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Twenty-five Books That Shaped America: How White Whales, Green Lights, And Restless Spirits Forged Our National Identity (2011)

by Thomas C. Foster(Favorite Author)

3.62 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0061834408 (ISBN13: 9780061834400)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Harper Perennial

review 1: I wish this book had contained more history and less of the author's opinions, but I enjoyed reading what I did and truly learned a lot.I didn't read the whole book--just chapters from those books I have read because I didn't want to spoil the endings for books I haven't yet read. So the embarrassingly short list of those I read about in Foster's book is as follows: The Scarlett Letter, Walden, Leaves of Grass, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, On the Road, Cat in the Hat, and To Kill a Mockingbird. I have the rest of my life to read the other 17, right?The chapter I found least informative was The Great Gatsby but only because none of the information was new for me, it being my most studied and favored book ever. I absolutely LOVED learning about The Grapes of Wrath ... moreand Cat in the Hat. Seuss is my hero. And Steinbeck is climbing the charts...
review 2: I've read 11 of these titles, and was familiar with most of the other titles or authors. Foster was persuasive, analytical, and witty in his observations--so much so, that I would be willing to reread "The Scarlet Letter." The only title I had a slight issue was "Song of Solomon" (which I admittedly have not read)--the Morrison book I believe has shaped America is "Beloved," which exposed to the world the horrors of slavery in a new way. Overall, an interesting read. less

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