1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Scout Finch is an outspoken and literate six-year-old tomboy when she begins her tale of growing up in a small Alabama town with her brother Jem and her attorney father Atticus. The children's intense curiosity about a reclusive neighbor is eclipsed by Atticus's attempt to defend a black man against charges of raping a white woman. This book made the list twice; it is also in the thirty-fifth position. RC 36414, BR 12850. Also available as a descriptive video, DV 148.

2. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
Dagny Taggart, manager of a transcontinental railroad, opposes John Galt and others who relinquish control over their enterprises in exchange for security through government regulations. Espouses the clear-cut social values of the author’s philosophy of objectivism within a fictional story line. Thirty-fifth anniversary edition with new introduction in 1992. Some strong language.
RC 51074.
 
3. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.
Although he is expelled from school, Howard Roark is determined to succeed as an architect, rejecting the conventional path of his friend Peter Keating and the wiles of his destructive lover Dominique Francon. Some descriptions of sex. RC 53087.
 
4. Watership Down by Richard Adams.
A fable about a band of rabbits who set out bravely for a new home in the English countryside. They encounter many dangers and adventures along the way, and finally make it to safety after rescuing some does who become their mates. RC 35730, BR 10851.

5. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.
A romantic Civil War epic in which Scarlet O'Hara, a forceful and ruthless heroine, and Rhett Butler, a war profiteer, play out their tempestuous love affair against the background of the war-torn South. RC 33082, BR 11427. Also available as a descriptive video, DV 230.

6. The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe.
The arbiter of radical chic and macho flyboys attempts to satirize the grab-it-now Yuppie generation. The plot centers on the efforts of a socialite bond broker to escape responsibility for a freak accident that brings him into contact with unsavory elements of New York life: the justice system, the political hacks, the church, and the poor. Strong language and descriptions of sex. RC 26040,
BR 13688.
 
7. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck.
Describes the rise of Wang Lung, a poor Chinese peasant. The story begins with his wedding day, as he ponders his good fortune that now he will have a woman to take over the chore of lighting a fire to heat the water for his bath. With the help and patience of his new wife, O-lan, Wang Lung becomes a rich landowner. House of Earth series, book 1. RC 37294, BR 9400.

8. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach.
Refusing to conform to the life of the flock, Jonathan, a seagull, intensely desires to fly higher than any gull has ever flown. After his death, he returns to teach flight to the other gulls who once scorned him. RC 52511, BR 1873.

9. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Posthumous collection of imaginative tales by the author of The Hobbit (RC 48978) and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Stories depict the First Age of the World when Dark Lord Morgoth dwelled in Middle Earth and the High Elves made war upon him to recover the Silmarils. Tales of Middle Earth series, book 1. RC 60367, BR 11510

10.  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
A novel about an Irish-American girl's childhood and youth, her struggles with poverty, and her work to get an education, set in the midst of Brooklyn tenement life in the early 1900s. RC 44769, BR 1620.

11. The Godfather by Mario Puzo.
The world and underworld of the Mafia is revealed in this novel of paradoxical terror and benevolence. Explicit descriptions of sex and strong language. Godfather series, book 1. RC 25677, BR 1865. Also available as a descriptive video DV 47.

12. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton.
After an unmanned space probe lands in a small town in Arizona, most of the residents die mysteriously. Four scientists try to discover the nature of the microorganism that has contaminated the satellite while the president ponders atomic destruction to save the rest of the country. RC 37973.

13. The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy.
The entire crew of Red October, a new Soviet submarine under the command of Marko Ramius, is defecting to the United States. Most of the Russian navy is sent to the Atlantic coast of the United States to find and destroy the submarine. Jack Ryan, a CIA data analyst, gets the job of making contact with Ramius, and the United States mobilizes all its resources to protect our shores and the submarine. Some strong language. Jack Ryan series, book 1. RC 21513, BR 7205. Also available as a descriptive video, DV 53.

14. Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy.
A team of Moslem terrorists blows up a key Russian oil installation.  Faced with a severe fuel shortage, the Soviets plan to seize the Persian Gulf after establishing an elaborate smoke screen of hostilities against NATO. Subsequent land, sea, and air battles for control of Eastern Europe and the North Atlantic ensue. Some strong language. RC 23908, BR 6655.

15. The Cardinal of the Kremlin by Tom Clancy.
The superpowers are in a race to develop strategic defense systems. The two men most knowledgeable are CIA analyst Jack Ryan and Colonel Mikhail Filitov of the Soviet Union. Filitov, nicknamed "Cardinal," is the highest ranking American agent in the Kremlin and is about to be betrayed. As Ryan tries to rescue him, both of their lives and the fate of the world hang in the balance. Jack Ryan series, book 3. Strong language and descriptions of sex. RC 27007, BR 7491.

16. The Source by James A. Michener.
A narrative which stretches over 12,000 years and reconstructs the history of a fictional site in Israel called Makor. As twentieth century archaeologists dig through fifteen layers, the author weaves a story for each period, drawing on the scriptural and historical records of actual persons and events. RC 21682.

17. The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy.
Tom Wingo, a former high school teacher and coach, recalls his growing up years on isolated Melrose Island off the South Carolina coast, and then switches to the present in Manhattan. There his twin sister Savannah, a renowned poet, is recovering from a suicide attempt. Tom tells the Wingo family saga with its destructive relationships and terrible secrets to Savannah's psychiatrist, Susan, and a torrid affair follows. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. RC 25248.

18. The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone.
Traces the Renaissance artist Michelangelo’s life and career from his youthful apprenticeships to the painter Ghirlandaio and the sculptor Bertoldo to his celebrated years as a master artist. RC 53802.

19. Contact by Carl Sagan.
A speculative adventure of the first encounter of humankind with intelligent life from beyond our solar system. Brilliant astrophysicist Ellie Arroway of Project Argus is instrumental in decoding the first radio signal received from space, and she persuades world leaders not to consider the message a threat. RC 22975, BR 6336.

20. A Dangerous Fortune by Ken Follett.
Windfield School, England, 1866. It was meant to be an escape from detention, but it turned into tragedy when five young boys went swimming and one drowned. For the rest of their lives the remaining four, and a fifth schoolmate, would be linked by that event. Years later the truth about the accident threatens to come out when there is a struggle between England’s two wealthiest banks--Pilasters and Greenbournes. Some descriptions of sex. RC 37935.

21. Trinity by Leon Uris.
Traces the fate of three Irish families from 1840-1916. The Larkins of County Donegal are Catholic peasants living under the rule of the English aristocratic Hubble dynasty. The MacLeods of Belfast are Protestant shipyard workers originally from Scotland. Some descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language. RC 53391.

22. How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan.
Forty-two-year-old Stella Payne, a successful, divorced black woman, decides on impulse to go to Jamaica while her son is visiting his father. Not expecting romance, Stella is shocked to be wooed by a twenty-year-old Jamaican student and even more surprised to find herself falling in love. Strong language and explicit descriptions of sex. RC 42803.

23. Patriot Games by Tom Clancy.
Jack Ryan, having left the CIA, is now just another rich ex-stockbroker and teacher of history at the U.S. Naval Academy. His London family vacation gets blown to pieces when Ryan intervenes in a daring daylight attempt to kidnap the Prince and Princess of Wales and little Will. Having saved the royal family, he becomes the target of the surviving terrorists. Jack Ryan series, book 2. Some strong language. RC 26015, BR 7162. Also available as a descriptive video, DV 80.

24. Shogun by James Clavell.
Detailed saga of the struggle between two Japanese warlords for the title of Shogun, the military dictator of seventeenth century Japan. Asian series, book 1. Violence, strong language, and explicit descriptions of sex. RC 36742.

25. The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub.
Twelve-year-old Jack Sawyer sets out on an exulting and terrifying quest for a talisman that can save his dying mother and defeat the enemy that is out to destroy them both. Jack must make his way not only across the breadth of the United States, but also through the wondrous and menacing Territories, a parallel world much like the earth during its own Dark Ages. Talisman series, book 1. Strong language and descriptions of sex. RC 21209.
           
