The New York Public Library's Books of the Century - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195117905 ISBN 13: 9780195117905

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1997

Synopsis

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."

About this title

Review:

To celebrate the library's 1895-1995 centennial, the librarians at the New York Public Library were asked which books helped shape and define the last hundred years. This book is their response: From The Time Machine by Herbert George Wells in 1895 to The Whole Internet: User's Guide & Catalog by Ed Krol in 1992, the librarians present their 204 selections. There's a page devoted to each work, with the author's dates and a few paragraphs summarizing the content and significance of the book. Divided into 12 categories (such as Landmarks of Modern Literature, Protest & Progress, Popular Culture, and Favorites of Childhood and Youth) the books form a fascinating view of the 20th century's literary canon while the text makes for a useful literary reference and excellent browsing. --Stephanie Gold

About the Author:

Elizabeth Diefendorf, the curator for the Library's exhibition, "The Books of the Century," is the Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Chief Librarian of the General Research Division, Center for the Humanities.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0195117905
• ISBN 13: 9780195117905
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240
• Editor: Diefendorf Elizabeth
• Illustrator: Bryan Diana