Whether it’s via their tone, topic, or tenor, certain works just say “America.” Here is one such title, suggested by author and storyteller Dr. Ed Lengel, chief historian at the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas:

Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe. “This had a powerful effect on me at a young age and my understanding of being an American,” says Lengel of Wolfe’s seminal novel about a boy’s desire to leave his humble North Carolina home in search of a richer, more intellectual life.

Patriotic Picks is a monthly feature in partnership with the Washington Independent Review of Books.

Patriotic Picks is a monthly feature in partnership with the Washington Independent Review of Books.