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Thirteen Books That Changed America
Doubleday
November 2008
On Sale: November 11, 2008
400 pages
ISBN: 0385522762
EAN: 9780385522762
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Political
“These thirteen books must be seen as representative, not
definitive, works. They are nodal points, places where vast
areas of thought and feeling gathered and dispersed,
creating a nation as various and vibrant as the United
States, which must be considered one of the most successful
nation-states in modern history, and a republic built
firmly on ideas, which are contained in its major texts.
Where we have been must, of course, determine where we are
going. My hope is that this book helps to show us where we
have been and engenders a lively conversation about our
destination, which seems perpetually in dispute.”
—from Promised Land Americans need periodic reminding that they are, to a great
extent, people of the book—or, rather, books. In Promised
Land, Jay Parini repossesses that vibrant, intellectual
heritage by examining the life and times of thirteen "books
that changed America." Each of the books has been a
watershed, gathering intellectual currents already in
motion and marking a turn in American life and thought.
Their influence remains pervasive, however hidden, and in
his essays Jay Parini demonstrates how these books entered
American life and altered how we think and act in the
world. The thirteen "books that changed America":
Of Plymouth Plantation • The Federalist Papers • The
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin • The Journals of Lewis
and Clark • Walden • Uncle Tom's Cabin • Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn • The Souls of Black Folk • The Promised
Land • How to Win Friends and Influence People • The Common
Sense Book of Baby and Child Care • On the Road • The
Feminine Mystique Promised Land offers a reading of the American psyche,
allowing us to reflect on what our past means for who we
are now. It is a rich and immensely readable work of
cultural history that will appeal to all book lovers and
students of the American character alike.
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