Contemporary Fiction
- Unintended Consequences
- John Ross
This may be the most important work of historical fiction ever written. If you only read ONE book from our list, THIS IS THE ONE. Prepare to have your life changed.
- The Mitzvah
- Aaron Zelman & L. Neil Smith
Sadly, the majority of Jews in America do not embrace all of the Bill of Rights for all Americans. The Mitzvah was written in the hope of changing that. A "mitzvah" is a good deed or a blessing. Many will wonder if the story is fiction or fact, but they'll say The Mitzvah is a blessing in our time.
- Patriots : Surviving the Coming Collapse
- James Wesley Rawles
A novel about a devastating socioeconomic collapse in the near future. It has been described as "a survival manual fairly neatly dressed as fiction." Although it is fast-paced, it includes so many useful details that most people find themselves taking notes as they read it.
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Children's Fiction
- A Wrinkle In Time
- Madeleine L'Engle
A well-loved classic and 1963 Newbery Medal winner, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time is sophisticated in concept yet warm in tone, with mystery and love coursing through its pages. Meg's shattering, yet ultimately freeing, discovery that her father is not omnipotent provides a satisfying coming-of-age element. Readers will feel a sense of power as they travel with these three children, challenging concepts of time, space, and the triumph of good over evil.
- The Singing Tree
- Kate Seredy
Life on the Hungarian plains is changing quickly for Jancsi and his cousin Kate. Father has given Jansci permission to be in charge of his own herd and Katehas begun to think of going to dances. Then, when Hungary must send troops to fight in the great war and Jancsi's father is called to battle, the two cousins must grow up all the sooner.
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Science Fiction
- Time Enough for Love
- Robert A. Heinlein
From his sage wisdom to matters of simple common sense, Heinlein speaks through his creation with honesty, sentiment, and of course his trademark wit. Also worth investigating, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long, excerpted from Time Enough for Love, contain aphorisms for the ages.
- The Probability Broach
- L. Neil Smith
In a riveting, thought-provoking, libertarian fiction novel, Congress is in Colorado, everybody carries guns, there are gorillas in the Senate, and the idea of free enterprise is "king."
- 1984
- George Orwell
Newspeak, doublethink, thoughtcrime--in 1984, George Orwell created a whole vocabulary of words concerning totalitarian control that have since passed into our common vocabulary. More importantly, he has portrayed a chillingly credible dystopia. In our deeply anxious world, the seeds of unthinking conformity are everywhere in evidence; and Big Brother is always looking for his chance.
- Fahrenheit 451
- Ray Bradbury
In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's classic, frightening vision of the future, firemen don't put out fires--they start them in order to burn books.
- Brave New World
- Aldous Huxley
"Community, Identity, Stability" is the motto of Aldous Huxley's utopian World State. Here everyone consumes daily grams of soma, to fight depression, babies are born in laboratories, and the most popular form of entertainment is a "Feelie," a movie that stimulates the senses of sight, hearing, and touch. Though there is no violence and everyone is provided for, Bernard Marx feels something is missing and senses his relationship with a young women has the potential to be much more than the confines of their existence allow.
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Classic Fiction
- The Fountainhead
- Ayn Rand
Addresses a number of universal themes: the strength of the individual, the tug between good and evil, the threat of fascism. The confrontation of those themes, along with the amazing stroke of Rand's writing, combine to give this book its enduring influence.
- Atlas Shrugged
- Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged is the astounding story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world--and did. It is a mystery, not about the murder of a man's body, but about the murder--and rebirth--of man's spirit. Atlas Shrugged is the "second most influential book for Americans today" after the Bible, according to a joint survey conducted by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club
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