tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post1275985476970627218..comments2024-02-29T03:29:52.934-05:00Comments on A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago: Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02113168955236758821noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-21943671016839529732012-06-24T12:32:22.505-04:002012-06-24T12:32:22.505-04:00The 9/11 Report shut down the conspiracy theories ...The 9/11 Report shut down the conspiracy theories conclusively and told amazing stories of courage on the planes and in the Towers. And think about how much it occupies the field in terms of telling the story of the Attacks.Adamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-82756599179524521732012-06-23T22:31:58.000-04:002012-06-23T22:31:58.000-04:00Cosigned!Cosigned!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-43613065619262156842012-06-24T01:35:59.651-04:002012-06-24T01:35:59.651-04:00I took a history class in college (at Penn) called...I took a history class in college (at Penn) called Classic Texts in American Pop Culture and I tend to agree with Marsha that the Library of Congress list is more about the role the books played in history than literary value or even just a simple measure of popularity. For this class we read Benjamin Franklin's biography, Thomas Paine's Common Sense, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Dr. Spock's, Baby and Child Care, Dr. Seuss's, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish, The Joy of Sex, The Life of P.T. Barnum, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People (among others). So I think I understand where the list is coming from. It's hard to think of other books which have had a comparable impact on American society (since many of the ones I listed were read by basically all of American society or impacted the fabric of our society). I'm sure there are others missing from the list, but from my own standpoint it's hard to compare the impact of Judy Blume to say that of Betty Friedan. Blume certainly influenced my life (and that of my friends) but impact on our country as a whole is so incredibly hard to quantify.Marnienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-19370965540630591622012-06-23T01:50:21.891-04:002012-06-23T01:50:21.891-04:00Adding more after a day to think:
O Pioneers!
Last...Adding more after a day to think:<br />O Pioneers!<br />Last of the Mohicans<br />Tales from a Wayside Inn<br />Ball Four<br /><br />And yeah, I'm still annoyed that I didn't think of Roots.Ricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-34832669066731702012012-06-23T01:32:39.449-04:002012-06-23T01:32:39.449-04:00No Naked Lunch? Dispatches? A Bright Shining Lie?No Naked Lunch? Dispatches? A Bright Shining Lie?Menoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-86874797067803811842012-06-23T01:16:46.741-04:002012-06-23T01:16:46.741-04:00Roots! I don't know if I'm angrier at them...Roots! I don't know if I'm angrier at them for omitting it, or myself for not thinking of it. Good call, bill.Ricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-15578749024178325522012-06-23T01:14:43.299-04:002012-06-23T01:14:43.299-04:00If they're limiting to one per author, it'...If they're limiting to one per author, it's a rough choice between Elements of Style and Charlotte's Web. I would have gone the other way, but I understand thier choice.Ricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-20836767095579482682012-06-22T22:27:47.840-04:002012-06-22T22:27:47.840-04:00Good point about AmericaNs vs AmericA, Marsha. Ha...Good point about AmericaNs vs AmericA, Marsha. Hadn't thought of it that way.Wattsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-33782001935073528412012-06-22T22:26:50.844-04:002012-06-22T22:26:50.844-04:00I can't believe I have opinions about a diet b...I can't believe I have opinions about a diet book I've never read, but apparently I do. <br /><br />To me, Atkins is the beginning of the low-carb thing - which leads to South Beach and, I would say, down the line, Paleo.<br /><br />I mean, watch any tv series (comedy or reality) from the last five years and I'd be shocked if you don't find a "carbs" joke.Wattsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-74689100605300132522012-06-22T20:57:17.338-04:002012-06-22T20:57:17.338-04:00Elements of Style? Oh, you mean Correct Your Frien...Elements of Style? Oh, you mean <a href="http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2813" rel="nofollow">Correct Your Friends Like a Dick</a>. Deferring to <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/25497" rel="nofollow">Geoffrey Pullum</a>:<br /><br /><i>The Elements of Style does not deserve the enormous esteem in which it is held by American college graduates. Its advice ranges from limp platitudes to inconsistent nonsense. Its enormous influence has not improved American students' grasp of English grammar; it has significantly degraded it.</i>bill.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-32652334196187298442012-06-22T19:55:34.433-04:002012-06-22T19:55:34.433-04:00I'd say that the 9/11 Report isn't in itse...I'd say that the 9/11 Report isn't in itself influential or shaping. Obviously its subject is a defining event of our time, but not the publication in itself. <br /><br />I agree that "a whole lot of people read/loved this" doesn't qualify. There are books (and plays) that are wonderful snapshots of our world at a certain point, but they are reactive rather than revolutionary. Books that in and of themselves shape the way we think as a people, for better or worse, tend to be about sex, diet, or etiquette. Maybe religion or politics, after we've finished reading the others.Tinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-2395134463588796102012-06-22T18:29:22.337-04:002012-06-22T18:29:22.337-04:00A Brief History Of Time would be out due to Stephe...A Brief History Of Time would be out due to Stephen Hawking being British. Joseph Finnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-12488224022357673922012-06-22T18:08:52.649-04:002012-06-22T18:08:52.649-04:00Per Wiki: "The Atkins Nutritional Approach g...Per Wiki: "The Atkins Nutritional Approach gained widespread popularity in 2003 and 2004....