Books That Shaped America - An Exhibition

All images via LOC.gov

The Library of Congress is hosting an exhibition titled Books That Shaped America which consists of 88 books that the LOC deems influential to our contemporary American culture. 

The goal of the exhibition is not to list the best books of American literary history but instead to compile a list of books that have shaped our current way of thinking. 

The complete list can be found here. 

What do you think of the list? You can vote for the books and suggest titles the library may have missed. 

The exhibition runs through September 29, 2012 (better hurry!) and is located in the Southwest Exhibition Gallery, Thomas Jefferson Building. 

I think this is a fabulous way to look back at our contemporary culture and ponder the literature that has shaped our personhood. 

- Grace

Marie Antoinette's Shoe

I photographed this from a book in the Library of Congress and I can't find a better image anywhere online. Caption says "Marie Antoinette's leather and silk slipper, 1793 (Musee des Beaux Arts de Caen). The handwritten inscription on the insole reads: "Slipper worn by Queen Marie Antoinette the ill-fated day when she climbed to the scaffold. This shoe was picked up by an individual when the queen lost it and was immediately bought by M. le comte de Guernon-Ranville."

I wish I could see this in color, however it is still an amazing piece of material culture.

-Grace