THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY'S Books of the Century THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY'S Books of the Century Elizabeth Diefendorf, Editor Illustrations by Diana Bryan Oxford University Press New York Oxford Oxford University Press Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Bombay Buenos Aires Calcutta Cape Town Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madras Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi Paris Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Text copyright © 1996 by The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations Illustrations © Diana Bryan 1995 The name "The New York Public Library" is a registered trade mark and the property of The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations. First published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 1996 First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 1997 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press, Designed by Nicola Ferguson Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Diefendorf, Elizabeth. The New York Public Library's books of the century; Elizabeth Diefendorf; illustrations by Diana Bryan. p, cm. Derived from an exhibition on view at the The New York Public Library. Includes bibliographical references (p. }. ISBN 0-19-510897-3 ISBN 0-19-511790-5 (Pbk.) 1. Civilization, Modern—20th century—Bibliography—Exhibitions. 2. United States—20th century—Bibliography—Exhibitions. 3. Civilization—19th century—Bibliography—Exhibitions. 4. United States —Civilization—1865—1918—Bibliography—Exhibitions. I. New York Public Library. II. Title. Z5579.6D54 1996 [CB425] 016.90982—dc20 95-52685 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Contents Acknowledgments, , vii Introduction, 2 Landmarks of Modern Literature, 8 Nature's Realm, 34 Protest & Progress, 46 Colonialism & Its Aftermath, 64 Mind & Spirit, 84 Popular Culture & Mass Entertainment, 102 Women Rise, 122 Economics & Technology, 136 Utopias & Dystopias, 150 War, Holocaust, Totalitarianism, 166 Optimism, Joy, Gentility, 186 Favorites of Childhood and Youth, 204 List of First Editions, 214 Notes, 222 A Note About the Artist, 230 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments T he exhibition Books of the Century, upon which this book is based, was curated by Elizabeth Diefendorf, the Fred- erick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Chief Librarian of the General Research Division, with the assistance of librarians throughout The New York Public Library: Robert Armitage Robert Dumont Gerard Belliveau Cynthia Earman Louise Bergstresser Marilee Foglesong Neil J. Bindelgass Sibylle Fraser Stewart Bodner Debbi Friedman Zenos Booker Tanya Gizdavcic Lisa Browar Leonard Gold Benjamin Burck Harriet Gottfried Ruth Ann Carr Miriam Gross Kay Cassell Catharine Halls Hung-Yun Chang Ruby Hamilton Nathaniel Crossland John Hawker Julie Cummins Denise Hibay William Cwalenski Ewa Jankowska Claire B. Dienstag Diane Johnston Alice Dowd Edward Kasmec Joan Kirwin Alison Ryley Tom Lucas Carrie Schadle John Lundquist Brita Servaes Lucy E. Lyons Barbara Shapiro John T. Ma Anne Skillion Bernice MacDonald David Smith Miriam Mandelbaum Bosiljka Stevanovic Gerard Mueller Dan Tierney Francis W. Parr Tom Troppe Rodney Phillips Stephen Trumble Susanne Pichler Julia Van Haaften Susan Pine Bonnie Williams Warren Platt Catherine Woesthoff Leacy Prior Philip Yockey John Rathe Natalia Zitzelsberger Robin Rucker The exhibition Books of the Century was made possible by Reliance Group Holdings, Inc. The New York Public Library wishes to thank the fol- lowing for making the Centennial Celebration possible: Pinewood Foundation, The Freedom Forum, The New York Times Company Foundation, Inc., CIBC Wood Gundy, and Barnes and Noble, Inc. In addition, Centennial exhibitions and programs are supported with public funds from the Cultural Challenge Initiative, a joint program of the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Viii i \ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY' S Books of the Century