#810 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Tuesday December 5)
Good morning,
People often ask me, “What new book should I be reading?” I usually can recite a few off the top of my head. Sometimes I think the better question might be, “What great book should I be reading?” In answer to this question, I decided to consider books I had read that had a profound impact on society and the zeitgeist of the time, grouped by decade. Then I went and “cheated” by asking a few people to see if I’d missed anything. This is the fourth in a series on the best and most evocative books, decade by decade, beginning with the 1940s. When I make it through the 2020s, I may go back to the 1930s, if for no other reason than I can then lay claim to 100 years of great books! Stay tuned each Tuesday or Wednesday for a while.
BOOKS OF THE SEVENTIES
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by the brilliant Gabriel Garcia Marquez The New York Times Book Review says: “One Hundred Years of Solitude is the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race…”
The Joy of Sex, by the oddly appropriately named Alex Comfort. When we started talking about that which was never discussed and how to make the best of it.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson (whole levels of enlightenment—gonzo journalism, 60s drug culture, a 70s book about the limits and failures of the 60s cultural revolution)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig. I loved it—great literature capturing the zeitgeist and explaining (in biased layman terms) philosophical concepts. I’m wondering if it holds up if read by anyone over 30 years of age!
All the President’s Men, by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. The story of the seminal political event and crime of the 70s. A paean to the quality of great journalism and how it can explain and alter the world.
Helter Skelter, by Vincent Bugliosi. The senseless violence by the Manson clan, creating a genre of a new phenomenon of senseless killing. Although one could argue that the genre began with In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote.
Roots, by Alex Haley. A Pulitzer Prize winner covering the vast scope of the Black American experience. A genealogical history, that includes actual history, oral history, and the imagining of generations of Haley’s family, beginning with Kunta Kinte’s kidnapping from Africa to slavery in America, through Jim Crow to the present day. Roots was one of the first “much watch” TV events and it has been seen as the birth of the modern miniseries format. It introduced us to young USC student LeVar Burton, who later played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation and, most endearingly and meaningfully, was the man who read to our children in the great television PBS program, “Reading Rainbow.”
The World According to Garp, by John Irving. One of the many books with bears, Vienna, wrestlers, and Irving’s unique perspectives on America. I still think A Prayer for Owen Meany, Hotel New Hampshire and the mighty The Cider House Rules are equals to Garp.
Sophie’s Choice, by William Styron. This National Book Award winner is the story of survivors of World War II who live in a Brooklyn boarding house, and the uncovering of a dark secret. A Hobson’s choice to be sure. The book, resonating to 1940s Europe and post-war America, also speaks to the question of impossible choices among bad options in a world in which evil exists. The movie starring Meryl Streep is wonderful; although the book is even better.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. Arguably the funniest science fiction ever. The meaning of life, the insignificance of man in the enormity of the galaxy, the answer to the question “what is the meaning of life?” (the answer is “42”), and the precursor to the perhaps even better Restaurant at the Edge of the Universe and Life, the Universe and Everything.
Our Bodies Ourselves, by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. I haven’t read this but a female friend assures me that this was a seminal feminist book on women’s health. Included are issues of sexual orientation, birth control, violence and abuse, menopause, abortion, and other subjects previously not discussed much in public. It sounds like an important book that helped create the more open times in which we live.
Ragtime, by E.L. Doctorow. Some could dispute this choice. But I feel the entire genre of fictional stories based on factual history was pioneered by Doctorow. Other great ones include World’s Fair, Homer & Langley, The March, and The Waterworks.
Anything by Philip K. Dick the godfather of much of the science fiction made into movies in the last 20 years…like Total Recall, Blade Runner, The Man in the High Castle, and The Adjustment Bureau.
Song of Solomon, by Tony Morrison. National Book Critics Circle Award winner for this Nobel Prize winning author.
The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe. One of the seminal authors of the late 20th century, with classics in each decade, Wolfe covered the 60s drug generation, the real estate industry of Atlanta (A Man in Full), and the “masters of the universe” on Wall Street (Bonfire of the Vanities). But this may have been his best—the story of the beginnings of the space program, told through the stories of Chuck Yeager and the test pilots through the Mercury Seven. The movie was a great adaptation of a great book.
Love Story and Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The era must include these, for their cultural impact; but certainly not for the quality of the writing. I didn’t like either. As Roger Ebert commented on Jonathan Livingston Seagull, it was "so banal that it had to be sold to adults; kids would have seen through it.”
Next week, stay tuned for the greatest books of the 1980s!
Have a great day,
Glenn