Discover the best 1960s books with these modern classic books from 1960s science fiction to popular novels of the 60s.
When you think about the 1960s, you think of a world in upheaval. With the Civil Rights Movement sweeping through the United States and the growing antiwar sentiment to the Vietnam War, the decade saw a rise of the 60s counterculture.
After writing up a list of books set in the 1930s for the 2023 Reading Challenge, I thought it would be fun to take a deeper look at literature through the decades, examining both historical fiction from each decade as well as classic books.
Along with such famous 1960s books as To Kill a Mockingbird, you’ll find other modern classic books written in the 1960s that showcase how much the world was changing. The relative domestic peace of the 1950s was being torn apart as progressive ideals butted heads with conservative viewpoints.
It’s astounding to think of the staying power of novels written almost five decades ago. If you are interested in modern classics, you’ll want to try one of these classic books of the 1960s.
Best 1960s Books
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
There’s a good reason that practically every school makes you read this book. Voted the Great American Read and considered one of the best coming-of-age novels, To Kill A Mockingbird is a timeless classic that everyone should read. The story of young Scout and Jem watching their father, Atticus Finch, defend an innocent black man will make you want to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou
Poet Maya Angelou’s memoir of the early years of her life is touching and heartbreaking all at the same time. Growing up with her grandmother in a small Southern town, she details how affecting the segregation was as a young black girl, as well as the feeling of abandonment by her mother. Covering many hard topics – including her sexual assault at a young age – I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings makes my list of the best memoirs of all time.
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote
Truman Capote was the founder of narrative nonfiction with his page-turning look at an unspeakable crime. On November 15, 1959, in the small farming town of Holcomb, Kansas, two men brutally murder the Clutter family in their home for no apparent reason. Through extensive interviews from the first days on the scene and following the events all the way to the execution of the murderers, Capote unfolds the whole story of exactly what happened and more intriguing of all, why it happened. Make sure you set aside a chunk of time to read this modern classic because, I promise, once you start you’ll realize this is a book you can’t put down.
Dune
Frank Herbert
Meet Paul Atreides, the heir apparent to the House of Atreides. At the beginning of the novel, his family takes control of the desert planet Arrakis, the source of the most sought-after commodity in the galaxy, but power like that breeds many enemies who will stop at nothing to take over Arrakis. Combining politics, religion, and mysticism with a whole lot of adventure, Herbert sends you on an epic journey that took science fiction to a whole new level.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Malcolm X with Alex Haley
Malcolm X was one of the most influential persons in the 20th century, and you can read about his life as told to acclaimed author Alex Haley. Entering prison as Malcolm Little, he embraced Islam while inside and emerged as Malcolm X, a fierce advocate for Black empowerment, Black pride, and pan-Africanism.
Catch-22
Joseph Heller
I hated this book when I first read it. I mean, I absolutely despised it. It’s completely ridiculous. Heller’s brand of satire involves stories that are over-the-top exaggerations, and he’s never heard of character development. Yet, a few months after I finished it, random bits from the book would pop up in my mind and make me laugh: the man whose name is Major Major Major Major, the Allies bombing their own bridge. I promise you, you’ll either love this book or hate this book, but you won’t forget it.
Literary 1960s Novels
The Bell Jar
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath’s semi-autobiographical work shows protagonist Esther Greenwood’s mental breakdown. Starting a summer internship in New York City, Esther struggles to feel joy or excitement like her colleagues. When she doesn’t get an academic job after her internship, Esther feels lost, depressed, and suicidal. After entering an asylum, Esther eventually recovers and finds a new perspective on life.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel García Márquez
One Hundred Years of Solitude follows seven generations of the Buendía family, whose patriarch José Arcadio Buendía founds the city of Macondo, Columbia, along a riverbank. For years, the town has little connection with the outside world until it is eventually pulled into the politics of Columbia. This acclaimed modern classic is known for Márquez’s distinct use of magical realism.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Solzhenitsyn joins Tolstoy and Dostoevsky among the best Russian works with his groundbreaking novel, and the first time an account of Stalin’s repression was openly distributed in the Soviet Union. Solzhenitsyn describes one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich Shukov as he struggles to maintain his dignity while imprisoned in a forced-labor camp.
