Joe's Top 20 revisited

I have been meaning to update my Top 20 of all time for the past two years.  I'm finally getting to that.  Any all-time list is inherently fluid, and mine is certainly ever-changing.  So, I prefer to consider each of these efforts to be snapshots in time.  As of right now, this is my top 20, as compared with the last installment, which I provided in November of 2011.

SO LONG

So, I'll start with books that have dropped off my previous list.  Moonwalking with Einstein and Outliers drop off even though their impacts remain.  Downtown Owl also takes its leave, but, again, remains a book I will always remember.  Profiles in Courage, by John F. Kennedy was an awesome book, but my current political cynicism and the decade-and-a-half that has passed since I read it combined to send it packing.  Guns Germs & Steele, by J. Diamond explains so much, and I still love it.  But, when so many powerful works enter the list, something must fall.

WELCOME INTO MY TOP 20

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, The Last Lion Series, by William Manchester, and Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace have burst onto this list with gusto.  The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace, also made it into the list.  Hey, DFW is my favorite writer, so this shouldn't be a surprise.  I strongly believe there has never been a more gifted writer on earth.  I can't be rational about his work and it's my list.  Each new entry made this list better and allowed me to bump really good books without hesitation.  

 THE NEW HOTNESS

My new top-20 list of all time...


20. The Book of Basketball, by Bill Simmons.  Still the best sports book out there.  I could read this book every year.  Basketball and humor. Win-win.

19. Bearing the Cross, by David Garrow.  Still resonates with every judicial issue that comes to SCOTUS currently, and I suspect will inform progress through judicial enlightenment for generations to come.

18. Brothers Karamozov, by Fyodore Dostoyevsky.  An amazing work.

17.  The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace.  I wrote about this book Here.

16.  Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole.  Every time I converse with a person invested in disharmony, I think of Ignatius Reilley. 

15.  The Last Lion Series, by William Manchester.  Visions of Glory, Alone, and Defender of the Realm combine to create the most thorough and engrossing biography I have ever known.  An engrossing read through all three books.

14. 1984, by George Orwell.  I see it as less relevant as time moves on, but so impacting and important.  Much of our media makes me think about Orwell's themes.

13. Memoirs of the Second World War, by Winston Churchill.  Winston establishes the story of history... and he wins that narrative.  He won the war for the story, and he tells it while chewing a cigar and cracking jokes... mostly at the expense of Italians.

12.  The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas.  I wrote about this book Here, Here, Here, and Here.  So, it made quite an impression.

11. Crime and Punishment, by Fyodore Dostoevsky.  Dostoevsky is a master of internal dialogue.

10. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger.  I'm afraid to read it again as an adult, but its early impact remains.

9. Old Man and the Sea, by Earnest Hemmingway.  How can anyone not love this book?  Human struggle at its very core and without pomp or circumstance. 

8. A World Apart, by Gustaw Herling.  A perspective re-adjuster whenever needed.

7. The First American, by H.W. Brands.  Not as thorough as The Last Lion, but the most efficient and entertaining biography... and it happens to be about my favorite person in history.

6. A Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley.  This book changed a paradigm for me in life in such a dramatic way.  If I had one continent break into seven like the earth did, this book was the quake that broke them into separate pieces.

5. Simple Justice, by Richard Kluger.  Anyone who wants to know anything about changing society through the legal process should read this. 

4. Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns-Goodwin.  Abraham Lincoln may be the best leader any nation has ever elected.  The best combination of compassion and leadership I have ever read.

3. War & Peace, by Leo Tolstoy.  Humanity in a nutshell.

2.  Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace.  This book touches absolutely everything.  I wrote about Infinite Jest Here, Here, Here, Here and Here.  The most impressive work of fiction and probably the most impressively-written book I have experienced.  DFW at his absolute best. 

1. Autobiography, by Benjamin Franklin.  The best life manual I have found.  Still a great read.