No matter how old you are, weâve all got those books that have made a lasting impression on us. Whether itâs the book your mom read to you at night when you were a kid, one a beloved English teacher introduced you to or one that opened your mind and heart at an important point, some books really stand the test of time.
In celebration of 50 years of PEOPLE, we polled our staff about the books from decades past that made a difference in their lives or the culture at large. Here are our picks from the 1970s.
âDispatchesâ by Michael Herr
This blistering report from the front lines of the Vietnam War brought readers right into the trenches. In frank day-to-day retellings of what was happening on the ground, it brought the war closer to home for many Americans than it had ever been before.
âThe Princess Brideâ by William Goldman
Havenât read the book version? Inconceivable! Many readers may not realize that the 1987 cult classic film The Princess Bride was a book first. If you love following the adventures of Buttercup, Wesley and crew onscreen, give the original a try.
âAre You There God? Itâs Me, Margaretâ by Judy Blume
Generations of young people have cherished this coming-of-age book about a girl named Margaret whoâs learning how to be in the world â and her changing body â with the help of a small group of girls and a special relationship with the big man upstairs. Itâs a classic for a reason, and worth a reread.
âThe White Albumâ by Joan Didion
Charles Manson, the Black Panthers, the rise of mall culture â this must-read from one of the best cultural critics and essayists America ever produced is both a journey through the swinging 60âs and Didionâs own stunning mind.
âThe Rachel Papersâ by Martin Amis
Adolescent angst and the foibles and follies that come with it have been a mainstay of fiction since the form began, and this oneâs a prime example. Our painfully real protagonist is getting ready to head off to Oxford, fighting with his father, trying to get a girl â itâs a tale as old as time, and a good one.
âEndless Loveâ by Scott Spencer
Scott Spencer has been crowned âthe contemporary American master of the love storyâ by Publishers Weekly, and after three decades in print and translation into more than 20 languages, his title hasnât slipped. If youâve never read this story of teenage obsession, itâs well worth a ride.
âAll the Presidentâs Menâ by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
This is the story of how two Washington Post reporters broke the Watergate scandal â in all its dramatic, gutsy glory. Pick up the 50th anniversary edition with a new foreword that explains what Watergate means today.
âRootsâ by Alex Haley
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Roots came out 40 years ago, followed by a celebrated miniseries a year later that was appointment viewing for some 130 million Americans. If you missed it then, or want to revisit it now, the book that started it all is still essential reading.
âCarrieâ by Stephen King
Now a household name in horror, Stephen King burst onto the scene with this deeply unsettling novel about a girl whoâs bullied at school and retaliates in a way thatâs terrified generations of readers ever since.
âHelter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murdersâ by Vincent Bulgiosi with Curt Gentry
The brutal Manson murders shocked the nation in the summer of 1969, and this definitive account of the gumshoe detective work that broke open the case, the prosecutorâs take on the complex murder trial and the fervor Manson inspired in his followers makes for a gripping true crime that more or less defined the genre.
âGo Ask Aliceâ by Anonymous
This uncredited account of one teenage girlâs descent into addiction is a classic cautionary tale thatâs horrified decades of parents, teachers and anyone who knows or loves a teen. While it has since been debunked as a hoax, its impact on literature and society canât be understated.
âBreakfast of Championsâ by Kurt Vonnegut
Speaking of truth and fiction, when writer Kilgore Trout realizes a Midwest car dealer is mistaking his made-up tales for real ones, we embark on a rollicking journey of war, sex, racism, success, politics and pollution that reminds us all to trust, but verify.
âWhere the Sidewalk Endsâ by Shel Silverstein
The funny, imaginative poems and whimsical illustrations in this and other volumes by the author of The Giving Tree have been staples of childhood for decades. It still makes an excellent gift for milestones from baby showers to graduations and beyond.
âTinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spyâ by John le CarrĂ©
If you havenât read a le CarrĂ© novel, are you even a spy fiction fan? The title of this one says it all: a Soviet mole has penetrated the highest level of British Intelligence and George Smiley can trust only his wits and a handful of friends to help him set a trap to catch the traitor and foil his Moscow Centre nemesis.
âRagtimeâ by E.L. Doctorow
Blurring the lines between fictional characters and real lives, this tour de force sees Harry Houdini crash his car into a telephone pole outside an affluent familyâs home. Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, J. P. Morgan, Evelyn Nesbit, Sigmund Freud and more appear in this ambitious tale that captures the spirit of midcentury America on the page.
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