NR Online has pooled the thoughts of many literary, academic, and political heavies on which are the best/most-important non-fiction books of the 20th century. Several observations on the selections:

Here, here on C.S. Lewis (add the Screwtape Letters), Michael Oakeshott, Joseph Schumpeter (to the horror of libertarians, to the joy of traditionalists), and G. K. Chesterton.

Here, here on Tom Wolfe, but honorable mention to his From Bauhaus to Our House.

Camus? Important, yes, but great? Something to be honored or admired? Not sure on that.

Hofstader's Age of Reform is the century's greatest American history book? Debatable. Where is Louis Hartz? Perry Miller?

Irving Babbitt's Democracy and Leadership is the safe choice, but I've always liked Literature and the American College better.

Lippmann's Public Philosophy perhaps?

I nearly fell over when I saw Pobedonostsev's Reflections -- certainly a fascinating and useful thinker, a major stick-in-the-eye for 20th century liberal democracy, but one of the greatest books of the century? The theorist of Russian czarism?

Roll Jordon Roll deserves mention for its impact if not for its interpretation. As my mentor once said, "Only Genovese could make collard greens and skunk sound so good." Methinks those planters were a bit more capitalist than the Godfather believes. Just how did they get so rich?

Freeman's Lee is great ... as a work of literature.

I prefer Von Mises' Human Action to his Bureaucracy. But I am a glutton for punishment.

Note to the Style Editor: they put Carson's Silent Spring on the list. How do you feel about that?

McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom is good, but look to Roy Nichols' Disruption of American Democracy instead.

Might I add to the list Robert Remini's three volume Andrew Jackson biography, to say nothing of his massive bios of Webster and Clay? He is certainly one of the most prominent historians of the past 50 years. And how about David Donald's Lincoln?

Interesting that Leo Strauss and Eric Voeglin never appeared.