By James Mustich
All book reviewers have different perspectives, and it's helpful to read the suggestions of a variety of "experts" to get a handle on the kinds of books that have influenced history or inspired good works. In this case the reviewer is someone who'd been in the book business for decades. Mustich's list contains works of fiction, non-fiction, ancient works like those of Homer and Sophocles, plays (by Shakespeare and others), and children's literature. For each listing, he includes other works (if any) by the author and comparable works by other writers. I read every title, though I did not read the description of every single entry, - but I developed my own list of several new titles to try (and was surprised to find so many titles I'd already read).
About 20 years ago, various reviewers compiled "best 100 books of the 20th century" lists. But "of the writing of many books there is no end..." wrote Elizabeth Barrett Browning, so these lists are bound to change and grow.
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