Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Why so few nonfiction books? They're great literature too, aren't they?

Yes, they can be. But The Greatest Literature of All Time includes very few nonfiction titles, mainly memoirs and mythological writings that have drawn a literary following.

The short answer to this question is that readers looking for the "greatest literature of all time" are seeking diversion in classic fiction, poetry or drama. They are not looking to labour through old scientific, political or historical documents, however great their influence has been.

This is not say the great nonfiction books are not appreciated.

Take one of the most important books ever written: The Origin of Species. Not only did Charles Darwin's work set off a scientific revolution in the mid-nineteenth century but its impact continues to be felt on all aspects of our lives and our thought. Anyone curious as to exactly what Darwin said back then or wanting to get some historical context for the continuing debate over evolution should definitely look into The Origin of Species.

But if you want to know the current state of scientific knowledge, evolutionary theory and thinking about humankind's place in nature, you're better advised to consult recent books and articles. While The Origin of Species is still largely valid, science has been advanced far beyond what Darwin proposed, especially by genetic discoveries in the twentieth century. Today Darwin's books are valued as tail-blazing documents in the history of science.  

Now take another book that came out the same year as Origin, namely A Tale of Two Cities. Most would agree the Charles Dickens novel has had a less profound effect on intellectual history than Darwin's books. Nonetheless, greater numbers of people continue to read it and it continues to be adapted into other art forms, including movies.

When most of us read or watch A Tale of Two Cities, we are not accessing an historical document to evaluate the context surrounding the author's creation of the work, nor to determine the facts about life in revolutionary France and England as originally propounded by Dickens. Rather, we're reliving the events, feelings, hopes and fears that afflict the characters in the novel. We work out with them what they—or we—should do to cope with their—our—lives.

Even the oldest stories we have available in creative literature—from several thousand years ago—can appeal to us in this fashion. They can still fascinate us because they deal with human experience analogous in some ways to our present human experience. The feelings, ideas and moral issues they raise are largely still the feelings, ideas and moral issues we face today.

In general the literature that embody these universally human qualities is poetry, drama and prose narrative—what we might call creative literature.

Having said this, we can note some memoirs, a few stories purporting to be history, and several other nonfiction works have also acquired these characteristics and have come to be known as belonging to the greatest literature "of all time".

 

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