Added by Foodie

on 12 Jan 2012 10:35

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The American Story

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Showing 26 items

1. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Washington, Irving

ca. 1790-New York, East Coast.

2. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Penguin Classi... - Mark Twain

1840's-St. Petersburg, Missouri, South.

3. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne

1850-Boston, East Coast.

4. Uncle Tom's Cabin (Oxford World's Classics) - Harriet Beecher Stowe

1850's-Kentucky, South.

5. The Red Badge of Courage (Bantam Classics) - Stephen Crane_II

1860's-Virginia, South.

6. Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell

1860's, Atlanta, Georgia, South.

7.3

7. Little Women (Oxford World's Classics) - Louisa May Alcott

1868-Concord, MA, East Coast.

7.8

8. Dances with Wolves - Michael Blake

1863-The Plains, West.

9. Centennial - James Michener

Various times, ending around 1860's-Colorado, West.

10. Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder

1870-Kansas, Midwest.

11. Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry

1876-Texas, West.

6.3

12. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 100th Anniversar... - L. Frank Baum

1900's-Kansas, Midwest.

The classic hero's journey story, American style.

13. My Antonia (Signet Classics) - Willa Cather

1910's-Nebraska, Midwest.

Immigration issues.

181

8.2

14. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

1930's-Oklahoma/California, West.

7.8

15. The Color Purple - Alice Walker

1930's-Georgia, South.

Foodie's rating:

778

16. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

1930's-Alabama, South.

Foodie's rating:

17. Farewell to Manzanar - James A. Houston,Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston,James D. Houston

1940's-California, West.

American internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War.

785

7.8

18. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

1949-NYC, East.

19. Mash: A Novel About Three Army Doctors - Richard Hooker

1950's-Korea.

This doesn't take place in the US, but so many Americans were affected by this event that I wanted to acknowledge it.

20. Black Like ME - John Howard Griffin

1959-New Orleans, Louisiana-South.

A white man risks his life to try and experiment that allows him to live life as a black man in the South in the 1950's. A true and very eye-opening account.

8.8

21. Roots (Dell Book) - Alex Haley

1760's-1970's, Africa, American South-South.

Accuracy aside, this is the definitive story about slavery in America. While this one happens to be Alex Haley's story, it could be anybody's story, and unfortunately, it was so many people's story.

Foodie's rating:

7.7

22. A Raisin in the Sun - Lorraine Hansberry

1959-Chicago, Il, West.

23. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey

1950's-Oregon, West.

Dealing with mental health care patients, an underrepresented segment of our society.

24. The Autobiography of Malcolm X - Alex Haley,Malcolm X

1960's-NYC, East.

7.3

25. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 - Beverly Cleary

1980's-Oregon, West.

Why did I include a children's book in this list? Because I think childhood is an extremely important piece of our American culture. I think the Ramona series has stood the test of time, has been loved by several generations over the years, and truly embodies childhood in America.

7.1

26. The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan

1980's-China/San Francisco, CA, West.

Multi-generational family story, dealing with immigration issues.

Foodie's rating:

Novels that tell the story of the United States, from all angles. Includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. Got a suggestion to add to the list? Please share it, there's always room for more!

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Comments

Foodie

Posted: 1 year, 4 months ago at Jan 13 0:16

I feel there are a lot of areas I still need to find books for. World War One and Two, the Vietnam war, anything after the 1980's, and the 1920's are eras I don't have anything for. I don't have anything for or by or about Native Americans, really, I have some about white people with Native Americans as background characters, but I would like something focusing on them as main characters. Also, Jewish Americans, I have nothing for this group either. If anybody knows good books for any of this, or others, please let me know. Thanks!