Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America

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Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America

by Jay Parini

3.44 · rating details · 80 ratings · 30 reviews

“These thirteen books must be seen as representative, not definitive, works. They are nodal points, places where vast areas of thought and feeling gathered and dispersed, creating a nation as various and vibrant as the United States, which must be considered one of the most successful nation-states in modern history, and a republic built firmly on ideas, which are containe

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Hardcover, 385 pages

Published November 11th 2008 by Doubleday (first published November 4th 2008)

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Dec 22, 2008

Eric Woodard rated it

I originally picked this book up to hear what Mr. Parini had to say about Ben Franklin's autobiography. I teach it in my high school AP classes, so I wanted to see if I could get fresh insight on the book.

Of course, I am writing this review because I found much more than an insightful discussion of Franklin's autobiography.

Like all great books, this one builds on itself chapter by chapter, drawing lines of force between all of the books, painting American Literature as a ...more

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Jan 18, 2012

Sheri rated it

Interesting and provocative book by Parini about the 13 books that he thinks most changed America.

His list: Of Plymouth Plantation, by William Bradford; The Federalist Papers, by Hamilton, Madison & Monroe; The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, by himself; The Journals of Lewis & Clark, by them; Walden, by Thoreau; Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; The Souls of Black Folk, by W.E.B. DuBois; The Promised Land, by Mary Antin;...more

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Apr 12, 2010

Ruth rated it

I love lists, and it was interesting to see which books the author chose as being the most influential, especially in relation to the other books he was considering. Those picks of books with a little analysis actually might have made a great essay. As it was, a large part of each chapter was devoted to summary, such that I felt like I was reading a cliff notes version of each book in between the reasons why it was influential. This was especially painful for the books I already knew somethin...more

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Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine rated it

While critics agreed that the 13 works offered by Parini are seminal, they all thought that his short list was, well, too short. Some critics thought that, fundamentally, Parini set far too ambitious a goal and therefore found the book disappointing; others were happy to quibble with the works he selected. Second-guessing the author's choices is part of the fun, of course. Parini also included a bonus list of 100 additional influential books for readers to consider. However, a few critics cited

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Mar 04, 2010

Chip Etier rated it

Recommends it for: history buffs, writers, & fans of literature

[Published first at Blogcritics.org:]
"You know more than you think you do." So says an Olympic gold medal winner, and so begins a book that over sixty years later still influences the baby boomer generation. A book that espouses a kinder gentler approach to the journey from birth to adolescence. One of the founding myths/stories of our American heritage is the road trip. The story of two characters on a journey to freedom, either real or dreamed, the epitome of which, accordi...more[Published first at Blogcritics.org:]
"You know more than you think you do." So says an Olympic gold medal winner, and so begins a book that over sixty years later still influences the baby boomer generation. A book that espouses a kinder gentler approach to the journey from birth to adolescence. One of the founding myths/stories of our American heritage is the road trip. The story of two characters on a journey to freedom, either real or dreamed, the epitome of which, according to Hemingway, was penned by Mark Twain.

Since the Mayflower arrived in the New World, Americans have been on road trips. Whether it was the great unknown wilderness of Lewis and Clark or the quest for "it" as recounted by Kerouac, we've been searching. We learn from the journey and sometimes feel that when we have reached our destination, it stretches further out before us on the horizon. And we continue on. As individuals we continue the journey begun by our ancestors while seeking goals of our own along the way. Inspiration comes from our accomplishments and is driven by the efforts, desires, and dreams of previous generations passed along to us by oral family histories, diaries, journals, and books (both fiction and non-fiction).

A special collection of those books is celebrated in Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America by Jay Parini. The author teaches college in Vermont and has a long list of credits that add up to "literary scholar". He sees "..poetry as the most important form of writing," and has several collections of poetry, novels and biographies to his credit.
His selection criteria in his own words, "I was looking for books that played a role in shaping the nation's idea of itself or that consolidated and defined a major trend." It is clear that this is not a collection of America's "greatest books". Choosing could only be made less difficult by narrowing the focus; he includes a list of one hundred works that also changed the country with a confession that another hundred could have easily been added.

