Why people recommend it
Margaret Mitchell's historical epic Gone with the Wind follows Scarlett O'Hara against the backdrop of the American Civil War and Reconstruction era in the South. Pamela Paul introduced the novel on The Book Review as a representative literary work of the 1930s. John Williams noted on the same podcast that Mitchell joined the ranks of one-hit wonders who achieved monumental commercial success with a single published novel. On SmartLess, the participants referenced the colossal cultural footprint of the book's film adaptation while discussing the history of blockbuster hits. Jordan Peterson invoked a famous line from the story on The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast to illustrate an indifferent universe. Malcolm Gladwell discussed the novel on The Megyn Kelly Show, highlighting its status as the dominant bestseller of its era and mentioning the tragic death of its author. Finally, James Burrows shared a surreal anecdote on SmartLess about comedian Andy Kaufman silently reading the book on stage until the audience departed.
Who recommended it
- Malcolm Gladwell Discussed
- Pamela Paul Discussed
- John Williams Discussed
- Jordan B. Peterson Discussed
Malcolm Gladwell — 2 mentions
“yes margaret who wrote gone gone with the wind was killed by a drunk driver”
“she is gone with the wind is like you know the far and away the biggest book of that era”
Pamela Paul — 1 mention
“the next example being Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell for the 1930s”
John Williams — 1 mention
“Margaret Mitchell much like Harper Lee chose I think chose to only publish Gone With the Wind and certainly commercially that was a giant smash”
Jordan B. Peterson — 1 mention
“then the universe is very much like Red Butler in Gone With the Wind and says to us frankly my dear I just don't give a damn”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 2
“But Indiana Jones—that was around the block too for The Greatest Show on Earth by Cecil B. DeMille and also Gone with the Wind. Yes, everybody thinks Jaws was the first blockbuster, but it wasn't!”
“He would come out, I saw him once come out, sit down in a chair, and start reading Gone with the Wind until you left! He didn't care, it was three minutes, very well... it's very well...”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- A Confederacy of Dunces
- A horse walks into a bar
- All About Me!
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- An essay on the causes of the variety of complexion and figure in the human species
- Anne of Green Gables
Other mentions (6: passing, ad reads, own books)
“It’s kind of like in 'Gone With the Wind' when all the guys are jonesing for war and somebody reminds them, actually you know, the North, like they have all the industry; they’re going to have us beat.”
“and it's Faithfully represented in Gone With The Wind in which you know people read lering Gone With the Wind and that that's quite accurate for the time”
“so there's Rand there's Gone With the Wind but very little else comes to mind”
“so this is interesting mary mitchell gone with the wind and a star is born and how all these things may be connected”
“and now they're doing it to cards gone with the wind is sold out everywhere”
“when he marries a farm to the south where we literally thought it was well made it was like the city of Atlanta had went back to Gone with the Wind”