26. God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert.
Takes place 3,500 years after the events of the original trilogy and tells the story of Leto, the son of Paul Atreides, savior of the planet Dune. Leto still lives, but is no longer human. Dune series, book 4. RC 15846.

27. Don't Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk. 
A successful publicity agent flees Manhattan for a tropical island paradise in the Caribbean where he buys a hotel. His effort to cope with the bizarre characters and strange ways of the island leads to explosive comic situations. Some strong language and explicit descriptions of sex. RC 16523.

28. Treasure by Clive Cussler.
When the great Library of Alexandria was sacked in A.D. 391, perhaps some of its fabulous art treasures and volumes from its library escaped the flames and were ferried across the Atlantic.  This is the premise of a suspense caper that features agent Dirk Pitt, a James Bond type whom "no woman could completely possess." Dirk Pitt series, book 9. Some strong language. RC 26993, BR 7423.

29. Hawaii by James A. Michener.
Four stories in one, combining fiction and history in a panoramic view of the migrations to and development of Hawaii up to its statehood. One story traces the eleventh-century settlers from Polynesia; another follows a group of American missionaries that includes the zealous Abner Hale and his long-suffering wife; and the other two stories trace the migrations of Chinese and Japanese settlers. Some strong language and some violence. RC 37111.

30. Exodus by Leon Uris.
A fictionalized history of the European Jews from the end of World War II to the establishment of the state of Israel. RC 25261.

31. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough.
Saga of the Australian Cleary family set in a vast sheep station. Central characters are Meggie and the one man she truly loves--priest Ralph de Bricassart. Some explicit descriptions of sex and some strong language. RC 51148, BR 4284.

32. A Season in Purgatory by Dominick Dunne.
Twenty years ago, a wealthy teenaged girl was murdered. The crime was covered up by Gerald Bradley to protect his son Constant. The Bradleys, pious Irish Catholics whose wealth has come from questionable sources, bought the loyalty of orphaned Harrison Burns, a school friend of their son. Now Burns, a well known journalist, can no longer keep silent about those events.  Strong language. RC 46542.

33. Alaska by James A. Michener.
Heroes and villains, both real and fictional, abound in this epic historical novel which begins with a brief geologic history and then leaps into the eighteenth century. The novel touches on topics such as the major native groups, the European explorers, Russian and American colonization, the Gold Rush, and Alaska's statehood. RC 26997.

34. Cyclops by Clive Cussler.
Suspense caper features--and ingeniously connects--a maverick American colony on the Moon, a fabulous sunken treasure sought by an unscrupulous, blimp-owning financier, and Soviet schemes to steal U.S. space secrets and to replace Fidel Castro with a Kremlin puppet. The action involves murder and torture as well as superpower politicking. Dirk Pitt series, book 8. RC 23019.

35. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
This book made the list twice; it also is found in the first position. RC 36414, BR 12850.

36. Disappearing Acts by Terry McMillan.
The bittersweet story of the love affair of an African-American couple, set in Brooklyn in 1982. Franklin Swift is thirtyish, a high school dropout and sometime construction worker. Zora Banks is a young music teacher from Ohio who aspires to become a singer. The story is told from alternating points of view so that both Zora and Franklin tell us how they move from being friends to lovers, and how they cope with life. Strong language and descriptions of sex. RC 32437.

37. Last of the Breed by Louis L'Amour.
A test pilot for experimental aircraft, United States Air Force Major Joseph "Joe Mack" Makatozi, part Sioux, part Cheyenne, is forced down over the Bering Sea by Russians. He must seek safety in the uncharted wilds of Siberia, pursued by Russian intelligence officer Colonel Zamatev and by a Yakut tracker. RC 23910, BR 6688.

38. The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
Classic story about the Baxter family, who make a precarious living on a backwoods farm in northern Florida. Their young son, Jody, tames an orphaned fawn. When the deer begins to eat the family corn, Jody is ordered to shoot him. RC 33466, BR 12512.

