Professional Documents
Culture Documents
25 Books
25 Books
25 Books
This classic novel is set in a futuristic time when firefighters are employed not to fight fires but to set fire to the ultimate symbol of human knowledge: books. In a grim look at an alternate reality, the all-powerful government has banned all books from society, and anyone found with a book in his possession is guilty of the highest possible crime. Bradburys greatest novel is a testament to the value of learning and knowledge. Readers become adamant opponents of censorship and vigilant guardians of freedom from government control. Amy Korst
The Sun Also Rises is Hemingways classic about a man who lost his, ahem, reason to live in World War I and his Lost Generation buddies on a trip to Pamplona, Spain, to witness the annual bullfights. Marked by Hemingways wonderful prose, this book is less about plot and more about finding a reason to live in a world where people are cruel and life is unfair. Blythe Lawrence
The story of a middle-aged British journalist living in Vietnam, his Vietnamese lover, and a young philosopher who questions the war and imperialism, this book reminds a person that even those with the best of intentions can destroy lives by meddling in affairs where they have no place. Hear that, U.S. government? Blythe Lawrence
Kerouacs semi-autobiographical narrative of the aimless wanderings of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty from New York City west represents the definitive work of the Beat poets of the 1950s. Anyone who has ever grown disenchanted with his or her everyday routine and longed to be somewhere else will come to understand this novel and what it stands for. Blythe Lawrence
Show me someone who has been a vegetarian since 2001, and Ill show you someone who has read Fast Food Nation. Eric Schlossers meticulous brand of narrative journalism forever changed the way we look at quarter pounders by creating a contemporary to Upton Sinclairs The Jungle. Schlosser spares none of the distressing details on his firsthand experiences at fry and meat factories, and augments his in-depth reporting with sound anecdotes, interviews and unwavering assertions: The Golden Arches are now more widely recognized than the Christian cross. This book makes this list because of its rapid influence to make people question the background of their lifestyles and societies. It doesnt just create vegetarians; it creates critics of development. Claire Fox