The White AlbumThe White Album
Score Classic
What it's about
Joan Didion's essays on California and America in the late 1960s and 70s: the Manson murders, the Black Panthers, the Doors in the recording studio, the Hoover Dam, shopping malls, the women's movement, and her own nervous breakdown during a period when, she writes, the story no longer made sense.
Why it's worth reading
It was a National Book Award finalist and is one of the great essay collections. Its opening essay is famous.
You'll love it if you liked
The Year of Magical Thinking
Play It as It Lays
Against InterpretationGood to know
The essays stand alone. Didion's style is cool and precise.
By the numbers
- Readers46 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics28 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller20 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story, Thought-provoking, Moving
More by Joan Didion
The Year of Magical Thinking
Slouching Towards BethlehemPlay It as It LaysIf you like this, read next
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
The Color Purple
1984
The Lord of the Rings
A Brief History of TimeExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is The White Album worth reading?
Yes. It was a National Book Award finalist and is one of the great essay collections. It ranks #1,984 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 64.1 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The White Album about?
Joan Didion's essays on California and America in the late 1960s and 70s: the Manson murders, the Black Panthers, the Doors in the recording studio, the Hoover Dam, shopping malls, the women's movement, and her own nervous breakdown during a period when, she writes, the story no longer made sense.
How long does it take to read The White Album?
About 6 hours (223 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The White Album?
If you liked it, try The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion or Against Interpretation by Susan Sontag.