what 3 books do you believe every american should be required to read?

Question

what should be on the required reading list for all americans, and why?

Answer 1

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (by Frederick Douglass): I read this book in college and fell in love with it. It gives a true account of the slave trade (something all Americans should be familiar with). There are lots of books out there that do the same, but none are told as poignantly and eloquently as Frederick's story.

Freedom: A Photographic History of the African American Struggle (by Manning Marable & Leith Mullings): Because our country's culture is so wrapped up in its racial tensions due largely in part to the slave trade, I chose another book about civil rights. This one chronicles the movement up to the present day. So many of the photographs are hard to look at, and still so many others show just how beautiful people can truly be. The fact that we have documented proof of slavery through photographs still baffles me. How could anyone have ever accepted something so horrid?

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (by Mark Twain): It's considered the first (and arguably the only) American epic, so it's gotta be included. Twain is also considered the greatest American author by most people with half a brain. :D The book deals with American culture, class, racial tensions, etc.

Answer 2

First, while I believe the Bible is the word of God and should be read worldwide- I don't believe that it is specifically germaine to Americans, so therefore it is not on my list. Plus, it's a little like Mom and Apple Pie- way too easy of a choice.
I've chosen my three books because I believe that Americans have gotten soft and do not remember that our Nation was founded in struggle and sacrifice.
1.) "1776" by David McCullough. A fascinating view of how our country was founded and how close we were to failure in that first year of Independence.
2.) "Bruce Catton's Civil War" If the public thinks thinks Iraq is bad, Antietam and Shiloh would send it over the edge.
3.) "Citizen Soldiers" by Steven Ambrose. They're called the greatest generation for a reason: raised in the depression, they fought the most terrible war in history and came home to create the most equitable, prosperous society the world has ever seen.

Answer 3

1. Blackhawk Down- so evey american knows that soldiers are people to and when you stand against us and protest us it does hurt

2. The Declaration of Independence- If you have read it you would know they tried to form a democracy but named it appropriately as a REPUBLIC.

3. The Art of War- War is not fun but necessary and this is how it should be handled

Answer 4

Why should Americans be "required to read three books"?
In your question you did not explain any purpose. Do these books need to be read in school? Then it is a question of education. Do these books need to be read to understand the democratic process? Do these books need to be read so that the American people will understand their own history?
In education and history there should always be a choice, and if only three books were on the curriculum then it would not be enough. The American people should not be required to read the bible, that is in contradiction to the Freedom of Religion in the Constitution. I cannot list three books that should be required in order to learn about the democratic process - so, I only suggest these three books as History, Literature, and Civics.
1. Great Britain and the American Civil War - Ephraim Douglas Adams
2. The Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper
3. Civic Government in the U.S. - John Fiske

Answer 5

If you are a American it should be the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.Which is the first 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States. 3 VERY important documents 99% of Americans have never read. Read them often and regularly.
Read the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

Laws of Nature! Laws of Nature's God! Sounds like they had a basis for what they thought. Where does God tell us His Law. So take a guess at what that 3rd Book would be.

Answer 6

Since this question falls under government, I believe the following three books will give any reader a better insight into three different areas. Enjoy!!!


1. The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman - to better understand globalization

2. Moral Politics by George Lakoff - to better understand why democrats and republicans are as they are

3. Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville - to better understand what a democracy truly is

Answer 7

i'm sorry. permit me get this right now - do you suspect that adult males have not landed to the Moon? and human beings ask your self why the US is importing scientists from India and the former u.s.! whilst i grow to be in college protesting against the Vietnam conflict (and searching on the 1st Moon touchdown), i grow to discover ways to "like it or pass away it." I have been given genuine bored to death in that variety of yankee BS and finally gave up. i've got been residing in Japan for better than 2 many years - a rustic that appreciates what technology is and would (and would't) do. i could chortle on the yank tutorial gadget if I weren't so busy crying approximately it.

Answer 8

Guns, Germs & Steel

Who Moved My Cheese

The Grief Recovery Handbook

Answer 9

The Federalist Papers - Alexander Hamilton
The Prince - Machivelli
The Republic - Plato

For fiction
Slaugterhouse Five - Vonnegut
The Catcher in The Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Bible

Answer 10

to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

the scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne

the adventures of huckleberry finn by mark twain

interesting question and v. difficult to limit the list to three books.


atp