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
John Le Carré
In one of the most acclaimed spy novels, John le Carré hooks you with the tale of retiring British intelligence agent Alec Leamas. With the construction of the Berlin wall and the death of his last agent, Leamas intends to go back to London to retire. Instead, Control sends him on one last mission, to impersonate an ex-agent and use himself as bait to bring down the East German Intelligence Service.
Cat’s Cradle
Kurt Vonnegut
In his satirical novel, Kurt Vonnegut paints an apocalyptic future full of black humor. An unnamed narrator travels to New York to interview the friends and family of Felix Hoenikker, the co-creator of the atomic bomb. While there, he learns that Hoenikker also created a substance called ice-nine that will freeze all water, which is now likely in the possession of Hoenikker’s sons.
Revolutionary Road
Richard Yates
In the 1950s, Frank and April Wheeler are the picture-perfect American couple who are just sure that great things are just ahead. However, both Frank and April are sure they are meant for more than life in the suburbs, desperately dreaming of something bigger. Yet, instead of making positive changes, they let their disenchantment lead to heartbreak and ruined lives.
Popular 1960s Books
The Godfather
Mario Puzo
Before it was a bestselling film, The Godfather was a #1 New York Times bestselling novel that captivated America with the tale of Vito Corleone, the head of an Italian mafia family on Long Island. After Vito is shot, his sons, Sonny and Michael, engage in a vicious war against the other crime families in the years after World War II.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Ken Kesey
In the Oregon state mental hospital, Nurse Ratched rules her ward with an iron fist, using medication and the threat of electroshock therapy to keep the patients in line. Yet her orderly routine is thrown into chaos by the newest patient, McMurphy, a fun-loving trickster who uses the mental ward to avoid prison. The epic battle of will between the antihero and the tyrannical nurse delves into the fine line between sanity and madness in one of my favorite classic page turners that is just as good, if not better, than the movie adaptation.
True Grit
Charles Portis
In the 1870s, teenager Mattie Ross seeks vengeance for her father’s murder. To track down the murderer in the Indian Territories, she hires Federal Marshal Rooster Cogburn who teams up with a Texas Ranger for the hunt. Mattie’s no-nonsense narration makes this classic Western story shine.
Slaughterhouse-Five
Kurt Vonnegut
How to describe Slaughterhouse-Five? It’s a postmodern anti-war science fiction World War II novel, which gives it a unique place among World War 2 books. The unreliable narrator tells the tale of Billy Pilgrim, a time-traveling man being held in an alien zoo. Through flashbacks, we relive Billy’s capture during the Battle of the Bulge, life as a POW working in a slaughterhouse (Slaughterhous #5) during the Dresden firebombing, and his subsequent life after the war. If you can get past Vonnegut’s strange style, his discussion of fate, free will, and death earn it its place among the top 1960s books, for, “so it goes.”
Rosemary’s Baby
Ira Levin
Rosemary thinks it’s a dream come true when she and her husband Gus move into their dream New York apartment. Confined at home because of her terrible pregnancy, Rosemary slowly becomes suspicious of the unsolicited advice of her husband and neighbors. Is it the hormones, or is an evil force waiting to claim her baby?
A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess
In a horrifying vision of the future criminals rule society. Fifteen-year-old Alex and his friends participated in shockingly heinous and violent acts and after being captured by the State, authorities try to forcibly rehabilitate Alex. Questioning free will and morality, I can see why A Clockwork Orange is often listed as one of the best modern novels. Still, I will admit it’s one of my least favorite books, and not just because the entire story is written in a strange made-up slang.
Science Fiction Books From the 1960s
The Andromeda Strain
Michael Crichton
When a satellite tasked with collecting dust and organisms from the far reaches of space crashes in Arizona, scientists are startled to find everyone in the nearby town is now dead. Worried the satellite brought an alien contaminant to Earth, scientists study the two survivors hoping to prevent the microbe from spreading in this techno-thriller.
Stranger in a Strange Land
Robert A. Heinlein
Although a human, Valentine Michael Smith was raised on Mars by Martians after his parents died exploring space. When he returns to Earth, Smith becomes an instant celebrity, fabulously wealthy since he legally “owns” Mars. Quickly, his Martain ways and psychic abilities captivate the world, leading to a major transformation in the world’s culture.
