Starred review from September 1, 2008
Poet, novelist and literary critic Parini (The Last Station
) examines the books he believes represent the soul of the American republic. Some of these books are masterpieces, others icons of a moment in American history. Throughout, Parini makes his case while wearing his learning lightly. All of these works, from William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation
to Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique
, had a profound impact on America's complex identity. The evolving American dynamic is noted in the way the subjects cluster: the American experiment (The Federalist Papers
); exploration of a continent (The Journals of Lewis and Clark
); a new connection with nature and self (Walden
); issues of race and urban ethnicity (Uncle Tom's Cabin
and The Souls of Black Folk
, among others); business and its opposite, the counterculture (How to Win Friends and Influence People
and On the Road
). A terrific chapter explores Dr. Spock's The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
(“Spock said no to no”). A listing of 100 additional books with seismic impact rounds out this engaging discussion, which ought to be on the syllabus of American studies courses.

October 1, 2008
Poet, novelist, critic, and biographer Parini ("Benjamin's Crossing"; "Why Poetry Matters") here offers a chronologically organized array of meaty, semischolarly, but not stuffy essays about 13 American books that, in his mind, have done the most to change America, from "Of Plymouth Plantation" to "Uncle Tom's Cabin" to "The Feminine Mystique". Every reader of American literature will doubtless object to one or more of Parini's omissions (e.g., "The Great Gatsby"; "An American Tragedy"; "The Scarlet Letter"), to say nothing of his exclusion of plays and poemsthe first because he doesn't consider them books, the second because, he writes, aside from Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and Sylvia Plath, they "rarely have a discernible effect on the public." Parini does include an appendix titled "One Hundred More Books That Changed America." The essays about the 13 central books are roughly 25 pages each and contain four parts: Parini discusses briefly the book's importance to American culture, describes the writer, renders the book in detail, and, finally, explains its impact. Parini writes for a general audience and shows a warming enthusiasm for his subjects. Recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 6/1/08.]Charles C. Nash, formerly with Cottey Coll., Nevada, MO

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2008
If books are the source of a nations mythology and intellectual and emotional contours, which books have changed America in important ways? Poet, novelist, and biographer Parini came up with 13 titles (one for each of the original colonies) that have clearly altered American consciousness. Not necessarily the greatest books, but rather those with the greatest impact, Parinis picks add up to a stimulating mix of the obvious and the unexpected. His 13 exemplary essays are 13 stepping stones across the torrent of ideas and dreams that have propelled American history, and it is a rare pleasure to sharpen ones mind against each passionate supporting argument. Standouts include Parinis vigorous engagement with The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, his electrifying appreciation for the sharply relevant wisdom in Thoreaus Walden, and his robust and resonant assessment of Huckleberry Finn, in which Twain challenges us . . . to rethink what freedom means at every turn in the river. Add to that revelatory profiles of W. E. B. DuBois; Mary Antin, whose immigrant autobiography gives this book its title; Benjamin Spock; Dale Carnegie; and Betty Friedan. Parini concludes with an annotated list of100 more pivotal works, creating a mind-expanding book of books guaranteed to provoke discussion and fuel reading groups.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

"Learned and gracefully composed. . . . Together, [these books] chart the course of four centuries' worth of American ambitions, desires, and fears."