Transcriber’s Note Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Reading with a Purpose A Series of Reading Courses 1. BIOLOGY _Vernon Kellogg_ 2. ENGLISH LITERATURE _W. N. C. Carlton_ 3. TEN PIVOTAL FIGURES OF HISTORY _Ambrose W. Vernon_ 4. SOME GREAT AMERICAN BOOKS _Dallas Lore Sharp_ 6. FRONTIERS OF KNOWLEDGE _Jesse Lee Bennett_ 7. EARS TO HEAR: A GUIDE FOR MUSIC LOVERS _Daniel Gregory Mason_ 8. SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS _Howard W. Odum_ 10. CONFLICTS IN AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION _William Allen White_ and _Walter E. Myer_ 11. PSYCHOLOGY AND ITS USE _Everett Dean Martin_ 13. OUR CHILDREN _M. V. O’Shea_ _Others in Preparation_ 5. ECONOMICS _Leon C. Marshall_ 9. THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES _E. E. Slosson_ 12. PHILOSOPHY _Alexander Meiklejohn_ 14. RELIGION IN EVERYDAY LIFE _Wilfred T. Grenfell_ 15. THE LIFE OF CHRIST _Rufus M. Jones_ American Library Association Reading with a Purpose SOME GREAT AMERICAN BOOKS _By_ DALLAS LORE SHARP [Illustration: Decoration] CHICAGO AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 1925 COPYRIGHT 1925, BY THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION PUBLISHED AUGUST, 1925 PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. WHY THIS COURSE IS PUBLISHED This course has been prepared for men and women, and for young people out of school, who wish to know more about the literature of America. It comprises a very brief introduction to the subject and a guide to a few of the best books. The books are arranged for consecutive reading. They should be available in any general library, or may be obtained through any good book store. A good general knowledge of the subject should result from following through the course of reading suggested in this booklet—a knowledge greatly superior to that of the average citizen. If you wish to pursue the subject further, the librarian of your Public Library will be glad to make suggestions. If you desire to increase your knowledge in other fields, you are referred to the other courses in this Reading with a Purpose series, and to your Public Library. THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION THE AUTHOR Dallas Lore Sharp _has won distinction as naturalist, teacher and man of letters_.