The Atlantic Monthly chose an interesting time to unveil its list of the 100 most influential Americans on Tuesday.

In an age of increasing fragmentation, when faceless bloggers are beginning to wield as much power as TV's talking heads, the esteemed journal took time out to recognize — in some cases, romanticize — the giants that birthed our nation of niches.

Unlike the myriad lists that feed myriad markets (Americans do love their lists), The Atlantic's latest speaks to just about everyone. So many of these "top 100" projects are based on consumerism or criticism, concepts that anyone could reasonably dismiss as inconsequential. But "The Influentials" list and examines something that you almost feel obligated to care about.

History is all we leave behind, after all.

Since you want to see the list, the full 100 are ranked here: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200612/influentials . We've already given it a look (Abraham Lincoln comes in at No. 1), and here's some of what we've found.

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EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE

The Atlantic selected 10 historians to compile the list. Not a bad idea, since most of us wouldn't know where to turn after jotting down the founding fathers and some civil rights leaders. But there ended up being a remarkable lack of modernity here — and not just because 97 of the 100 selections are dead.

There's no acknowledgment of the Internet, aside from Bill Gates' presence to represent the personal computer (No. 54). No mention of e-mail. No reference to the power of television. No nod to what arguably influences us the most these days — public relations and spin.

That raises the question: Does someone have to be famous to be influential?

What about PR guru Edward Bernays, the father of modern spin (and nephew of Sigmund Freud)? Or Ray Tomlinson, who wrote the first e-mail? And as The Atlantic's accompanying feature points out, where's the love for Willis Carrier, designer of the air conditioner? Certainly not household names, but their inventions are.

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BOOKWORMS

Academia runs wild on "The Influentials," which shouldn't come as a complete surprise given that seven of the 10 panelists are professors. But it seems naive to believe that most of present-day America is directly influenced by old literature.

Times have changed so much over the past 20 years — specifically the ways we interact as a society — that the written volume is taking on less and less significance. It's not an overstatement to say that Americans suffer from collective attention-deficit disorder, but apparently we're not quite ready to acknowledge it.

William Faulkner, one of the most complex American authors, ranks 60th on the list. In a perfect world, he'd rank even higher. But it seems presumptuous to say "The Sound and The Fury" made any noise with the vast majority of the American people.

Walt Whitman, at No. 22, ranks ahead of the inventors of the airplane (Wright Brothers, No. 23) and the telephone (Alexander Graham Bell, No. 24). Even the great poet wouldn't celebrate himself that highly. No. 62, philosopher William James, would undoubtedly tell you that such a list designed for mass consumption pales in comparison to your own opinion, but does that insight merit a spot ahead of Elvis Presley (No. 66)?

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WOODROW WILSON?

The panelists didn't completely shun the current state of the world. One of the most intriguing picks sits near the top: Woodrow Wilson, our 28th president.

Wilson (No. 10) never ranks near the top in a spontaneous naming of all the commanders in chief, but his actions led to the United States' reputation as a global watchdog and paved the way for future administrations to involve themselves in other countries' business.

It was Wilson's decision to intervene in World War I, and his Espionage and Sedition Acts clamped down on public dissent at home.

Strangely enough, the accompanying article barely touches on Wilson's inclusion in the top 10. But the blurb next to his head shot reads: "He made the world safe for U.S. interventionism, if not for democracy." A backhanded compliment that has never gotten old.

Now that's influence.

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Otis Hart is an asap reporter based in New York.

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