The other day I came across a blog post by NY Times columnist Ross Douthat ranking the most influential books in his life. That’s not the question I’m asking, but it got me thinking…
Leaving out the major religious texts: What would you say was the most influential book of all time? On all of humanity? What book do you think had the biggest impact on the world?
Uncle Tom’s Cabin?
The Jungle?
Mein Kampf?
1984?
A Tale of Two Cities?
Herodotus’ Histories?
The Communist Manifesto?
The Little Engine That Could?
Kia Abdullah says
I love this place. I really really do. Sorry, I know that doesn't contribute much to the thread, but I wanted to put it out there.
I meet so many people that just don't read. I have to admit I don't read as much as I used to, but lately I seem to be meeting so many people who simply can't have a conversation about books. So, once again, I love this place x
Mira says
I'm having fun, this is the kind of thing I dig.
Lauren, if we're talking forerunners to genres, Sherlock Holmes was influential for mysteries, as was Agatha Christie for the cozy.
Kassandra says
Gulliver's Travels. Satire that children could read as fantasy.
For me personally, Jane Eyre. First person pov–by a girl? Written by a girl? The world was never the same after that.
Merry Monteleone says
Like most things in writing, it's kind of subjective. I'm not sure how to measure 'most influential' other than maybe the number of people it influenced… or the amount of social changed it spawned… but then the second could be because the text influenced one person who sought to influence change…
I think most influential, though, would depend on the society. The U.S might point the The Federalist Papers, or THE JUNGLE, or UNCLE TOM'S CABIN, and they all speak universally on a humanitarian level, but I think maybe the impact is larger to US citizens where it's woven into the fabric of our national history…
On a personal note, I can't quite decide between Shakespeare and To Kill a Mockingbird… and that's cutting out a lot of very influential works.
Next time why don't you ask for a list of our favorite titles that most people haven't heard of – I always find good reads I would have missed otherwise in those lists 🙂
Genella deGrey says
I'll put my vote in for The Art of War by Sun Tzu.
🙂
G.
Yeah, I'm full of surprises. 😉
Anonymous says
The Guttenberg Bible, the first book ever printed on a press, opening reading to everyone and not the priveleged few.
BKL says
I would go with The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu of Heian Era Japan because it is the world's first novel (though in reality this is a completely unfair/unrealistic question since it is driven by our culture/zeitgeist of the moment).
Anonymous says
For me it was the "Daughter of Time" by Josephine Tey, it taught me that history is questionable and that we should always look beyond what is presented to us as fact.
GK says
Well, if you want to talk a book that was influential on a completely international level, affecting ALL of humanity and not just primarily the Western world, I actually have to say Harry Potter.
No, its influence wasn't something as tangible as others, but its reach was extremely wide. And in terms of the direct Webster definition of influence, it works very well: "producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command", "the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways."
Mary says
What may have influenced one person may not have influenced another. I think if it was a required read in high school, and I didn't dread reading it, then it influenced me.
A few favorites:
My Antonia
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Great Gatsby
Of Mice & Men
To Kill A Mockingbird
Dante's Inferno
Lord Of The Flies
The Odyssey
Tere Kirkland says
Glad to see other people chose the Gutenberg Bible, too. Not for religious reasons at all, but because it totally changed the way books were made and perceived, making them accessible to everyone.
Gotta love the printing press!
Kristi says
Goodnight Moon.
Sophie Playle says
The Very Hungry Caterpilla.
Anonymous says
Grapes of Wrath had a profound effect on me. The horrendous experiences of poverty and starvation were so moving – after I finished the book, we went out to eat. I ordered a turkey dinner with all the trimmings! I NEVER eat like that. But the book made me!
shelley says
Very interesting!
For me, because it has numerous themes interwoven throughout that touch on so many area's of our society, it will have to be To Kill a Mockingbird. The book makes me weep.
And it's in a readable form, which many folks can and do pick up, unlike many of the other books mentioned. So, that does impact society.
