> shaped the America (or world), because this is not what he wanted.

Such is the life of a reclusive artist :)

N.B. - Walden Pond is not some mystical place out in the middle of nowhere,
it's just outside of Concord, NH[0], site of one of the first battles of the
American Revolution just 70 years prior. So, while it was idyllic, it was not
like Thoreau was _that_ far away from civilization. The middle of Concord is
less than 1.5 miles (2.4km) away from the north shore where Thoreau lived.

[0] -
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Walden+Pond,+Concord,+MA+0...](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Walden+Pond,+Concord,+MA+01742)

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tvm
I know that they maintain a nice museum over there. Thoreau's books were
translated into most European languages and frankly, his writing influenced me
a lot during my early twenties.

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pionar
Me too :).

As I've gotten older (34 now), I keep moving further and further out, hoping
to capture my own Walden experiences. So far, I've only had courage to get to
the edge of the suburbs :(.

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scottjad
I thought maybe the Book of Mormon would be on the list since it spawned one
of the largest American-born religious movements and contributed to much of
the settlement of the western US. I don't see any religious books on the list
though.

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gtk40
Yeah, I was surprised to not see any religious books. That's a good one I
hadn't thought of. I was thinking of Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, one of
the most popular books ever written by American and probably the most owned
book in the country for an era.

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mmanfrin
A lot of these are in the public domain, would be a good candidate for a mass
torrent of ebooks.

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javert
> in the public domain

... and for everything else, there's the library. :)

~~~
ild
Bittorent County Library System.

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tokenadult
The Library of Congress put up this list of books that shaped America. I am an
American of American descent since before the Revolution, and I have certainly
read much less than half of these. The Library notes that this list is
intended to spark discussion, so I'm glad that discussion has already begun
here. My wild guess about the very most influential book is the King James
("Authorized") English-language translation of the Bible (not on the list,
which apparently focuses on books published in America). I think Thomas
Paine's _Common Sense_ (1776) (which I have read, and which relies heavily on
the Bible for its argument) was also very influential.

~~~
Turing_Machine
There are definitely some odd choices on there. An obscure dime novel by
Louisa May Alcott? How did that "shape America"? Her _Little Women_ deserves a
place on the list, certainly, but I'm not sure about this one.

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capcah
The title should be "American Books that shaped America". The Capital not
being included in that list is akin to the Catholic church leaving the Luteran
bible outside a list of influential works.

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pionar
It took me a second to know what book you were referring to. I've never seen
it called that. Every mention I've ever seen of it (and I live in the US),
it's _Das Kapital_.

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hal9000xp
As expected my favourite book Atlas Shrugged is in this list.

It sad that her ideas is quite unpopular among general public. And as a
consequence Europe and even US go towards socialism these days.

~~~
octonion
Ah, yes, the masses are stupid parasites and the elite few (of whom of course
the reader fantasizes he belongs to) are responsible for all that's good in
the world. I wonder why people have a problem with it.

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adventured
Rand never indicates the American masses (your word, not hers) are stupid
parasites, nothing even remotely of the sort in fact. She describes the masses
as being devoured and harmed by the parasites, which are feeding off of them.
This is true in Atlas Shrugged, Anthem, We The Living, and in her ~60 years of
non-fiction writings. If you've read her books, it's impossible to have missed
this, she's extraordinarily clear about it and goes to great lengths to spell
it out for the reader step by step, both in terms of ideology and in real
world effects.

~~~
inscrutablemike
You, who have actually read her work and given it an honest moment's thought,
have been down voted by people who don't viciously know far more than you do
about her work without the humdrum necessity of actually having read it.

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cafard
I don't agree with civilian's post, but I think that he is onto something.
Once you get past Noah Webster and Benjamin Spock, the shaping effect is hard
for me to see.

 _The Education of Henry Adams_ includes some interesting chapters, though it
is not nearly Adams's best work: yet what in America has it shaped other than
the occasional class reading list? Similarly there are fine and complex works
of literature that few have read. Take a poll at the bus stop or the coffee
shop and see how many people can quote you five lines out of _North of Boston_
, _Spring and All_ or _Howl_. (I can do maybe one from _Howl_ and almost
certainly the number in it is wrong" "America, when will you become worthy of
your two million Trotskyites?") _Moby Disk_ is a fine novel, but how many have
read it through; no doubt _The Sound and the Fury_ is also, but it defeated me
at an age when I read a lot of Faulkner, and I haven't been back.

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enedil
Where is "Slaughterhouse-Five"?

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nemo44x
Seriously. I know lists like this are always subjective and there's some great
(and awful literature, but mainly great) in this list. But omitting
"Slaughterhouse-Five" not only for its content but the post modern aesthetic
(which was a big deal at the time) it used, is confusing.

And although I wouldn't expect it, there should be some Bukowski on this list
too. Also, Gravity's Rainbow?

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gadders
How long until someone turns this into a facebook quiz? "Click to see how many
of the books that shaped America you have read."

(12, for the record)

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jg2
_Earth Abides_ should be on this list.

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dandare
It's a pity the list contains only American authors - that makes the list only
half useful.

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pionar
How so? The list is only useful in the sense that it gives someone who wants
to explore the progression of American culture(s) through the years a starting
point.

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ommunist
No PIHKAL?

~~~
ommunist
To those downvoting me. Are you denying that works of Leary and Shulgin shaped
America as we know it today?

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civilian
Do we really need another re-hashing of the books we were required to read in
high school?

I'm just tired of hearing about these titles. I don't feel a strong heritage
connection to them. It's stupid how they are repeatedly brought up, and how
loving these worn-out books is seen as being 'literary'.

In the same way that generals are always fighting the last war, high school
english is always sharing the profound books from the last cultural paradigm
shift.

~~~
danso
So instead of just saying "these books are stupid"...which of these books do
you think has the least relevance to the contemporary mindset, and why?

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joelgrus
No SICP?

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octonion
Atlas Shrugged shaped America?

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jsprogrammer
Often cited as the second most influential book, after the Bible, by members
of congress.

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octonion
That's a new phenomena, and wven so it can hardly be said to have "shaped
America". If you disagree, in what ways has it done so?

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gpvos
The "second most influential" claim originates from 1994, source:
[http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/books/rand/atlas/faq.html#Q6.4](http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/books/rand/atlas/faq.html#Q6.4)

I think big companies have shaped American culture a lot. Here's something
from 2002 about Rand's influence, but Googling around easily turns up more:
[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/20...](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2002-09-23-ayn-
rand_x.htm)

