Blogger: Rachel Kent
I found a list from the Boston Public Library of the 100 most influential books of the 20th century. You can view it here. It wasn’t put together through a study as far as I can tell, but someone clearly put a lot of thought into it and I’m impressed. I would have included the Bible, but that good book wasn’t written in the 20th century.
I’m not familiar with all of the books listed, but here are some I agree belong:
Albert Einstein’s Relativity: The Special and General Theory — It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why this one is on the list. 😉
Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness — I’ve read this book many times because it’s always assigned in English classes. Marlow, the main character, narrates his story as the men travel into the heart of the Congo to find Kurtz, a white man who has elevated himself in a society of natives. I think the exploration of the different cultures along with the unique ending (what Marlow tells Kurtz’s wife about his dying words) have put it up there as one of the most talked about books.
Anne Frank’s The Diary of Anne Frank — Anne’s story has touched many lives. Anne Frank’s story and Corrie Ten Boom’s The Hiding Place deserve the same amount of praise as top-notch, influential books.
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle — Often assigned to be read in high school, this book helped change the American labor movement in the early years of the 20th century. I also have a friend who became a vegetarian after she read this book. The spread of vegetarianism might not have been Upton Sinclair’s goal, but obviously people still respond to his words.
John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath — A history lesson for those in school now, Steinbeck’s novel has touched many lives with its depiction of life during the Great Depression.
Others that I’m familiar with that I feel belong:
Richard Wright’s Native Son–First revealed the appalling problem of systematic racism in our country. This novel gave me a glimpse into another life and made me more sympathetic to another culture.
Rainer Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front–Graphically describing the horrors of trench warfare, this novel gave us glimpses into what it means–rightly or wrongly– to be a patriot.
Arthur Clark’s 2001: A Space Odyssey–Of course most people have seen the movie, but it gave us a window into space exploration and a glimpse of the computer as not-our-friend.
Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams This book, along with all the writings of Freud, have strongly influenced psychology and our understanding of the human mind.
Are there any books on that list that you would take off?
Are there any you would add?
What are your favorites on the list?
How about the books on the list of books that didn’t quite make it? Are there some you think should be in the top 100?
I saw To Kill a Mockingbird on there. I know a lot of people think it is one of the best books ever written.
Wouldn’t it be so neat to have your book listed on the most influential books of the 21st century?
We can dream, right?
I reckon the bible still shakes the world immensely. Lord of the rings has crossed centuries and inspired so many books. Freud was challenged decades ago. Kubler ross did better. But a noble list anyway.
Agreed, Peter. The bible especially. How can anyone claim it has not been influential? Or is it not a book? Not really sure how it didn’t meet whatever the criteria were.
It just wasn’t published in the 1900’s. It didn’t qualify for this list.
1984
Agreed. It does outdistance “Brave New World”.
That is an excellent book!
A lot of the Science fiction in that book is reality now.
Nope Rachel, not that it matters as this is just fun. Your criteria was ‘influential in 20th century’, not influential written therein. Bible qualifies, as it still was influential and it out-influenced the next 10. But so what … you’re also right.
Why is Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings not on there??
Excellent question, Lura! I completely agree that it should be. It has been influential AND it’s a phenomenal piece of writing.
It should be!
Influential is not the same as well-written. There are books I never heard of on the list, but the concepts behind them are familiar (never read Einstein and not likely to).
Count me in with Peter regarding the Bible (granted, it wasn’t written in the 20th century). The Bible is my most influential book,
Shirlee I felt the question related to influence and on that basis the bible is really tough to beat. That it had its final editing almost 1900 years ago and still maintains sales and impact is astonishing.
I agree completely, Shirley–“influential is not the same as well-written” or even worth reading for the concepts, in my opinion.
Perhaps you have answered my criteria question in regards to the bible. I had crossed off from my mind some books that I wanted to add to the list but couldn’t because they were written in the 18th century or earlier. Funny that I thought of that with other books but not with the bible. Getting really picky though, I could argue that the title says “The Most Influential Books of the 20th Century,” not the most influential books that were written IN the 20th century. I believe the bible (and some of the books I would have liked to have added) was (were) influential throughout the last century and still are today. Those prepositions! They can give one problems…or loopholes. 🙂
There are so many ways to define “influential”; there are a few choices on the list I would challenge on the grounds that they seem to have been included for reason’s of political correctness, but on the whole – that list does fit one significant interpretation of its purpose.
