"You know more than you think you do." So says an Olympic gold medal winner, and so begins a book that over 60 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 taken road trips. Whether it was the great unknown wilderness described in The Journals of Lewis and Clark or the quest for "it" as recounted by Kerouac(On the Road), 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.
From 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; Parini 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? (Of Plymouth Plantation) How can we change someone else's attitude without giving offense or arousing resentment? How to Win Friends and Influence People) How could women not be allowed to vote? (Uncle Tom's Cabin) How much individual freedom are we willing to give up to be able to say we live in a free country? (The Federalist Papers)
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