<br />On July 31, 2005, the Atkins Nutritional company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after the percentage of adults on the diet declined to two percent and sales of Atkins brand product fell steeply in the second half of 2004. The company continues to operate and the diet plan remains popular, although it has not regained its former popularity."<br /><br />I really didn't think people followed the atkins that much anymore....nowadays those people go Paleo. And I suppose that'll eventually be replaced by something else in a few years.Melissa R.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-41162829124437727392012-06-22T17:45:31.523-04:002012-06-22T17:45:31.523-04:00Roots. Um, yeah. Kinda huge, hitting #1 even bef...Roots. Um, yeah. Kinda huge, hitting #1 even before the miniseries.Adamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-13465669270575962682012-06-22T17:23:06.857-04:002012-06-22T17:23:06.857-04:00To me, this isn't a list about books so much a...To me, this isn't a list about books so much as about history. I feel completely unable to opine, because whil I read a lot, I have a third-graders understanding of American History and have no idea what influenced who when. So while this discussion is interesting to me, I have no idea who is right or wrong.<br /><br />And, to Watts' point about Judy Blume, you have to ask if you're shaping <i>America </i>or shaping <i>Americans</i>. Judy Blume had a profound impact on a lot of American women during a critically formative part of their lives. I'd be hard pressed to say what influence she had over the shaping of the country, unless you're going to argue that these are core texts of the feminist revolution. Which they aren't. But by that standard, Atkins most definitely DID shape America (no pun intended), though I'd say Herman Tarnower's <i>Scarsdale Diet</i> is probably more influential on American society, in that these books are part and parcel of the changes to Americans' way of eating and shopping for food, policies about food labeling, the increase in food consciousness and the prevalence of "health food" in general, etc. These are massive parts of the change in our society from the 1950s to today.Marshanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-43885301342542498422012-06-22T17:21:54.863-04:002012-06-22T17:21:54.863-04:00On the YA side of things, there's a small sliv...On the YA side of things, there's a small sliver of an age group that was deeply affected by "Go Ask Alice" - at least until we grew up and learned it was all propagandist horsesh*t.<br /><br />Also, whither Emily Post?Wattsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-2341587579506440292012-06-22T17:18:19.049-04:002012-06-22T17:18:19.049-04:00Atkins is the one that stands out to me because so...Atkins is the one that stands out to me because something that's still kicking around 40 years later doesn't feel like a fad.Wattsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-50262240338280131832012-06-22T16:57:05.553-04:002012-06-22T16:57:05.553-04:00here's a few I haven't seen mentioned:
&l...here's a few I haven't seen mentioned:<br /><br /><span><span>The Practice of Management, Peter F. Drucker</span></span><br /><span><span>The Intelligent Investor, Benjamin Graham</span></span><br /><span><span>The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, Sloan Wilson</span></span><br /><span><span>Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann</span></span><br /><span><span>The Making of the President, Theodore H. White</span></span><br /><span><span>Roots, Alex Haley</span></span><br />Fear and Loathing on the campaign Trail, Hunter S. Thompsonbill.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-75790811014278377082012-06-22T16:54:57.510-04:002012-06-22T16:54:57.510-04:00I disagree.I disagree.bill.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-40815170351569282642012-06-22T16:46:58.171-04:002012-06-22T16:46:58.171-04:00I vehemently disagree that any fad diet books shou...I vehemently disagree that any fad diet books should be listed, including but not limited to Dr. Atkins'.Melissa R.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-45749783377137664082012-06-22T16:07:50.510-04:002012-06-22T16:07:50.510-04:00I was thinking about The Purpose-Driven Life in te...I was thinking about The Purpose-Driven Life in terms of recent selections, but, yeah, The Book of Mormon is certainly an American book which has helped shape millions of Americans.Adamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-19267823268775855832012-06-22T16:07:11.504-04:002012-06-22T16:07:11.504-04:00If plays count, then you need to include The Cruci...If plays count, then you need to include The Crucible and (I would argue) Angels in America (both volumes). Russnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-14297992968996766992012-06-22T15:59:58.730-04:002012-06-22T15:59:58.730-04:00Very few religion books. Book of Mormon should co...Very few religion books. Book of Mormon should count, as could works from the great awakening, Reinhold Neighbur, any number of folks. Relatedly, "Inherit the Wind."Bennernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-4320775561237558082012-06-22T15:57:45.915-04:002012-06-22T15:57:45.915-04:00EB White represent.EB White represent.Wattsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-10988587786695254902012-06-22T15:03:50.362-04:002012-06-22T15:03:50.362-04:00The Final Report of the National Commission on Ter...The <i>Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States </i><span>was originally published in book form, so I'm not sure what disqualifies it. </span><br /><br /><a href="http://throwingthings.blogspot.com/2011/09/if-you-want-to-read-real-history-book.html" rel="nofollow">You, 9-1-11</a>: "<span>Nice (and, of course, not at all surprising) to see Jane Jacobs's </span><em>Death and Life of Great American Cities</em><span> on the list, but I would think that Frances Fitzgerald's </span><em>Cities on a Hill</em><span> is an essential and indispensable companion piece (and works very well with </span><em>And the Band Played On</em><span>, incidentally). But I always say that, because it was one of my favorite books. </span><span>Any accurate list of "most influential" books has to include </span><em>The Antitrust Paradox</em><span>. "</span>Adamnoreply@blogger.com