Dark Angel says
Pride and Prejudice!
Or should I say, ANYTHING written by Jane Austen.
And not to mention…Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! ha!
Anonymous says
I'm sticking with Judy Blume, in spite of Keith Popely's poo-poo. Her writing influenced the way millions of girls saw themselves and how they treated each other. Her stories never told us what to think, but how it felt to be on both sides of the conflict or situation. Diablo Cody says it better here. https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20229048,00.html
Lucinda Gunnin says
I think many people were very literary in their answers. While I agree that many of these are great books and changed the way we perceived writing, the two most popular and influential books in my circle of friends are "Bird by Bird" and "On Writing" by Stephen King.
Redleg says
I'm probably mangling this story, but I think Freud said Dostoevsky invented modern psychiatry with "The Brothers Karamazov."
GhostFolk.com says
Wow. What a lot of good thougts and good books. Hard to argue against Darwin and Freud for modern times. Currently, one wonders if Faith of Our Fathers helped elect a president.
Just too much fun to read all the comments! Great blog question, Nathan.
As for >> Bram Stoker, Dracula, the grand-father of Twilight, it is preceded by Polidori's VAMPYRE. You know, Byron's pharmacist.
FRANKENSTEIN is, in my reading, a more important influence than the Vampire stories. Creating and having to bear your own monster is just too archetypal to ignore.
When it comes to influence on written lit and letters, I'd suggest ELEMENTS OF STYLE.
I wonder what John Wilkes Booth was reading before he went to the theatre with a gun in his pocket.
Mister Fweem says
A lot of answers, surely. But to an unanswerable and meaningless question.
Mira says
For Sci Fi genre influence, Jules Verne was important.
I know I'm posting too much, last one promise. But I couldn't let that pass.
Mister Fween – unanswerable, maybe. But meaningless? Nay, nay, nay, sir, I must strongly disagree – this is a very important question!!
Writing is the single most powerful tool for social change that exists.
It is very important to remember and acknowledge those books – that even one book – can stand history on its head and change its course forever.
That's the power of the individual. When you look at the world around you, and think: what can I as an individual do – these are the footsteps to follow!
We are writers. We have the power to effect change, whether it's in the course of literature or the course of history.
We are writers.
Anonymous says
Wrong question: STORY mattered long before books. Ergo, Gilgamesh; Homer; Confuscius…
Books, you'd have to divide into Western/Eastern, even so. The Tale of Genji? Jean Jacques Rousseau?
Impossible to determine, save for one's self. My most important? A wee little nothing of a children's book, A Dog Named Penny, for this is the book where I "got" how to read.
JTShea says
Some would say the writings of Darwin and Marx and Freud and Mao are latter-day religious texts in disguise. Anyway, I nominate the telephone book!
Anonymous says
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. Our Bodies, Ourselves. And, The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck.
Jil says
What about Charles Dickens? He showed that era's cruelty of adults toward children, and how the youngsters still survived and finally prospered. I think his work besides being inspirational also helped form child labor laws.
A Christmas Carol is revived each Christmas and is filled with good messages.
Lani Longshore says
How about Gandhi's autobiography, The Story of My Experiment with Truth? If I recall correctly, this book was hugely influential for Asian freedom fighters, and also for heroes of the American peace movement (Martin Luther King, for one).
Elaine AM Smith says
Twilight?
Edgar Allan Poe: Murders in the Rue Morgue
WV: prana? Vital!
Terry Towery says
Most influential of all time? It's a toss-up between the dictionary and The Complete Works of Shakespeare IMHO.
Sissy says
I do agree with whoever said that these things tend to be generational, don't they? What might have greatly influenced a previous generation (like On the Road, by Jack Kerouac) may have no great influence on my generation.
Here are some of my contenders:
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and really any Dr. Seuss for making reading fun.
The Diary of Anne Frank, for teaching us that kids can make a difference amidst so much chaos.