* I don’t care if my books make the 21st century list or not; I write for one person, that person who is reading “right now”.
Who me?? I must say I was intrigued by Rachel’s summary. The books all affected society and confronted us in ways that brought real change. That definition must include the bible, but I suppose I could not put Lord of the Rings into the same group. It didn’t influence society as much as it influenced a genre and related genres. It was, however, inspired by the same setting as All Quiet on the Western Front, as I am sure you know too well. I wonder about Einstein … was it a book in the same sense as the others or was it a thesis, a scientific treatise and, by the foregoing argument influence social thought? Its moot. Undoubtedly his works impacted the scientific world – I don’t know, it just seems a bit of an off-one-out. Freud’s was also a thesis. Well whatever, it sure stimulated me.
Einstein’s work – arguably a ‘book’ – certainly changed society by its salient effect of making the manhattan Project possible.
* LOTR – I have a feeling that it may have more of an impact on the 21st century than the 20th, courtesy Peter Jackson.
* “Catch-22” is interesting, as its only real contribution is the catch-phrase “catch-22″…which is often misapplied today!
I’m a bit surprised that neither Mitchell’s “Gone With The Wind” nor Shaara’s “The Killer Angels” made the list; they defined, probably for all time, how we see the Civil War, which was the defining event of this country’s history.
Again I suppose the question is, “did it influence, as in change social norms, values, behaviors”. I would think there are better commentaries on the Civil War than GWTW, but even so, it is historic with limited real impact on future generations. All Quiet was also historic, but it still influences the world and cautions us against war – as in the Tower’s poppy’s and annual armistice day memorials. Also, that shook the world whereas Rhett and Scarlett entertained ‘the world’. Well that’s my take anyway. Personally I wouldn’t put it in the same class as the others on the list. Can’t comment on Killer’s Angels. Other worthy-enough omissions were Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm, which powerfully commented on society.
Granted there are better Civil War books than GWTW – but it’s the one that really humanized the war for generations to come.
* It’s interesting that antiwar works make almost every list – but they really didn’t influence much. Human nature being what it is, I don’t think they ever will.
I hadn’t thought of Animal Farm, Peter. Excellent candidate!
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was influential during the Civil War for sure! I believe Lincoln is quoted saying that that book started the great war.
It is alleged that when Harriet Beecher Stowe met Lincoln he said, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!”
It’s awesome to think of just what has come of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book…without it, the divisions that led to the Civil War probably would have festered until a weaker president was in place…and succession would have been successful. The whole history of the 20th century would have been different, and the darkness brought by the Nazis and the Japanese militarists might well have prevailed in the 1940s. (I suspect WW1 would have gone about the way it did, but Michelle Ule probably can give a better answer to that!)
I had thought about GWTW, Andrew, but had dismissed it as popular rather than influential. Your argument, however, has convinced me that it should have made at least the “nearly made it” list.
The Killer Angels defines the Ware Between the States the same way The Civil War documentary by Ken Burns did for television viewers: it humanized it and made it real for people who only knew it from history books. In my mind, no list could be complete without it.
You said that beautifully, Cheryl!
To Kill A Mockingbird
Anne of Green Gables
and for a sheltered Christian teen The Amber Room and Florian’s Gate first showed me that yes, how we treat God’s world does matter. And the terrible pollution in post WWII Poland was only a side note of the story.
Influential? I can see why many of those books made the list, but the influence was not necessarily a good one.
The most interesting one for me was Julia Child’s book, Art of French Cooking. My family visited the National Museum of American History in D.C. this past May, and the museum has an entire exhibit about food in the last fifty years. It even includes a mock-up of Julia Child’s home kitchen, a loop of her television show, and much information on her influence on American cooking. I had no idea!
Thank you, Rachel, for sharing this thought-provoking list. I won’t list my own “books that should have been on the list” except for those that were on the “nearly made it” list.
