The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

Huckleberry Finn is the only novel an educated American need read. The resourcefulness of Huck is unmatched in today's society, his independence is unattainable by any living being or hero of folklore, and his cussed ability to worm his way out of any predicament is only emulated by recent President Bill Clinton.
Truly, the only other icon of literature who comes close to paralleling Huck's insatiable lust for adventure is his buddy back in St. Petersburg, Tom Sawyer. Tom has more imagination, but Huck outshines Tom with massive doses of common sense.
Would that children of today exercised their innate imaginative freedom, not to mention their independence.
It is not necessary to say that had life in America not evolved much beyond the pure joy of life on the Mississippi in the early nineteenth century, we would indeed be a happier and more fulfilled society.