HAS LITERATURE EVER CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY? On the 100th anniversary of its publication, James Joyce's Ulysses is widely regarded as a groundbreaking work of fiction, but can literature have any impact outside the confines of culture?

In this article, the authors discusses the possible effects of literature on history. Also cited are the 100th anniversary of the publication of James Joyce's book "Ulysses," how the English poem "Paradise Lost" affected understanding of Christian myth, and how George Orwell discussed the inner logic of totalitarian egalitarianism in his book "Nineteen Eighty-Four."