The New York Public Library's Books of the Century [Paperback]

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 Centurytakes 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'sThree Sistersand Bram Stoker'sDracula, as well as Galbraith'sThe Affluent Societyand Durkheim'sSuicide, or Timothy Leary'sThe Politics of Ecstasyand W.E.B. Du Bois'sThe Souls of Black Folk. Readers will find many illuminating juxtapositions. In Utopias & Dystopias, for instance,The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,Peter Pan, andLost Horizonare in the unexpected company ofNineteen Eighty-four,A Clockwork Orange,Brave New World, andThe Time Machine. The century's darkest moments are mirrored in War, Holocaust, Totalitarianism, where we find Koestler'sDarkness at Noon, Hersey'sHiroshima, Anne Frank'sl£-