In Promised Land, Jay Parini offers a sometimes surprising list of 13 books that have shaped America, from Of Plymouth Plantation to The Feminine Mystique.

All 13 books you've selected represent certain constant American themes. Which came first—the themes or the books?

I went to this lecture in London, 10 Books That Changed the World. It seemed rather absurd, but it was interesting, and I thought, what would be the books that really changed America? I said, okay, you have to have The Federalist Papers. You have to have the Journals of Lewis and Clark. You probably have to have Uncle Tom's Cabin.... And then I started saying, now what? And then that gave me a little freedom. I started to think, what are the key things about America? Immigration. Well, OfPlymouth Plantation is our first American narrative. It's an immigration narrative, it's a religious book, and it's about the confrontation of races, white and Native American. That made me think, okay, I just need another, later immigrant book. And Mary Antin's The Promised Land has always been a favorite of mine. It defined for many Americans the pattern of immigration.

Did writing this book change or reinforce your ideas about America?

I'm the son of immigrants. I was a real gung-ho American. But over the past seven years I'd become so demoralized in many ways, I'd forgotten what I was excited about in the first place. And going back in a deep, deep way, I was suddenly just thrilled by the American character: its bravery, its sense of freedom and autonomy, its sense that this is a new thing in the world and there's endless possibilities here. This is a book which is meant to say, Look who you are, and be happy about it! Get on with the good work! Don't get bogged down in all these stupid arguments.

Even though these books all represent some essential American quality, they were also disturbing and radically new.

Each of them was disruptive. You can't change things without being disruptive. The Federalist Papers was making a case for this crazy idea of a U.S. Constitution. And it dawned on me as I was writing, holy God, this is the United States of Amnesia! This is a country—especially since 9/11—where we've really been in the lock grip of ignoramuses. Teachers are trying hard, but everything militates against a knowledge of our past. And one good way to find out who we are is to go back and see what books made us.

Some of those books, like Uncle Tom's Cabin, are still controversial even today.

These books are still alive and doing their revolutionary work. What amazed me about Uncle Tom's Cabin was what a good novel it is. I read that book with my hair standing on end. I was just desperate to keep reading.