Parini has chosen his baker's dozen well. Included are significant works from politics, religion, adventure, exploration and philosophy. These books are filled with stories--memorable legends of both fact and fiction that describe our many interconnected journeys and the diverse experiences that make us Americans. He suggests questions to help us ponder the trip. His analysis inspires us to come up with our own questions. How could a country founded on the notion that all men are created equal allow slavery? (The Souls of Black Folk) How can we not be thought to be crazy or depraved when we push the boundaries of acceptable behavior? How can we change someone else's attitude without giving offense or arousing resentment? How could women not be allowed to vote? How much individual freedom are we willing to give up to be able to say we live in a free country?

A chapter is devoted to each book and treats each with the same format. He offers a brief summary of how the book changed the country. Next is a biography of the writer and historical context of the book. If you have not read the book, you will enjoy the third portion, a detailed description of the book. In some cases he details individual chapters. Despite this occasional level of detail, he manages to keep each chapter to approximately twenty pages. A discussion of the books that followed in the wake of the subject work concludes each section. In some cases, books that came before or inspired this particular work are mentioned.

Prior to reading this book I had never considered the importance of "the road trip". It was enlightening to see the diversity in the types of trips, the parallel motives and lessons learned along the way. The most memorable benefit of this book for me was the connections that came to mind while reading. Many of the stories reminded me of other books I've read on my own journey. I can ride on the raft with Huck and Tom, stand on the shore with Eliza, enjoy Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims or ride a chopper with Dennis Hopper. I can participate in my country's grand experiment in self-governing and I can speak with confidence in front of a group. Somehow it's easier to bear my own cross down the road to the promised land because of the journeys of my ancestors and mentors. The books chosen by Parini helped me to see that they, along with many other books I've enjoyed, have not only changed America, they have changed my generation, shaped my thoughts and made me who I am. I read not only to learn, I read to survive.
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Mar 08, 2009

Michelle rated it

Shelves: book-books

Well, I WANTED to like this. I loved the premise of choosing 13 books that have influenced American culture. Anyone can quibble with which books to choose, I suppose, and I certainly do have quibbles with that. But this book, despite being well-written, is just so . . . well, wrong. It's wrong about a lot, and tries to sneak in political jabs left and right.
Just a smattering of the odd ideas of Parini:
The near-starvation of the Pilgrims when trying to farm communally, followed...moreWell, I WANTED to like this. I loved the premise of choosing 13 books that have influenced American culture. Anyone can quibble with which books to choose, I suppose, and I certainly do have quibbles with that. But this book, despite being well-written, is just so . . . well, wrong. It's wrong about a lot, and tries to sneak in political jabs left and right.
Just a smattering of the odd ideas of Parini:
The near-starvation of the Pilgrims when trying to farm communally, followed by the success of the reintroduction of private farming, does NOT give evidence against communism. ??
Here is a real boner--Thomas Jefferson was one of the principal architects of the US Constitution. I was so flabbergasted at that one that I nearly tossed the book. Glad I didn't as it's a library copy and I'd have had to pay for it. But really! How can you be THAT wrong? If you are going to try to comment upon literature and bring in discussions of politics and history, at least try to get the facts straight!!!! (For those who like Parini, did not know this--Thomas Jefferson was NOT present at the Philadelphia Convention, he was in Europe, and while he did correspond with many members of the Convention, especially Madison, it is a monstrous stretch to consider him an "architect" of the resulting Constitution at all, and howling mad to consider him the "principal architect"
Want to guess in how many of these "literary" selections Parini managed to get in anti-Bush jabs? (My count: TEN out of thirteen. Then there is the chapter in which he raves about Bill Clinton.)
I could go down my list of ridiculous statements all day, but I think I'll just end this with a warning that the chapter on Jack Kerouac's "On The Road" is obscene (I guess it's hard to help it considering that the book is obscene) and Parini manages to ascribe "homoeroticism" to a wide panoply of characters in a number of the book selections.
Skip this one and hope that someone who actually knows something can take this otherwise good idea and make it work.
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Jul 28, 2009

