The Best Books of the 21st Century: Ryan Holiday on ‘The Road’

In 2024, The New York Times Book Review gathered more than 500 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets and literary enthusiasts to help pick the best books of the 21st century so far. One of those books was Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Road,” which came in at No. 13. That book tells the story of a man and his young son trying to survive in a postapocalyptic United States. Like other books by McCarthy, it combines ornate prose with moments of unforgettable violence. It is also a moving story of love and parenthood under the most extreme circumstances.

One of the people who voted on our best books list was Ryan Holiday, author of more than a dozen nonfiction books, host of the “Daily Stoic” podcast and owner of the Painted Porch Bookshop in Bastrop, Texas. We recently invited him on the “Book Review” podcast to talk about “The Road,” and how its meaning changed for him after he became a father.

Books Discussed on This Episode:

“The Road” by Cormac McCarthy

“No Country for Old Men” by Cormac McCarthy

“All the Pretty Horses” by Cormac McCarthy

“Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy

“The Odyssey” by Homer

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“The Children of Men” by P. D. James

“The Plague” by Albert Camus

“Revolutionary Road” by Richard Yates

“Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius

“Of Boys and Men” by Richard Reeves

“Outdoor Kids in an Inside World” by Steven Rinella

“Letter to His Father” by Franz Kafka

“Range” by David Epstein

“Good Inside” by Becky Kennedy

“Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy

“Death Be Not Proud” by John Gunther

“The Revenant” by Michael Punke

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