Pride & Prejudice, for, well, for Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth.
Romeo & Juliet (technically a play) for the sheer tragedy of it.
And for my personal generation of girls growing up in the 80s, The Babysitter's Club Series. Girls who are self-starters, loyal, eager to learn about friendship, business and boys. And you can't find them in print anymore! So sad.
Great question, Nathan.
Sydney says
I was thinking about "What Color is Your Parachute?" by Richard Bolles. It's been updated and published every year since the 70s. I guess it came to mind because of the current economy. It has also been influential during other economic down turns. I'm a career counselor and use it often and recommend it to all my students and clients.
Anonymous says
Considering that books have not been around too long, I must say Descartes's MEDITATIONS ON FIRST PHILOSOPHY. I could give a term's worth of lectures on why it's arguably the most influential book.
jef says
The Canterbury Tales
SydneyBG says
Has to be Winnie-the-Pooh.
AM Riley says
'Corpus Aristotelicum', Aristotles collected known works, since those influenced philosophers and religious for centuries. And educated many generations of minds in the Western world.
Darwin's 'Origin of the Species', for all the hoopla.
neither of them fun to read.
Tricia J. O'Brien says
This is an amazing thread, so many influential books have been mentioned. I was going to say the dictionary, which others have already mentioned. I have a ratty old college version that is both my desk footstool and constant companion. I look at that book more than any other and marvel at what I learn each time I wonder about meaning and nuance. I also say Rick Daley has a point about Sophocles–that's staying power.
Anonymous says
I hope this is not construed as being contrary to the parameters set by Nathan…It's meant to be objective. That being said, I completely understand the wisdom in keeping religion out of this list. However, it seems to me that it would be fair to exclude specifically political books (e.g. Mein Kampf) as well. Specifically religious books (e.g The Bible) are a huge factor in the development of a persons belief system in the same way specifically political books are. Origin of the Species while not specifically religious has powerful points to be made that many accept in lieu of a god. To an individual that believes in the creator of the Bible, the Origin of the Species can be more grating than possibly any other religious or political opinions. I can only imagine the same would hold true for a person affected by the Holocaust reading that Mein Kampf is being nominated.
Elisa says
*Green Eggs and Ham*, or another Dr. Suess book. It's what got most people to fall in love with reading.
Sam Hranac says
Nathan – are you trying to tell us the The Little Engine that Could is secular? Wake up, man!
As for my choice, I would have to say the question cannot be answered. But if you held a gun to my head, I would say the McDonalds Training Manual
Anahita says
Newton's The Principia.
spaceoperadiva says
Law Code of Hammurabi.
Courtney says
Good ole Bill. Where would we be without him?
GO SHAKESPEARE!!!
Mira says
Anon 4:24, I'm Jewish and I have no problem with the nomination of Mein Kampf as influential.
It was. Extremely.
I also understand that all the books on this list stirred, and may still stir, controversy. That's part of their power.
Okay, I lied before. This is my last post.
Holly says
i think since it is more a poem/novel, i would have to go with love that dog. it adds humor and simpathy to the story of his dogs death. a very impowering read.
Backfence says
To Kill a Mockingbird
'How to Win Friends and Influence People
The Butter Battle Book 🙂
The Diary of Anne Frank
Uncle Tom's Cabin
traceybaptiste says
Oh dang! Sorry Nathan! I didn't see the non-religious part. Then I'm going to have to say Harry Potter. Yep.
Sprizouse says
Dude… Nathan, why the hell would you read Ross Douthat?
Come on, you should read much better blogs… like this one.
Sommer Leigh says
Dante's the Divine Comedy I think has been the most influential.
Although I believe that a lot of the great stories we love now, particularly on the YA shelves, owe their roots to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
:)Ash says
For me? To Kill a Mockingbird. It made me want to be a lawyer who would fight for the underdog. And now I'm a public defender. 🙂
therese says
The Little Engine That Could.