From Amazon:
As part of a multi-year “Celebration of the Book,” The Library of Congress recently selected books by American authors that provoked thought, controversy and change throughout American history. Its accompanying exhibition at the Library last June 25–September 25 engendered months of public dialogue. Some 165,400 people attended the exhibit and more than 9,000 responded to a survey about “Books That Shaped America” posted by the Library on its National Book Festival website. Following that survey, the Library supplemented the list with 12 additional books, acknowledging the public commentary.
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Amazon’s featuring books from the list in the Kindle Store, including:
The Federalist Papers by James Madison – PENGUIN CIVIC CLASSICS (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $9.99)
Written at a time when furious arguments were raging about the best way to govern America, The Federalist Papers had the immediate practical aim of persuading New Yorkers to accept the newly drafted Constitution in 1787. In this they were supremely successful, but their influence also transcended contemporary debate to win them a lasting place in discussions of American political theory. Acclaimed by Thomas Jefferson as “the best commentary on the principles of government which ever was written,” The Federalist Papers make a powerful case for power-sharing between State and Federal authorities and have only risen in legal influence over the last two centuries. Beeman’s analysis helps clarify the goals, at once separate and in concert, of Madison, Hamilton, and Jay during their writing, and his selections show the array of issues—both philosophical and policy-specific—covered by this body of work.
Common Sense by Thomas Paine (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $1)
Thomas Paine was born on 29 January 1737, at Thetford, Great Britain and died at the age of 72 in Greenwich Village, New York City on 8 June 1809. An English-American pamphleteer, revolutionary, radical, inventor, and intellectual, Paine was one of the founders of the United States.
After immigrating to the British American colonies in 1774, he actively participated in the American Revolution against Great Britain. His principal contributions were the widely-read pamphlet Common Sense (1776), which advocated independence, and The American Crisis (1776-1783), a pro-revolutionary pamphlet series.
Greatly influenced by the French Revolution, Paine later wrote the Rights of Man (1791) and The Age of Reason (1793-1794), for which he became notorious by advocating deism and arguing against institutionalized religion. While in France, he also wrote the pamphlet Agrarian Justice (1795), where he introduced the concept of a guaranteed minimum income. He remained in France and condemned Napoleon’s dictatorship, calling him “the completest charlatan that ever existed.” At the invitation of President Thomas Jefferson, Paine returned to the United States in 1802 and lived in New Rochelle, New York, where he was buried. His remains were later disinterred by an admirer who wanted to return them to Great Britain so they could be given a heroic reburial on Paine’s native soil; however, Paine’s remains were lost.
Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe – Enriched Classics (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $5.65)
Enduring Literature Illuminated By Practical Scholarship
A collection of the Gothic master’s classic works in prose and verse.
This Enriched Classic Edition Includes:
A concise introduction that gives the reader important background information – A chronology of the author’s life and work – A timeline of significant events that provides the book’s historical context – An outline of key themes and plot points to guide the reader’s own interpretations – Detailed explanatory notes
Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work – Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction – A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader’s experience
Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world’s finest books to their full potential.
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman (4.5/5 stars, currently FREE)
Amazon reviewer Chad M. Brick says:
Essential American poetry. Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” is a collection of some of the finest American free-verse poetry ever written. Outward from his home on Brooklyn, Whitman soars out over our great nation, painting a sweeping portrait of mid-nineteenth century America and its diverse inhabitants. Whitman covers a panorama of ideas and themes, from lofty, aloof musings on the nature of man, to piercing depictions of the horrors of war. Gems of wisdom hang from Whitman’s web of of verse like dew drops – easy to see but hard to grasp. This is a powerful work, and a never-ending source of beauty.
Click here to view the full list of Books That Shaped America in Kindle format, which includes many more FREE classics, such as Thoreau’s Walden, Little Women, Moby Dick, The Scarlet Letter, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and more.