Jen rated it

Recommends it for: Book Groups, History Students

Shelves: books-about-books

I'm feeling a little indifferent about this book having finished it. I was really interested to see what books Parini included in his list, and I would say that for the most part I agree with him, that these 13 books are influential and inform us about ourselves. Now, whether they helped change or shape American, of that I'm not so sure.

Parini says right off the bat that other people will have other lists, and that's really true of all 'best of' lists. The biggest problem that I...moreI'm feeling a little indifferent about this book having finished it. I was really interested to see what books Parini included in his list, and I would say that for the most part I agree with him, that these 13 books are influential and inform us about ourselves. Now, whether they helped change or shape American, of that I'm not so sure.

Parini says right off the bat that other people will have other lists, and that's really true of all 'best of' lists. The biggest problem that I have with his contention that these books helped change America is that at least the first of the books weren't even known about to contemporaries. For example, the first book is Of Plymouth Plantation which I highly doubt was widely read at the time. In my mind, if one wants to influence, shape, or change America with a book, it needs to have been read.

It seems to me that the events happening in the books now speak to a feeling about America then. Lewis and Clark's journals are included in Parini's list and while they seem to evoke feelings of Manifest Destiny and conquering of the Western Frontier by American's, I am not entirely convinced that people reading Lewis and Clark's journals at the time of publication were moved to further feelings of frontier.

I really enjoyed the organization of the book. Each of the 13 books was dealt with in four parts. The first part briefly introduces the book and it's importance. The second part gives some biographical information about the author. The third part gives a more in-depth discussion of the book specifically, and the fourth part wraps it all up and re-states it's importance.

I must admit that I haven't read all the books on this list. As a political science student in college I read the Federalist Papers and as a child of the Western US I have read versions of Lewis and Clark's journeys. That being said, I worry about Parini's critism. Specifically, his discussion of Lewis and Clark's journals and the benevolent sprirt of the Corps of Discovery and how they only came in the spirit of peace, yadda yadda. I know from growing up along Lewis and Clark's trail that the Corps was not that benevolent and kind to all the Native people they came in contact with.

Overall, I would recommend the book because it's a good thinking piece. It would be great for a book group, because there is certainly a lot of opportunities for discussion. It's very well organized and therefore readable, just not so sure that as social/historical commentary it's all that accurate and useful. (less)

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Jan 06, 2009

Edward ONeill rated it

Such a good idea.

Thirteen important American books--but not the ones you thought.

Plymouth Plantation,
The Federalist Papers,
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,
The Journals of Lewis and Clark,
Walden, Uncle Tom's Cabin,
...Huckleberry Finn,
The Souls of Black Folk,
The Promised Land,
Dale Carnegie (How To Win Friends...),
Dr. Spock's baby book,
On the Road and The ...more

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Oct 12, 2009

Timothy rated it

In Promised Land, Jay Parini takes on an interesting endeavor: to identify books that described and/or shaped American cultural identity. Parini’s selections are: (1) Of Plymouth Plantation, (2) The Federalist Papers, (3) The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, (4) The Journals of Lewis and Clark, (5) Walden, (6) Uncle Tom’s Cabin, (7) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, (8) The Souls of Black Folk, (9) The Promised Land, (10) How to Win Friends and Influence People, (11) The Common Sense Book of Ba...moreIn Promised Land, Jay Parini takes on an interesting endeavor: to identify books that described and/or shaped American cultural identity. Parini’s selections are: (1) Of Plymouth Plantation, (2) The Federalist Papers, (3) The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, (4) The Journals of Lewis and Clark, (5) Walden, (6) Uncle Tom’s Cabin, (7) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, (8) The Souls of Black Folk, (9) The Promised Land, (10) How to Win Friends and Influence People, (11) The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, (12) On the Road, and (13) The Feminine Mystique.

