Those who relish a thought-provoking, intellectual read should check out this article from The Chronicle of Higher Education, which compiles 21 responses from a range of scholars to the question "What's the most influential book of the past 20 years?" Respondents were asked "to select books -- academic or not, but written by scholars -- from within or outside their own fields," and their choices and explanations are presented here. For example, Leon Botstein, the president of Bard College, chose Arthur C. Danto's What Art Is, saying that, "Both art and philosophy have become increasingly marginal in the life of the university. Reading Danto reminds us that art and the critical consideration of the aesthetic ought not remain the poor stepchildren of the academy." In another example, Deborah Tannen, a history professor at Georgetown University, chose Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. As Tannen points out, "Even people who didn't read the book's 500-plus pages through to the end -- or didn't read it at all -- are aware of its thesis. That's what influence is all about."
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