The series was “designed to get the country reading and passionately talking about books.” Using an independent polling company, the creators of The Great American Read asked a demographically and statistically representative group of Americans to name their “most loved novel.” The poll resulted in a list of 100 novels from which viewers were invited to vote for their favorite. Voting for The Great American Read took place in tandem with an eight-part television series hosted by Meredith Vieira on PBS stations. But the strong showing of Atlas Shrugged on The Great American Read suggests those trends may be reversing - despite the best efforts of many in the mainstream media and academia to marginalize the author. In recent years, however, awareness of Ayn Rand has seemed to ebb - with book sales slowing and recognition waning. Atlas Shrugged has been translated into 14 languages, including Chinese (2007). The novel is listed as number six on Boston Library’s list of 100 Most Influential Books of the Century, and it ranks number five on the list of the 20 Most Inspirational Books ever written. A Harris poll placed Atlas Shrugged on America’s Top 10 Favorite Book List in 2008, and The Modern Library ranked it the number one best novel published in the English language in 2009. In 1999, Atlas Shrugged was number 37 in the list of 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians.
The novel made the New York Public Library’s list of Best Books of the Century in 1996, and Radcliffe Publishing ranked it 92 out of the top 100 novels of the 20th century. In 1991 the Book of the Month Club and Library of Congress asked readers to name the most influential book in their lives: Atlas Shrugged came in second only to the Bible. And Atlas Shrugged has made numerous “best of” lists. In 2011 alone Atlas Shrugged sold 415,000 copies. Sales of Atlas Shrugged averaged 74,000 copies per year in the 1980s 95,300 copies per year in the 1990s 167,098 copies per year in the 2000s, and 303,523 copies in the 2010s. Fans of Ayn Rand too had their say: Atlas Shrugged came in at number 20 - indeed skyrocketing up from number 43 earlier in the competition, reflecting not just Rand’s enduring appeal, but resurgence in popularity.įirst published in 1957, Atlas Shrugged remained on The New York Times Bestseller List for 21 weeks, peaking at number four.
Out of 100 novels, fans placed Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird at the top of the list of America’s favorite reads. PBS announced the results of The Great American Read on October 23, 2018.
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