C-SPAN and the Library of Congress are starting a joint program in the next few weeks on 10 books that shaped America (how did they narrow it down!)
From the LOC – The 10-part series – which C-SPAN will air LIVE on Mondays, starting Sept. 18 at 9 p.m. ET – will be a literary journey, tracing America’s history by exploring masterpieces in literature that have had, and still have today, a major impact on society.
The books that were chosen had to be thought provoking best-sellers that led to significant cultural and policy changes. It’ll be very interesting to see how these ten were chosen and the discussions around them.
Here’s the list if you want to get them ahead of time.
- Common Sense by Thomas Paine
- The Federalist by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay (Penguin Civics Ed.)
- Journals of Lewis and Clark (Harper Perennial Ed.)
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave (Modern Library Ed.)
- The Common Law by O.W. Holmes (Dover Ed.)
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (beautiful Seasons Edition)
- My Ántonia by Willa Cather (Norton Critical Ed.)
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- Free to Choose: A Personal Statement by Milton and Rose Friedman
- The Words of César Chávez
Really looking forward to this. Here’s a trailer for your viewing pleasure.
