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Twenty-five Books That Shaped America: How White Whales, Green Lights, and Restless Spirits Forged Our National Identity Audiobook
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(3.02) - 170 listener ratings
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![How to Read Literature Like a Professor [Third Edition]: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Understanding Literature, from The Great Gatsby to The Hate You Give Audibook, by Thomas C. Foster](https://media.audiobookstore.com/j/4/j4ox/j4ox-square-240.jpg)
Publisher Description
Thomas C. Foster, acclaimed author of the phenomenal bestseller How to Read Literature Like a Professor, returns with a hugely entertaining appreciation of twenty-five works of literature that have greatly influenced the American identity. In a delightfully informative, often wry manner, Twenty-Five Books that Shaped America looks closely at important literary classics that are true national treasures. From The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, The Scarlet Letter, Moby Dick, and Huckleberry Finn through Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, and Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, Twenty-Five Books that Shaped America examines masterpieces of the written word that have greatly influence what we are as a people and a nation.
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"A great book for English majors. Short essays that are breezy but also tight and focused, hitting the key points. Includes chapters on The Great Gatsby, The Son Also Rises, My Antonia, and Love Medicine."
— James (5 out of 5 stars)
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“Foster is a witty, quirkily provocative and perceptive literary critic.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Sean Pratt narrates the essays with a humor and irreverence that still let Foster’s analysis come through…The essays will make listeners think about not just the books they enjoy but also the TV shows and movies they watch and the music they listen to. Written and narrated in a lively style, this production could make listeners rethink casualties of boring lit classes.”
— AudioFile -
“Foster’s actual writing—breezy, smart, and funny—is a pleasure…A delight to read.”
— Library Journal -
“A genial guide to American literature…Many readers will wish they had a high-school English teacher as cheery and engaged as Foster.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“Funny, challenging, clear, and always insightful, this intriguing book will make you think again about what it means to be an American.”
— Janice A. Radway, author of A Feeling for Books
Twenty-five Books That Shaped America Listener Reviews
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" Not as good as read like a professor or its sequel. This book wore me out and made me want to skip most of the books on his list. "
— Roland, 12/6/2013 -
" I love Thomas C. Foster. He could write a book about watching paint dry and I would read it. "
— Adrienne, 12/1/2013 -
" This is a book that would serve well in one's library. I see myself going back to it when looking for something new to read. It inspired me to read "classic" literature and introduced a couple of author's I had vaguely knew about and revealed them to be counted among my favorites. i.e. Willa Cather. "
— Cathleen, 11/27/2013 -
" thoroughly enjoyable; insightful and funny "
— Cyndi, 10/16/2013 -
" Good background reading on the most influential classics of American lit. The author is sharp and genuinely funny. "
— Sigrid, 9/20/2013 -
" Though I enjoyed the book, I wanted more analysis and less plot summary. To be fair, I had read the majority of the books he chose for his twenty-five. I, however, do think the book would be a good one for somebody starting his or her own study of important American novels. "
— Mark, 9/8/2013 -
" Witty, entertaining and refreshingly irreverant. It will make you think about the books you have read and all the books you want to read. "
— Edward, 8/11/2013 -
" I liked reading about books I had already read, but reading about the books I hadn't read didn't really work for me. "
— David, 2/28/2013 -
" Witty and irreverent but not as unconventional in its analysis as his wise acre writing style would suggest. Full review on Blogcritics.org. "
— Jack, 2/22/2013 -
" Good book, Dr. Foster! "
— Kate, 3/15/2012 -
" I didn't read this all the way through. I got the books from his list and added them to my "to read" list and kind of skimmed why he thought they shaped America. Probably is a fascinating book in itself. "
— Tweller83, 12/27/2011 -
" I'm sure there is value in this to someone, but I just wasn't into it. "
— Steve, 6/21/2011 -
" This author is really flip and seemingly full of himself, but that may be his professor persona. I'm going to come back to this when I have time to consider each of the works he's talking about. "
— Marla, 5/31/2011 -
" Witty and irreverent but not as unconventional in its analysis as his wise acre writing style would suggest. Full review on Blogcritics.org. "
— Jack, 5/26/2011
About Thomas C. Foster
Thomas C. Foster is a professor of English at the University of Michigan–Flint, where he teaches classic and contemporary fiction, drama, and poetry, as well as creative writing and composition. In addition to How to Read Novels like a Professor, he is the author of How to Read Literature like a Professor and several books on twentieth-century British and Irish fiction and poetry. He lives in East Lansing, Michigan.
About the Narrators
Hillary Huber, a Los Angeles–based voice talent with hundreds of commercials and promos under her belt, was bitten by the audiobook bug in 2005. She now records books on a regular basis and has been nominated for several Audie Awards and won numerous Earphones Awards.
Lloyd James (a.k.a. Sean Pratt) has been a working professional actor in theater, film, television, and voice-overs for more than thirty years. He has narrated over one thousand audiobooks and won numerous Earphones Awards and nominations for the Audie Award and the Voice Arts Award. He holds a BFA degree in acting from Santa Fe University, New Mexico.