I vote for pretty much anything Twain wrote. I think Hemingway called him the “first American author” – before him, authors working in America were transplants from other countries.
Stranger in a Strange Land seemed to influence the “free love” movement in the 1960s.
Seduction of the Innocent (1954), by Fredric Wertham. The book is a sensationalist account of violence in media, particularly in comic books, and how they influenced children. The book prompted a Senate investigation into the link between comics and juvenile delinquency. It also led directly to the creation of the Comics Code Authority, ushering in an era of unrivaled media self-censorship. Following the CCA, crime and horror comics, previously the most popular genres, became virtually non-existent, and superhero comics became the norm.
Unsafe at Any Speed by Ralph Nader.
The Boy Scout Handbook. It codified male virtues in a way no other book has. (No clear single author, though; was the original handbook British?)
Good nominations so far. I second Huck Finn, Catch-22, To Kill a Mockingbird - for the various reasons mentioned.
As for non-fiction books, the ones mentioned are the ones I thought of, along with many others.
My nominee?
The Cat in the Hat by Theodore Geisel, a/k/a Dr. Seuss!!! changed the way we think about children’s books and how they can reach and entertain kids. And the whimsical humor shaped kids’ sense of humor - I wonder how much influence Seuss’ books had on the 60’s and 70’s cultural revolution???
All very good suggestions so far, thank you for the responses. I will have to exclude Mien Kampf, as it is not an American book (though I have heard that the story of it’s American publication is quite interesting…).
Re: the mention of Mark Twain, absolutely! I’m embarrassed he didn’t leap to mind immediately.
Unsafe at Any Speed another good choice.
Keep 'em coming!
I nominate Moby Dick as it was, truly, the first great piece of American literature and stands as a testament to the capabilities of the Americans in the early days of their history. Preceeding that, no American wrote a truly great and classic piece of literature (although your mileage may vary). Mody Dick, while dense and sometimes pretty grating to my mind, put America on the road map.
Also, to a MUCH lesser degree, Naked Lunch. Innovative? Yes. Provacative? Yes. Inspirational? Yes. Indecipherable? Yes, but your mileage may vary.
–greenphan
One essential I think needs adding to this excellent list:
The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. It was extraordinarily influential esp. in the pre-revolutionary period - after the Bible was often the only other book in colonial households. Even after circa 1800 it still retained(s) a place among the religous. Bunyan never made it to America, but his co-religionists - & his book - were integral to its founding & development. It was only here in fact that the book could be circulated among respectable people — making it an “american” book I’d argue - or not
Then how about Mien Kampf’s American counterpart, The Turner Diaries by “Andrew MacDonald” (William Pierce). All that needs to be said about the late author is that he would have been pleased to hear himself compared to Hitler. As for the book itself, it has unfortunately influenced a large segment of American society.
Sadly, that’s all to true.
Walden by Mr. Thoreau
Other than “Pilgrims Progress,” all the other books mentioned are 19th or 20th century.
Seems to me that the the most influential book in America is Noah Webster’s “The American Spelling Book: Containing an easy standard of Pronunciation.”
Published in 1790. This is well before his dictionary and is an early attempt to standardize American.
No one has mentioned Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, or Nathanial Hawthorne. Their words formed the basis of “American” english.