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15 Best Books of All Time 1. The Godfather (Mario Puzo): Great characterization, vivid descriptions, fascinating look at a powerful subculture, well researched, much of it based on true people and events. The book is way better than the movies, and the movies deserved their Best Picture Oscars. 2. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller): Most original novel I’ve ever read. Brilliant, funny, thought-provoking anti-war tract. 3. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (the Bard). No bookshelf is complete without it. My copy has everything: sonnets, tragedies, histories, comedies. I particularly recommend Hamlet, perhaps the greatest play ever written. 4. Slaughterhouse Five (Kurt Vonnegut): Wonderful writing style, captivating story, original and funny way with words. 5. Johnny Got His Gun (Dalton Trumbo): Anti-war stream of consciousness from a World War I soldier who finds himself in an Army hospital after having both legs, both arms and his face blown off. He’s alive, but he can’t see, hear or smell or talk. Writing style is interesting, little attention paid to punctuation rules. Powerful. 6. The Right Stuff (Tom Wolfe): The Space Race as Cowboy Saga.
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