Here's what HarperCollins has to say about this list:

"In 1817, in a modest New York City printing shop run by John and James Harper, an American legacy was born. Soon the firm settled on an emblem—a torch, symbolizing the flame of knowledge—that the company still bears under its name, HarperCollins Publishers. Since its founding, no American publisher has been so entwined in the history of American letters: from Moby Dick to Their Eyes Were Watching God, from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to To Kill a Mockingbird, from Walden to Silent Spring, from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Howard Zinn, HarperCollins has enriched, challenged, and defined the American spirit. Still headquartered only a stone’s throw from J. & J. Harper’s original Manhattan offices, HarperCollins is proud to present this library of American literature drawn from our storied catalog in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States."

Here's what my favorite author, Barbara Kingsolver (whose work is included in this list), has to say:

"I've been deeply unexcited about observances of our country's 250th birthday, until I got this announcement from my publisher, HarperCollins. Their plan release of this curated collection telling our nation's story is a worthy celebration. Read the list, and you might agree. This country started as a colonial, genocidal land-grab, all right. And it's been peopled ever since mostly by immigrants escaping misery (including genocide) in the homelands behind them, looking to make something better. And by increments, often succeeding, through risk, and protest and beautiful literature."