39. I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven.
With only two years to live, a young minister is sent by his bishop into the wilds of British Columbia to a parish called Kingcome.  There, among struggling Indians, Mark Brian learns enough of the meaning of life to not fear death. RC 37368, BR 9406.

40. The Lost Horizon by James Hilton.
Classic utopian adventure fantasy. One of four Western passengers abducted during an airplane hijacking from Baskul, Hugh Conway, recounts the group’s sojourn at the mysterious lamasery of Shangri-La in the mountains of Tibet. Hugh describes Shangri-La’s unusual inhabitants and their quest, and the feelings of peace and contentment he enjoyed there. RC 51095.

41. A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford.
Lovely, green-eyed Emma Harte grows from a starving turn-of-the century Yorkshire waif to empress of multinational, multi-million dollar enterprises in Europe, the United States, and Australia. On the way to her success, Emma acquires three husbands: a nice, dull spouse killed in the Great War, another worthless, and the last tragically killed. Harte Family series, book 1. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. RC 13727.

42. Mama by Terry McMillan.
Mildred Peacock lives in poverty in a dilapidated house in the black ghetto of Point Haven, Michigan, with her violently abusive, alcoholic husband. She has five children. She herself is hooked on booze and pills. As the 1960s turn into the 1970s, Mildred embarks on an odyssey which will take her to both coasts and, perhaps, to a new understanding of her daughter, Freda, and of herself. Strong language and descriptions of sex. RC 25683.

43. Master of the Game by Sidney Sheldon.
Family saga of the Blackwell dynasty takes place over a period of 100 years and shifts from the diamond fields of South Africa to Paris, New York, and England. Focuses on the wily Kate Blackwell, head of a great international conglomerate, who follows in her father's footsteps, shrewdly ruling her business and private life.  Strong language and explicit descriptions of sex. RC 18664.

44. Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer.
Tale of power, jealousy, and revenge. Two men from widely different backgrounds are obsessed with destroying each other. Spans more than sixty years from 1906 to the late 1960s and revolves around William Lowell Kane, a millionaire financier, and Abel Rosnovski, a Polish immigrant who rises to become the head of a vast hotel empire. Kane and Abel series, Book 1. Strong language and explicit descriptions of sex. RC 15246.

45. Rising Sun by Michael Crichton.
An American call girl is found dead at the gala grand opening of Nakamoto Tower, the new United States headquarters for Japan's electronics giant. Lieutenant Peter Smith, Los Angeles Police Department, is assigned to investigate and is offered the assistance of John Connor, an expert on Japanese matters. When Smith gets close to the truth, his family, career, and life are threatened.  Strong language and descriptions of sex. RC 33933.

46. The Promise by Danielle Steel.
Michael Hillyard and Nancy McAllister are two young lovers who are determined to marry despite the objections of Michael’s strong-willed mother. However, on the day of their wedding, a tragic automobile accident results in a severe test of their promise to never say goodbye to each other. Some strong language. RC 48227.

47. Caribbean by James A. Michener.
Michener weaves fifteen threads of time together in a multicolored history of the Caribbean, ending with a cruise where the descendants of the protagonists meet. Beginning with the peaceful Arawaks who were defeated by the cannibalistic Caribs, he writes of the Mayas, Christopher Columbus, Sir Francis Drake, the pirate Henry Morgan, and on through history to Fidel Castro.
RC 30339.

48. One by Richard Bach.
A fantasy romance that follows a married couple’s journey through a parallel universe where the possibilities of their pasts still exist. The courtship and marriage of the couple was first recounted in the "Bridge Across Forever." BR 7697, RC 28042.

49. Bloodline by Sidney Sheldon.
When beautiful Elizabeth Roffe becomes heir to her late father's international pharmaceutical empire, her decision not to sell the stock exposes her and the company to great danger. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. RC 42610.

50. Fools Die by Mario Puzo.
Set against the glittering background of the plush casinos at Las Vegas, the New York literary world, and the movie makers of Hollywood. The story centers on Merlyn, an orphaned boy who becomes a successful author and the friend of powerful and wealthy men. Strong language and explicit descriptions of sex. RC 12326.