The works herein, published in 1960 or earlier, have delighted generations of readers. As concerned parents, educators, and counselors, we must continue to emphasize the importance of access to good reading in order to shape our students' learning process, enhance their understanding of American heritage, and open up a new world of self-fulfillment. Despite the absences, we hope this compilation will nevertheless bring hours of pleasure and enlightenment. The titles presented for suggested extracurricular reading provide a solid foundation and hours of enjoyment for students and scholars of all ages. We hope that the Timeless Classics booklist will continue to be a rich source of material for everyone.
Literature is an investment of genius which pays dividends to all subsequent times.
The National Endowment for the Humanities solicited supplemental reading lists from public and private schools in every state. Sixty of the extracurricular lists that NEH received were used to compile this list. The list includes all titles published in 1960 or before that appeared on at least five of those reading lists.