In Parini’s view, each of these books conveys one or more well-wrought American tropes. We can choose various labels for these ideas: “myths”, “values”, “ideologies”, “beliefs”, “themes.” Terminological issues aside, these tropes are familiar to Americans. If we assume that, at some general level, there exists a shared American psyche then, to Parini, these books reflect important aspects of that psyche.

Some of Parini’s arguments are compelling. Parini effectively convinces readers (or me, at least) that William Bradford’s description of the Pilgrim story in Of Plymouth Plantation captures themes of “America as Promised Land”, “the immigrant experience”, and “cultural acceptance” (in this case, acceptance of Native Americans, as Bradford describes the first Thanksgiving). Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography captures themes of “American industriousness”, and “rugged individualism”, with their possibilities for “going from rags to riches.”

While there is no over-arching theme that binds all thirteen books, Parini does a good job of describing connections where they exist. Some themes cut across multiple works. For example, The Journals of Lewis and Clark, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and On The Road each, in their way, capture the romance of travel and the beckoning of the road to “find oneself.” Walden and On The Road both touch on counter-cultural themes. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Souls of Black Folk, and The Feminine Mystique each address prominent civil rights issues.

Parini attempts to convince readers that each of the books was widely influential. He cites statistics on book sales and distributions. He notes prominent persons who were influenced by one of his selections. Of course, no book is written in a vacuum. The influence of Parini’s selections may, in some instances, been partly predicated on their authors’ ability to effectively articulate pre-existing sentiments.

Parini’s choices show clear liberal predilections in language, tone, and, most obviously, his thirteen selections. Consistent with this, Parini seems drawn to books that fostered equality and civil rights (Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Souls of Black Folk, The Feminine Mystique).

Parini writes his book in a very personal, conversational tone. He interjects personal experiences with several of the books. This style makes for a comfortable, casual read. Yet, it also placed Parini in a position where he could not assume knowledge on the part of his readers. If I have a critique of Promised Land, it is that Parini devotes a great of the book to recapitulative summaries of the thirteen books. This was a necessary shortcoming. Yet, I would have found the book more interesting if Parini had devoted less content to Cliff Notes style summarization, and more to expansion of his ideas.
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Jan 28, 2012

Kathy rated it

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Parini follows up his analysis of his top 13 with a list of 100 more and I was inspired to add several to my to-read list, as well as deciding to re-read Huck Finn. I liked how he traced consistent American themes through his list of 13 key books, comparing and contrasting Ben Franklin, for example, with Dale Carnegie, and drawing relationships between external and internal exploration (see Huck Finn, Walden, On The Road). Parini is an optimist about the Americ...more

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Mar 21, 2009

Bruce rated it

This book reviews 13 books that the author feels affected American society, tho' he confesses others feel differently and that he could have easily chosen others. In fact, he includes a 100 more in an annotated bibliography. For each of the 13 books he has a 4 part essay. The first part gives a general introduction to the essay followed by a discussion of the author and the times in which the work was written. He then goes through the work and concludes with his perceptions on how it affecte...more

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Jul 28, 2011

Shirley Freeman added it

I really liked it. I like reading book reviews and I like history but not as in-depth as many traditional history books go. This was a nice combination of book review and history. It provided a great overview of this experiment we call America as seen through the writings which both captured different eras and pushed those eras toward change. A great book for gaining perspective. I found the writing style engaging and readable and will definitely recommend it to friends.

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Feb 21, 2009

Robert rated it

Really enjoyed this. I really haven't read a lot of literally critique but this is an interesting idea. It summarizes 13 books that have had some of the most significant impacts on the US. A great sketch of books like Common Sense, Black Sambo and others that have had an impact on the way we think, live and act.

