101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived

The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived

Does Barbie set high achievement standards for girls?
How many will die following The Marlboro Man's example -- smoking cigarettes?
Girls saw in Nancy Drew stories, abilities and attitudes that they soon acquired.
"We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us." -- attributed to Marshall McLuhan

New! Hardcover edition (Library Binding)!

Our fantasy life does more than sell books and movies, it drives technology, social change, war, and the everyday thoughts that fill our lives.

Characters of fiction, who helped to incite wars, revolutions, and more. Some capture essential personality types: the miser, the obsessive leader, the womanizer, the matriarch, the victim, the hero.

Move your cursor over an underlined name in the list below to get a peek at what influence that character might have had.

The 101:

1. The Marlboro Man
2. Big Brother
3. King Arthur
4. Santa Claus (St. Nick)
5. Hamlet
6. Dr. Frankenstein's Monster
7. Siegfried
8. Sherlock Holmes
9. Romeo and Juliet
10. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
11. Uncle Tom
12. Robin Hood
13. Jim Crow
14. Oedipus
15. Lady Chatterley
16. Ebenezer Scrooge
17. Don Quixote
18. Mickey Mouse
19. The American Cowboy
20. Prince Charming
21. Smokey Bear
22. Robinson Crusoe
23. Apollo and Dionysus
24. Odysseus
25. Nora Helmer
26. Cinderella
27. Shylock
28. Rosie the Riveter
29. Midas
30. Hester Prynne
31. The Little Engine That Could
32. Archie Bunker
33. Dracula
34. Alice in Wonderland
35. Citizen Kane
36. Faust
37. Figaro
38. Godzilla
39. Mary Richards
40. Don Juan
41. Bambi
42. William Tell
43. Barbie
44. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
45. Venus and Cupid
46. Prometheus
47. Pandora
48. G. I. Joe
49. Tarzan
50. Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock

What is importance or influence, after all? Read this article.

Teachers: We've posted tons of free stuff for your classroom here.

Hey, we all make mistakes. Here are the corrections and updates.

51. James Bond

52. Hansel and Gretel

53. Captain Ahab

54. Rick Blaine

55. Ugly Duckling

56. Loch Ness Monster (Nessie)

57. Atticus Finch

58. Valentine (St)

59. Helen (of Troy)

60. Batman

61. Uncle Sam

62. Nancy Drew

63. J. R. Ewing

64. Superman

65. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn

66. HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)

67. Kermit the Frog

68. Sam Spade

69. Pied Piper

70. Peter Pan

71. Hiawatha

72. Othello

73. The Little Tramp

74. King Kong

75. Norman Bates

76. Hercules (Heracles)

77. Dick Tracy

78. Joe Camel

79. Cat in the Hat

80. Icarus

81. Mammy

82. Sindbad

83. Amos 'n' Andy

84. Buck Rogers (incl. Flash Gordon)

85. Luke Skywalker

86. Perry Mason

87. Dr. Strangelove

88. Pygmalion

89. Madame Butterfly

90. Hans Beckert

91. Dorothy Gale (Wizard of Oz)

92. Wandering Jew

93. Jay Gatsby

94. Buck (Jack London - Call of the Wild)

95. Willy Loman

96. Betty Boop

97. Ivanhoe

98. Elmer Gantry

99. Lilith

100. John Doe

101. Paul Bunyan

Buy the book on-line now from Amazon.

"Slightly silly and infinitely entertaining, The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived is also, in fact, seriously interesting. The contemplative coauthors of this unusual book treat the reader to an amusing short essay about each of the 101 fictional characters they deem to be the most significant in American cultural history. Among the great invented luminaries, you'll find Icarus, Santa Claus, Don Juan, King Kong, Jim Crow, Luke Skywalker, Sherlock Holmes, G. I. Joe, Captain Ahab, Alice, Hamlet, HAL 9000, Mary Richards, Bambi, the Marlboro Man, Big Brother, and Archie Bunker." -- CH, Bas Bleu

What do Archie Bunker, Hercules, Nancy Drew, and Santa Claus have in common?

Who was more influential in women's liberation: Lady Chatterley or Rosie the Riveter?

How are ancient legends used to justify political decisions?

What moral behavior do we expect of our machines?

What are the 10 most recognizable, and the 10 most important, characters in fiction today?

"The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived is a riot. It's a brilliant concept, charmingly executed. Even when you disagree with their choices-and disagreeing is half the fun-Messrs. Lazar, Karlan, and Salter make such good, solid, and clever cases for their nominees that you have to nod in agreement or at least in admiration. From Odysseus to Bond, James Bond and Lilith to Mouse, Mickey Mouse, the selections are provocative, the writing lively, the discussion animated and engaging. Any book that can bring together Othello, Hiawatha, and Kermit T. Frog gets my vote. Over and over again, I found myself musing, why didn't I think of this? I'm insanely jealous. And grateful."

Tom Foster, author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor

More Reviews

Consider The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived for your next Book Club

selection. It's guaranteed to provoke lively and enthusiastic discussions.

Teachers (college and high school): why not include this book in your curriculum? It's entertaining, well-written, and informative. English literature, cultural studies, and even humanities courses can benefit from the introduction of this collection of essays. Visit the Harper Academic site for the downloadable Teacher's Guide to The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived.

Buy the book on-line now from Barnes & Noble or Amazon or Booksense.

We've got some related sites linked here.

If you want to contact the authors to do a radio (or other) interview with you, or

to arrange a booksigning, click here.

If you want to contact the authors regarding a possible joint business

venture (television production based on the book, for example), you

must contact our agent, here.

We regret to report the death of co-author and friend Allan Lazar on August 23, 2011.

Have some questions about the book or authors? Here are a few frequently asked questions (FAQs).

To contact the authors, click here.

In the future, additional features might be added to this site. Stay tuned.

You can even buy the book at your local bookstore.

Website created and maintained by Dan Karlan, 2006 and beyond.
Last updated May 9, 2013