Favorite Books of Interesting People

Because people are always interested in what books the President likes, or what Dave Barry reads, back around 1997 we wrote to a lot of people we found interesting to see what their favorite books were. Listed are those who responded. Hopefully, this page will continue to grow.

Former President - Bill Clinton
We wrote to the Vice-President, the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, and the President asking for their favorite books. As these things go, the only response we received was from the President:

The Silver Chalice by Thomas Costain

The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

Dave Barry
Dave Barry is one of our favorite columnists, and here are his favorite books:

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Anything by Robert Benchley

Anything by P.G. Wodehouse

Any of the Pogo Books

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

William Bennett
Here are the favorites of William Bennett, former Secretary of Education, Drug Czar, and Best Selling author:

The Odyssey by Homer

The Republic by Plato

Middlemarch by George Eliot

MacBeth, Antony and Cleopatra, and King Lear by William Shakespeare

The novels of Walker Percy

Judy Blume
This was a thrill for us. Judy Blume, one of our favorite childhood authors, sent us this list as her favorite books:

As a 10 year old -- The Betsy-Tacy Series by Maud Hart Lovelace

As a teenager -- The novels of Thomas Hardy

As a young wife, mother, and aspiring writer -- The novels of Joyce Carol Oates

The novels of John Updike

20 years later -- Any book, fiction or non-fiction that stays with me, making me think, question, and remember

Jimmy Buffett
In Florida, Jimmy Buffett is very popular. This list comes from one of our favorite "native sons":

Following the Equator by Mark Twain

Don't Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk

Key West Reader: the Best of Key West's Writers, 1830-1990 edited by George Murphy

Ninety-two in the Shade by Thomas McGuane

Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy's novels are the epitome of the thriller. Mr. Clancy listed the following as his favorite titles, kindly including comments about each:

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (The first real adult book I ever read; it also started me off on science fiction.)

The Struggle for Guadalcanal by S.E. Morison (This one began my love for history.)

The Day of the Jackal by Freddy Forsyth (The best thriller of all time, it also redefined the genre.)

Dreadnought by Robert K. Massie (Perhaps the best piece of political history I've yet to read.)

Shogun by James Clavell (I've always been a sucker for a fine historical novel.)

Roger Ebert
These are the thumbs up books from critic Roger Ebert:

The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf

The Golden Bowl by Henry James

Victory by Joseph Conrad

Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky

Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki

Bill Gates
Bill Gates is undoubtedly the most influential figure in computers and software. We are very glad he responded to our appeal, and these are his favorites:

The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. (Jerome David) Salinger

My Years With General Motors by Alfred P. Sloan

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Language Instinct by Steven Pinkler

Anne McCaffrey
In our library, Anne McCaffrey is about as popular as an author can get. Regarding her list of books, she stated: "Not, perhaps, any of them classics, with the exception of KIM, by books I enjoy rereading for the satisfation they give me.":

Kim by Rudyard Kipling

Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright

Tigana by Guy Gabriel Kay

The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer

The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Oliver North
The former Lt. Colonel sent us a list of three of his favorites:

The Bible

The Book of Virtues by William Bennett

The books of Winston Churchill (Mr. North listed "Mr. Churchill", so we assumed he meant Sir Winston Churchill)

Ted Nugent
There is nothing like the mean guitar of Ted Nugent, and still no one can match his style of playing. These are his favorite books, and the titles obviously indicate that Mr. Nugent has a passion for hunting:

Blood Trails: the Truth About Bowhunting by Ted Nugent

Call of the Wild by Jack London

Fred Bear's Field Notes by Fred Bear

Trailing a Bear by Bob Munger

Howard Rheingold
Howard Rheingold is the quintessential cyberspace journalist, with Virtual Reality and Virtual Community as two of his recent works that tap insightfully into the dawn of Cyberspace. These are his favorite books:

The Way of Life by Lao Tse

The Myth of the Machine by Lewis Mumford

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Out of Control by Kevin Kelly

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

David Rothman
David Rothman is Mr. Internet. As a long time journalist and Internet user, he's been writing about the possibilities of this technology for a long time. We are very happy he shared his favorite books (as well as comments) with us. These are David's favorites:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (Or perhaps Babbitt Lewis is passe now, but I can't get his characters out of my mind)

What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg (Although it isn't great, we're talking favorites here)

Look Homeward Angel by Thomas Wolfe (This book made me--a Virginian--want to go to the University of North Carolina, and I did. And for good measure, I ended up years later with a Tar Heel wife.)

All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (Primary Colors is lifeless compared to the book that inspired it.)

Buffy Saint-Marie
Still singing and active as always, these are folk singer Buffy Saint-Marie's favorite books:

Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World by Jack Weatherford

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

The Grass Dancer by Susan Power

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Steven Spielberg
Here is the list sent to us by director Steven Spielberg:

The Leatherstocking Tales by James Fennimore Cooper (Including titles: The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, The Prarie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer.)

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Studs Terkel
Studs Terkel is the definitive interviewer, a great radio personality, and a wonderful author. His list includes:

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Look Homeward Angel by Thomas Wolfe

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Man With the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren

The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor by Flannery O'Connor

Other responses that we received:
William F. Buckley: A letter noting that he was too busy.
Barbara Bush: Her secretary called to tell us Mrs. Bush was too busy, and fearful that if she responded she would be asked to do likewise for others.
Walter Cronkite: Too busy.
George Foreman: We were sent a glossy photo.
David Letterman: A secretary called to say David was too busy.
Rush Limbaugh: Too busy.
Robert Redford: Too busy.
Geraldo Rivera: We received a letter explaining his upcoming programs and apologizing for not being able to respond directly because of his busy schedule.
Charlie Sheen: Sent a glossy photo with fake autograph, but no letter.
Oliver Stone: Too busy, but said would participate later.

At least these folks responded in some fashion. Well over 100 musicians, authors, actors, sports figures, etc. failed to respond. We'll keep trying.

Updated 5/03