Douglas Brinkley

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (Penguin, $15). The Joad family always haunts me: hollow faces determined to survive the utter ravage of the Dust Bowl. Their Great Depression–era journey down “The Road of Flight”—Route 66—is seminal American reading.

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You Can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe (Perennial, $16). Nobody captured the sad, lonely essence of America like the great Thomas Wolfe. His description of an honest writer being treated like a dancing bear for the New York set is unforgettable.

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The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer (Vintage, $17). A chilling story of Gary Gilmore’s life before and after death row. Mailer captures the sparse Utah landscape like a master painter. His descriptive detail—and pitch-perfect dialogue—rings truer than a Sam Shepard play, and that is saying a lot.

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On the Road by Jack Kerouac (Penguin, $14). I was handed this novel in high school while working at a Holiday Inn in Perrysburg, Ohio. My favorite passages are when Kerouac raps about various Western places like Denver, Los Angeles, and the wilds of Montana.

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A Fan’s Notes by Frederick Exley (Vintage, $15). A drunken frolic through the football-drenched bars of Watertown, N.Y. Every sentence is perfectly written. An underappreciated literary gem.

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The collected works of Theodore Roosevelt

The Wilderness Hunter

Outdoor Pastimes

African Game Trails

Through the Brazilian Wilderness

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