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Apr 14, 2010

Jason Walker rated it

I found the list to be predictable and uninspiring. The author does a good deal of work in finding connections with other books and ideas that were current at the time of publication of the original books, but that just makes me wonder why those books weren't chosen.

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Jul 25, 2010

Bruce rated it

I did not read this book straight through, but browsed and skimmed extensively. It is eminently suited for that purpose, and that's a great compliment to Mr. Parini's writing and organization. Part of the secret of his success is the personal element included in his exposition of the thirteen books that changed America. For instance, in the chapter on Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People he relates how he used this book while a high school student to enhance his social skil...more

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Jan 05, 2009

Amy rated it

Shelves: history, nonfiction

Interesting -- Parini based his book on Lord Melvyn Bragg's book, "Twelve books that Changed the World". Some of these I could definitely see in how they influenced the country ... The Federalist Papers, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Walden, Dr. Spock's book ...

At the end is a list of 100 more books that influenced this great nation. Interesting choices -- I agree with most, but feel some better choices could have been made.

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Apr 14, 2010

Ed Lang rated it

I read the chapter on Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends... This is very helpful to trace the American mind, especially the salesman. There are some good YouTube videos with Parini if you want to get a taste for his work.

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Jan 24, 2009

Lynn Taylor rated it

Thoughtful exploration of American character. Used sections of chapters on Franklin and Bradford in my Amer Lit class. Good chap. on Kerouac too.

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Dec 12, 2008

Laurie rated it

Shelves: history, books-about-books

Not overly engaging, and the analysis can be a bit superficial. Maybe I'll finish it sometime when I don't have so many other books out from the library.

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Mar 21, 2009

Adam rated it

Shelves: 2009

some oddball choices, but decent defense of choices, good resource for your to read list

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Apr 02, 2009

Jack rated it

interesting, a little too focused on political correctness

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Aug 06, 2011

Corin added it

Interesting, but not terribly lively writing.

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Mar 26, 2009

Jonmechlin rated it

I found the book easy to digest and very informative. It's kind of like cliff notes for grown ups. Parini though lets his Current Collegiate Correctness (this term is my invention) show through a little often
but I chose to ignore it. Worth the read. It made me want to go out and read most of the writings he covers.

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Dec 27, 2011

Cj marked it as to-read

Shelves: iacoboni

Angelo M. Iacoboni
810.935873 PARINI

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Mar 01, 2009

Lisa marked it as to-read

Shelves: wish-list, bookmarks-2009

ON MY WISH LIST

Bookmarks Issue: 39-Mar-Apr-2009

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Feb 06, 2011

Jing-li Yu rated it

The good thing about this book is that reading about the books Parini selected makes me want to read them (sometimes, anyway). The bad thing is that Parini interjects voice preachily and often misses the point when he preaches.

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Oct 14, 2009

Pat rated it

Shelves: history

Jay Parini's choices are helpful. I knew some of the books, and some I didn't. Parini's view on how they are important was enlightening. I didn't know How to Win Friends ... was written in 1936!

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Aug 03, 2009

Dina rated it

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I admit to skimming...lol. Interesting premise. Would probably have enjoyed this book better in the winter, honestly...too hot here to care about anything I have to think about.

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Jul 29, 2011

Bernard rated it

I never did finish it; not in the mood. The list itself is a good reading list in itself.

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May 16, 2010

Christina rated it

I really enjoyed this book. It seems to read much faster than it really does because it moves along quickly. Parini's bias is a little more evident than it probably should be, and when it isn't, it's largely because he's acting as apologist for the books he's chosen (like Huck Finn, for instance) that are widely criticized by scholars on the left. It's well worth the read, if not so much for the literary criticism, then certainly for the cultural history. Certainly, there are lessons here pe...more

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Jay Parini (born 1948) is an American writer and academic. He is known for novels and poetry, biography and criticism.

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