The New York Public Library's Books of the Century

The New York Public Library's Books of the Century
ISBN-10
0199728747
ISBN-13
9780199728749
Category
Civilization
Pages
242
Language
English
Published
1996-04-11
Publisher
Oxford University Press, USA
Author
Elizabeth Diefendorf Chief Librarian of the Research Division New York Public Library

Description

What are the books that helped shape and define the last hundred years? This was the question put to the librarians of The New York Public Library as part of the Library's 100th anniversary celebration. Which books had influenced the course of events for good or ill? Which interpreted new worlds? Or delighted millions of readers? Their answers to these questions formed "Books of the Century," a highly popular exhibit during the Library's centennial celebration (1895 to 1995), highlighting an exhilarating collection of important works by some of the greatest writers of our times. Now, the companion volume, The New York Public Library's Books of the Century takes readers on a thought-provoking tour of the last hundred years, through the medium of the printed word. Here readers will find over 150 pivotal works organized into topical categories, reflecting themes that have informed the century, among them "Mind & Spirit," "Protest & Progress," "Women Rise," or "Nature's Realm." Each is introduced with a brief commentary illuminating the themes and issues the books in that section address, followed by an annotation for each title offering a brief description and a key to its significance. The range of books is remarkable, embracing Chekhov's Three Sisters and Bram Stoker's Dracula, as well as Galbraith's The Affluent Society and Durkheim's Suicide, or Timothy Leary's The Politics of Ecstasy and W.E.B. Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk. Readers will find many illuminating juxtapositions. In "Utopias & Dystopias," for instance, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and Lost Horizon are in the unexpected company of Nineteen Eighty-four, A Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, and The Time Machine. The century's darkest moments are mirrored in "War, Holocaust, Totalitarianism," where we find Koestler's Darkness at Noon, Hersey's Hiroshima, Anne Frank's Diary, and Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. But the volume ends on a happier note, with "Optimism, Joy, Gentility," and such wonderful works as Helen Keller's The Story of My Life, Shaw's Pygmalion, Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon, and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Illustrated throughout with imaginative paper cut-out murals by artist Diana Bryan, The New York Public Library's Books of the Century is a reflection of our times, featuring both the books we love--whether The Cat in the Hat or Ulysses--and books like The Surgeon General's Report or Mein Kampf that, for better or worse, have been an inescapable part of our century. "For 100 years, the librarians of The New York Public Library have shared our passion for books with a diverse and literate public," said curator and editor Elizabeth Diefendorf. "That experience has given us a unique perspective in making our choices for the books of the century. We hoped that visitors to the exhibition, and now the readers of this book, will be drawn into our choices and reflect on what their own selections would be."

Similar books

  • The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy
    By Joseph F. Kett, Eric Donald Hirsch, James S. Trefil

    The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy

  • 世界万物的源头
    By 理查德·布莱特

    本书通过平凡的生活、建筑、制造和测量、交通与运输等专题以及数百幅超写实绘画,介绍了世界发展简史。

  • The History of Everything in 32 Pages
    By Anna Claybourne

    A fun and accessible guide to the history of the universe, this book is suitable for children aged 7 and above.Anna Claybourne is a children's author who has written non-fiction books on a wide variety of topics, including science and ...

  • 另类人/对孤独感、创造力和现代头脑的经典研究/The Outsider: 对孤独感、创造力和现代头脑的经典研究
    By 威尔逊, Wilson, Colin·威尔逊

    本书通过对卡夫卡、海明威、凡高等各类艺术家的工作和生活的研究,探讨了他们作为“另类人”的心理,探究了其对社会的作用及社会对他们的影响。

  • HIST110: The Pre-modern World
    By William Bruce Wheeler, Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, Kenneth R. Curtis

    HIST110: The Pre-modern World

  • A Brief History of Western Civilization: The Unfinished Legacy
    By Mark A. Kishlansky, Patrick J. Geary, Patricia O'Brien

    ... 361 Henry VIII ( England ) , 280 , 284 , 285 humanism and , 294 Protestant Reformation and , 303–304 Henry Guise , 318 Henry of Anjou . See Henry II ( England ) Henry of Germany , at Bologna university , 205 Henry of Navarre .

  • Western Civilization
    By William C. Hughes

    Ricci and Ruggieri " found themselves face to face with people of a culture older than their own - with people who were convinced that theirs was a superior culture to that of outer barbarians , among whom by their first instinct were ...

  • The Samurai(Action Social Studies Level 1)
    By Mel Friedman

    Mel Friedman. Index B bushido 10 , 32 Minamoto Yoshitsune 18-22 Miyamoto Musashi 28-32 E emperor ( of Prince Yamato ) 7 , 8 , 9 ( of Minamoto ) 12-15 , 22 R ronin 29 , 31 S samurai code 10 , 32-33 shogun ( first ) 22 ( of Musashi ) 27 ...

  • A History of World Societies
    By John P. McKay, Bennett D. Hill, John Buckler

    king's sister . He the king has no doubt that his successor is a son of his sister , while he is not certain that his son is in fact his own . 998 A council of ministers assisted the king in the work of government , and from the ninth ...

  • De universiteit van het leven / druk 1
    By Rob Riemen

    Voor dit boek voerde Rob Riemen indringende vraaggesprekken met negentien bijzondere vrienden. Het zijn uitgevers, musici, schrijvers, filosofen, wetenschappers en een vakbondsman, die met hun intellectuele, politieke of artistieke talenten...