Essential American Literature
Explore the must-read books in Essential American Literature, featuring classic and influential works that define the nation's literary heritage. Discover timeless novels, essays, and poetry by iconic authors.
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Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this deeply compelling novel and epic milestone of American literature, a nameless narrator tells his story …
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To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both …
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Moby-Dick
by Herman Melville
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read First published in 1851, Herman Melville’s masterpiece is, in Elizabeth Hardwick’s words, …
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The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
During the seventeenth century in Boston, a woman guilty of adultery is forced to wear an A as a visible sign of her sin.
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The Things They Carried
by Tim O'Brien
One of the first questions people ask about The Things They Carried is this: Is it a novel, or a collection of short stories? The …
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Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck
A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face"; …
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Catch-22
by Joseph Heller
Catch-22 is like no other novel. It is one of the funniest books ever written, a keystone work in American literature, and even added a …
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The Red Badge of Courage
by Stephen Crane
The classic story of a sensitive boy under the strain of war moving from cowardice to courage.
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Reservation Blues
by Sherman Alexie
When Robert Johnson passes his enchanted guitar to Thomas-Builds-the-Fire, an epic journey of redemption begins that will take the storyteller and musician from the reservation, …
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Native Son
by Richard Wright
Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for …
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The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
J.D. Salinger's classic of adolescent angst is now available for the first time in trade paperback. Holden Caulfield, knowing he is to be expelled from …
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A Farewell to Arms
by Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway’s classic novel of love during wartime. Written when Ernest Hemingway was thirty years old and lauded as the best American novel to emerge …
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Beloved
by Toni Morrison
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A spellbinding novel that transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate …
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The Poetry of Robert Frost
by Robert Frost
A complete collection of Robert Frost's poetry.
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"The Yellow Wallpaper" and Other Stories
by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Compiles seven stories that examine the relations between the sexes from a feminist perspective.
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The Color Purple
by Alice Walker
Set in the period between the world wars, this novel tells of two sisters, their trials, and their survival.
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Awakening
by Kate Chopin
"She grew daring and reckless. Overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out. Where no woman had swum before."
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Bless Me, Ultima
Chronicles the story of an alienated New Mexico boy who seeks an answer to his questions about life in his relationship with Ultima, a magical …
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Digging to America
by Anne Tyler
This luminous novel brims with tender observations about what it is to be an American, and about Iranian-born Maryam Yazdam, who after 35 years in …
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The House on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A coming-of-age classic, acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the …
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We Were the Mulvaneys
by Joyce Carol Oates
An Oprah Book Club® selection A New York Times Notable Book The Mulvaneys are blessed by all that makes life sweet. But something happens on …
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The Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan
“The Joy Luck Club is one of my favorite books. From the moment I first started reading it, I knew it was going to be …
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The Crucible
by Arthur Miller
A haunting examination of groupthink and mass hysteria in a rural community A Penguin Classic "I believe that the reader will discover here the essential …
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Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand
Peopled by larger-than-life heroes and villains, charged with towering questions of good and evil, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand’s magnum opus: a philosophical revolution told …
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I Know why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou
The moving and beautiful autobiography of a talented black woman. ". . . I have no words for this achievement, but I know that not …