My Great Books List

Best American Novels, 1950-1999

Top 10 and All-Time Greatest lists are as irresistible as they are futile. So here's my list of the greatest American novels (though I have included several texts that aren't generally thought of as novels: three of these books are autobiographies, and one is a biography) of the second half of the twentieth century. Part of my motivation for doing this is that I believe, contrary to majority opinion, that the second half of the twentieth century was a better time for American literature than the first half. Of course, your mileage may vary. I guarantee only that my list is idiosyncratic and personal. I name no more than two books by any author. Listed in order of date of publication.