> very unlikely a priori that a work of literature ever was the one > sufficient condition for a change in the course of history. That was also the message I t

> very unlikely a priori that a work of literature ever was the one > sufficient condition for a change in the course of history. That was also the message I took from the article. But this stood out; "In a 96-page anonymously published pamphlet, The Conduct of The Allies, Swift attacked... Swift turned the tide of debate and hastened the end of the war." And of course the US Constitution springs to mind. Maybe not individual books or authors, but the necessary conditions for literature, including the means of dissemination, freedom of speech and, if necessary, anonymity, afford the possibility for changing history.