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Ray Bradbury
A week before Halloween, Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show arrives in Green Town, Illinois. The sinister promise of youthful wishes calls to the town’s residents, and two curious young boys will discover how quickly dreams can become nightmares. Known for its hauntingly lyrical prose, Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of the best 1960s books for those who love a fun scare.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Philip K. Dick
In the inspiration for the Blade Runner movie franchise, Dick transports you to a post-apocalyptic San Francisco ruined by nuclear war. The San Francisco Police Department tasks bounty hunter Rick Deckard with killing six androids that have recently arrived from Mars. These new androids are so similar to humans that they are almost impossible to detect.
Nonfiction 1960s Literature
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Joan Didion
In a series of essays, Joan Didion conveys the essence of life in the 1960s, mostly focusing on California. Placing herself at the center of each piece, Didion’s reporting describes the grim realities behind San Francisco’s perceived utopian counterculture in blunt terms. With essays on John Wayne and Howard Hughes and growing up in California, Didion’s collection is renowned for its distinct styling.
The Feminine Mystique
Betty Friedan
At her 15th college reunion, Betty Friedan surveyed her classmates and realized that many of them were unhappy with their work as housewives. Using interviews and psychology Friedan counters the assumption that feminine women would have no desire to work, have an education, or hold political opinions. Friedan showed women that they were not alone in failing to find satisfaction in being a housewife-mother and allowed them to hope for more.
Black Like Me
John Howard Griffin
If you are looking for books that make you think about race relations in the United States, Griffin’s nonfiction book is a great place to start. In October of 1959, journalist John Howard Griffin spent six weeks traveling across the Deep South with one major change: he medically darkened his skin to look like a black man. His journal of the experience is an incredible read discussing race relations in the United States. Though much has changed since then, you’ll find yourself pondering how much has unfortunately stayed the same.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle
In 1961, Knopf published the first volume of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. French chefs Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle asked American Julia Child to help them create the definitive guide to French cooking for American audiences. This groundbreaking work led to Child’s appearance on one of the first tv cooking shows, transforming the culinary landscape in the United States for decades to come.
1960s Children’s Books
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Roald Dahl
In Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel, Charlie Bucket’s life is forever changed when he finds a golden ticket inside a chocolate bar. Now Charlie and his grandfather get to take a tour of Willy Wonka’s renowned chocolate factory, a place that boggles the imagination.
A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L’Engle
In this 1960s children’s classic, Meg and Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin embark through a wrinkle in time on a quest to find their missing father. There they meet a dark force intent on subjugating them to its will.
Where the Red Fern Grows
Wilson Rawls
A sob-worthy middle-grade read based on the author’s childhood, Where the Red Fern Grows tells the story of Billy Colman, who saves up all his money for two years to purchase two coonhounds. Soon, Billy, Little Ann, and Old Dan become the best hunting team in the Ozark Mountains where glory and tragedy await them.
Harriet the Spy
Louise Fitzhugh
Harriet fancies herself a spy. Every day, she fills her notebook with honest observations about the people around her, sometimes too honest. When Harriet’s classmates find her notebook one day, their reactions to Harriet’s thoughts lead to anger, retaliation, and unexpected surprises.
The Island of Blue Dolphins
Scott O’Dell
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, an Indian culture lived on an island shaped like a fish surrounded by dolphins and otters. When they sailed away, Karana, a young girl, was left behind. For years, Karana waits to be rescued, creating a home for herself among nature.
The Outsiders
S. E. Hinton
This tale of two weeks in the life of Ponyboy Curtis has been a favorite middle-grade read for years. Ponyboy believes the world is split into two types of people: socs (rich and spoiled), and greasers (outsiders who will do anything to survive). When his friend kills a soc, Ponyboy’s conscious starts to question his worldview, teaching him empathy for both socs and greasers.
More 1960s Books for Children:
How Do You Feel About 1960s Literature?
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my 1960s Books list? What books published in the 1960s have I forgotten? As always, let me know in the comments!
More Classic Books Reading Lists:
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