Modern Library
The Modern Library, a current division of Random House publishers, was founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright. It was bought in 1925 by Bennett Cerf. Random House began in 1927 as a subsidiary of the Modern Library, but eventually became the parent company.
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The list itself does not confirm the titular implication that a sincere effort was made to survey and adequately represent the immensely vast and varied body of international 20th century literature, which has seen so much innovation, so many movements and the increased awareness, in Anglo-American academia, of previously unrecognized but substantial literary traditions. While Random House claims they were merely interested in bringing notable books to the attention of the public and boosting the sales of their publications, critics believe the list and rankings have little or no merit as a serious evaluation of literary achievement.
Recent History
The Modern Library identified itself at its onset as "The Modern Library of the World's Best Books". In trying to keep with that identity, they made a list of what they called "100 best novels and non-fiction books of the 20th century" in 1998; an unscientific web poll to gather public opinion on the same was also conducted. The list was actually restricted to works in English, but the title of the list was not modified to reflect this, and little attention was paid to the fact in publicity for the list. The top ten books from both lists in each category are shown below. According to an article about the list in the New York Times,
The lists have drawn heavy criticism. Their ranking system and the arguably sexist and extremely insular selection annoyed the majority of professional scholars and critics, and board members themselves expressed disappointment and puzzlement. There are only eight or nine women on the list, some highly influential works are ranked below works of questionable literary merit, and the works of major writers from countries apart from the USA and England - such as Australia, India, Canada, South Africa and other English speaking countries - have been entirely ignored. There were also hypotheses that the Modern Library merely made a selection based on its stocklist. A. S. Byatt, the well known English novelist who was on the board, called the list "typically American."Board Selections
Best 20th Century Novel
Best 20th Century Non-fiction
Reader Selections
As David Ebershoff, the Modern Library division's publishing director, carefully stated "the people who were drawn to go to the Modern Library Web site and compelled to vote have a certain enthusiasm about books and their favourite books that many people don't, so that the voting population is skewed." [1] In other words, it was an insecure web poll. Others have been still less charitable; librarian Robert Teeter remarks that the ballot boxes were "stuffed by cultists." [1]Best 20th Century Novel
Best 20th Century Non-fiction
References
External link