First, it’s important that the list is of “The Most Influential Books…” not “The Most Important…” or “The Best….” I was a bit shocked when I saw Mein Kampf and had to remind myself that it was influential.
Here’s my “should have made the list” list: (in no particular order)
–To Kill a Mockingbird–definitely
–I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
–Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. I had to question what criteria was used that kept this book off the list.
–Goriilas in the Midst. Dr. Fosse’s work certainly was the major element in helping to bring the Mountain Gorillas from near extinction to no longer endangered status, but her book certainly helped with getting their plight made public and helping her to get the funding and publicity to keep her project going.
–W.B. Yeats is one of my favorite poets, but I was surprised to find The Wild Swans at Coole even on the nearly made it list. It is a poem, not a book. I went back to the list title again to see if it was “The Most Influential Writing…” but no, it says “books.” I went online to see if, perhaps one of his books had this title. I could not find anything other than the poem. If any of Yeats’ work were to make the list (and I would be in support of that), it should be Celtic Twilight which helped to bring about a revival of Celtic culture and folklore that has only increased over the decades.
–Finally (and I did save this for last for emphasis) Winnie the Pooh only almost made the list? Come on! What child has never heard of Winnie? Even if a child hasn’t read the book or watched a movie / cartoon, certainly, he / she has seen a picture of Winnie. The Tale of Peter Rabbit should run a very close second to Winnie the Pooh.
–Any of these books could have made the list instead of some of the others. I won’t list those with the exception of Catcher in the Rye. In the interest of full disclosure a) I have heard of the book certainly and b) I’ve never read it so anyone please feel free to disabuse me of my ignorance. That said, I have been told by a number of people who were crazy about the book when they were teens that they have gone back and re-read it and found nothing worth reading in it. Of course, that goes back to the “influential” part. Perhaps it influenced a generation even if, in the end, it wasn’t a great piece of writing.
Okay, now I’m going to go back on what I said at the top because three books just occurred to me in regards to affecting teens and / or a generation and none of them made the list:
-The Perks of Being a Wallflower which many teens say they wouldn’t have gotten through high school without.
–The Lord of the Rings. A cult classic when I was a teen but now renowned because of the faithfully and exquisitely done movies.
–The Harry Potter series which got young people reading again. Talk about influential!
Have a great weekend!
Harry Potter! What an interesting, and good, addition! I agree with you!
Thank you, Rachel!
I think the list ignored books originally written for kids, although some classics intended for adults are now considered children’s books. And influencing children does make a difference in the world even though that may not happen until they grow up.
I agree completely.
Thanks for sharing the list. I enjoyed reading it and sent it to my sisters, mom, and aunt.
I’d move To Kill a Mockingbird and Winnie the Pooh up into the top 100. 🙂
I meet with a delightful young lady to discuss books and life while she drinks coffee and I drink tea. This spring, for her eighth-grade graduation present, I gave her hard copies of Pride and Prejudice and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
I’m putting together a list of the top 100 books I’ve most enjoyed reading and that have been the most influential in my life to share with her. It’s hard to limit the list to 100.
Religious:
“Mere Christianity” by Lewis has probably influenced more individuals than any other 20th century Christian publication, “The Fundamentals” (essays) jump-started much of what we now all evangelical theology (not my particular brand, but highly influential), Karl Barth’s “The Epistle of Romans” initiated the Neo-Orthodox movement and continues to influence theology almost 100 years after it was written. “The Late Great Planet Earth” had a huge impact on mid-century American evangelicals and its tone is still echoed in current political and eschatological positions. “The Genesis Flood” by Henry Morris was a hugely popular book which began what we now call Creation Science (again, not a fan – but the influence on millions is unquestionable).
Non-Religious:
Certainly “To Kill A Mockingbird” should be at the top. It changed the nation.
While I concede that TLOTR is popular, I can’t see how it can be considered influential. How did it change anyone? I agree that Harry Potter should be on the list. Any book which can cause my devout Southern Baptist and conservative PCA attending friends to buy HP wands to turn on their fireplaces, and hurl playful insults in Latin, is certainly worthy of the consideration!
I was surprised that Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins didn’t make the list. This series sparked great interest in the End Times–not only for fans of Christian fiction, but also for believers curious to understand the Book of Revelation.