#4 Greatest Book of All Time

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is ranked #4 on the History of Literature Podcast's list of the Greatest Books of All Time. In Episode 761, Jacke places the book in context, offering seven points about the time and circumstances that influenced J.D. Salinger's writing of this canonical text about a young teen's struggle with the phonies in his world.

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

J.D. Salinger and The Catcher in the Rye also make an appearance in the archives:

In Episode 119, Mike Palindrome, President of the Literature Supporters Club, joins Jacke for a reconsideration of the book that critic Adam Gopnik called “one of three perfect American novels.” Mike and Jacke explore how The Catcher in the Rye's themes of alienation and disaffection resonate in today's world.

In Episode 653, Jacke takes a look at Salinger's childhood and education, his youthful romance thwarted by an unlikely turn of events, his war and postwar experiences as a soldier and special intelligence investigator, his flurry of almost unbelievable success as a writer, and his years of self-imposed seclusion.