Fifty Worst (and Best) Books of The Century
ISI published in 1999 a list of the fifty books that they consider the worst and the fifty that they consider the best, among the nonfiction books of the 20th century originally published in English. ISI defined the "worst" books as those that were "...widely celebrated in their day," but on reflection are "...foolish, wrong-headed, or even pernicious." The list of worst books has several books in common with the list of harmful books published by the conservative magazine Human Events.
The top five "very worst":
- Margaret Mead, Coming of Age in Samoa (1928)
- Beatrice and Sidney Webb, Soviet Communism: A New Civilization? (1935)
- Alfred Kinsey, et al., Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948)
- Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man (1964)
- John Dewey, Democracy and Education (1916)
ISI defined "best" as "volumes of extraordinary reflection and creativity in a traditional form, which heartens us with the knowledge that fine writing and clear-mindedness are perennially possible."
The top five "very best":
- Henry Adams, The Education of Henry Adams (1907)
- C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man (1947)
- Whittaker Chambers, Witness (1952)
- T. S. Eliot, Selected Essays, 1917-1932 (1932, 1950)
- Arnold J. Toynbee, A Study of History (1934-1961)
Read more about this topic: Intercollegiate Studies Institute
Famous quotes containing the words fifty, worst, books and/or century:
“There is a Canon which confines
A Rhymed Octosyllabic Curse
If written in Iambic Verse
To fifty lines.”
—Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953)
“The worst enemy of truth and freedom in our society is the compact majority. Yes, the damned, compact, liberal majority.”
—Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906)
“My books and instruments shall be my company,
On them to look and practise by myself.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Without stirring abroad, One can know the whole world; Without looking out of the window One can see the way of heaven. The further one goes The less one knows.”
—Lao-Tzu (6th century B.C.)