The New York Public Library's books of the century

240 Pages·1997·5.44 MB·English

by  Elizabeth Diefendorf

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