Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
The book is a classic adventure novel about a man who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers before being rescued. The story is noted for its realistic portrayal of the protagonist's physical and psychological development and for its detailed depiction of his attempts to create a life for himself in the wilderness. The novel has been interpreted as an allegory for the development of civilization, as well as a critique of European colonialism.
The 69th greatest book of all time
Ranking Details:
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List Date Penalty Feature
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How It Works
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Penalty Application:
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Why This Matters
By mitigating recency bias, the List Date Penalty feature helps to ensure that books that have had more time to be evaluated by readers and critics are given their due weight. This results in a more equitable and historically balanced ranking that truly reflects the greatest books of all time.
Total Points: 2871
This book was first published in 1719
49 Lists
- score: 190 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 180)
- score: 178 -- Pour une Bibliothèque Idéale - 1956 (Weight: 170)
- score: 175 -- The 100 Greatest British Novels - 2015 (Weight: 160)
- score: 170 -- Best Foreign Work of Fiction Chosen by Francophone Writers - 2006 (Weight: 170)
- score: 169 -- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher - 2005 (Weight: 160)
- score: 151 -- Famous Authors Name Their Favorite Novels(from 1915) - 1915 (Weight: 125)
- score: 148 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 140)
- score: 145 -- Best Books (Fiction, Prose) : Experts Choose Their Favourites - 1996 (Weight: 137)
- score: 127 -- The Great Books Podcast from John J. Miller - 2025 (Weight: 120)
- score: 120 -- The 100 Stories that Shaped the World - 2019 (Weight: 120)
- score: 111 -- Big Read (Hungarian) - 2005 (Weight: 110)
- score: 95 -- 100 Books of Classical and Modern Foreign Literature - 2013 (Weight: 80)
- score: 94 -- Fifty French Writers Choose Their Favorite 10 Books - Honourable Mention - 2022 (Weight: 89)
- score: 94 -- Have You Read 100 Great Books? - 1950 (Weight: 89)
- score: 94 -- 101 Significant Books - 1989 (Weight: 89)
- score: 94 -- What Our Children Should Read - 1993 (Weight: 89)
- score: 83 -- The 100 Most Important Translations - 2018 (Weight: 80)
- score: 75 -- ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bücher - 2009 (Weight: 71)
- score: 64 -- Cape Coral Public Library's Must-Read Books for the Summer - 2001 (Weight: 61)
- score: 64 -- The 100 Greatest Novels - 2008 (Weight: 61)
- score: 63 -- The 100 Best Novels Of All Time (Runners-Up) - 2026 (Weight: 60)
- score: 63 -- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon - 1994 (Weight: 60)
- score: 50 -- Top 50 Books - 2008 (Weight: 50)
- score: 40 -- The Books That Built The French - 2004 (Weight: 40)
- score: 31 -- The New Lifetime Reading Plan - 1999 (Weight: 30)
- score: 31 -- Book by Book: Notes on Reading and Life (Michael Dirda) - 2007 (Weight: 30)
- score: 30 -- The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time - 2004 (Weight: 30)
- score: 20 -- 100 Essential Books - 2009 (Weight: 20)
- score: 11 -- The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read - 2009 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time: The List - 2003 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- C.K. Shorter List of Best 100 Novels - 1898 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- John Lubbock, The Choice of Books (1896) - 1896 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- James Baldwin, The Book Lover: A Guide to the Best Reading (1910) - 1910 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- Masterpieces of World Literature - 1991 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- F. B. Perkins' List of 100 Best Fiction - 1877 (Weight: 10)
- score: 1 -- Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Complete 500: OCLC - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Best Novels Written in English - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 500 Must Read Books - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List - 2018 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written - 1979 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 50 Books to Read Before You Die - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Best Books Ever - 2006 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 501 Must-Read Books - 2006 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers - 2002 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Inteliquest's World's 100 Greatest Books of All-Time - 1993 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 Best Books in the World - 2021 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Top 50 Books - 1997 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Little Big Bulgaria Read - 2009 (Weight: 1)