Books That Changed the World

This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Book, 59 Books

Scholar Robert B. Downs selects the "great works that revolutionized our ideas about the universe - and ourselves".

This list was originally published in 2004 and was added to this site over 11 years ago.

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Cover of 'The Bible' by Unknown
The Bible

Unknown

Cover of 'The Iliad' by Homer
The Iliad

Homer

Cover of 'The Odyssey' by Homer
The Odyssey

Homer

Cover of 'Confessions' by Augustine
Confessions

Augustine

Cover of 'Summa Theologica' by Thomas Aquinas
Summa Theologica

Thomas Aquinas

Cover of 'The Prince' by Niccolo Machiavelli
The Prince

Niccolo Machiavelli

Cover of 'Principia Mathematica' by Isaac Newton
Principia Mathematica

Isaac Newton

Cover of 'Common Sense' by Thomas Paine
Common Sense

Thomas Paine

Cover of 'The Wealth of Nations' by Adam Smith
The Wealth of Nations

Adam Smith

Cover of 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman' by Mary Wollstonecraft
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft

Cover of 'An Essay on the Principle of Population' by Thomas Robert Malthus
An Essay on the Principle of Population

Thomas Robert Malthus

Cover of 'Civil Disobedience' by Henry David Thoreau
Civil Disobedience

Henry David Thoreau

Cover of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Cover of 'On the Origin of Species' by Charles Darwin
On the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin

Cover of 'Das Kapital' by Karl Marx
Das Kapital

Karl Marx

Cover of 'The Interpretation of Dreams' by Sigmund Freud
The Interpretation of Dreams

Sigmund Freud

Cover of 'Silent Spring' by Rachel Carson
Silent Spring

Rachel Carson

Cover of 'Seven Against Thebes' by Aeschylus
Seven Against Thebes

Aeschylus

Cover of 'Oresteia' by Aeschylus
Oresteia

Aeschylus

Cover of 'The Persians' by Aeschylus
The Persians

Aeschylus

Cover of 'The Suppliants' by Aeschylus
The Suppliants

Aeschylus

Cover of 'Prometheus Bound' by Aeschylus
Prometheus Bound

Aeschylus

Cover of 'Oedipus at Colonus' by Sophocles
Oedipus at Colonus

Sophocles

Cover of 'Philoctetes' by Sophocles
Philoctetes

Sophocles

Cover of 'Oedipus the King' by Sophocles
Oedipus the King

Sophocles

Cover of 'Ajax' by Sophocles
Ajax

Sophocles

Cover of 'Women of Trachis' by Sophocles
Women of Trachis

Sophocles

Cover of 'Electra' by Sophocles
Electra

Sophocles

Cover of 'Antigone' by Sophocles
Antigone

Sophocles

Cover of 'The Bacchae' by Euripides
The Bacchae

Euripides

Cover of 'Medea' by Euripides
Medea

Euripides

Cover of 'Trojan Women' by Euripides
Trojan Women

Euripides

Cover of 'Hippolytus' by Euripides
Hippolytus

Euripides

Cover of 'Lysistrata' by Aristophanes
Lysistrata

Aristophanes

Cover of 'The Clouds' by Aristophanes
The Clouds

Aristophanes

Cover of 'The Birds' by Aristophanes
The Birds

Aristophanes

Cover of 'The Histories of Herodotus' by Herodotus
The Histories of Herodotus

Herodotus

Cover of 'The History of the Peloponnesian War' by Thucydides
The History of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides

Cover of 'Parallel Lives' by Plutarch
Parallel Lives

Plutarch

Cover of 'De Rerum Natura' by Lucretius
De Rerum Natura

Lucretius

Cover of 'The Complete Works of Plato' by Plato
The Complete Works of Plato

Plato

Cover of 'Corpus Aristotelicum' by Aristotle
Corpus Aristotelicum

Aristotle

Cover of 'The Dyskolos' by Menander
The Dyskolos

Menander

Cover of 'Anabasis' by Xenophon
Anabasis

Xenophon

Cover of 'The Histories' by Polybius
The Histories

Polybius

Cover of 'Catiline's War, The Jugurthine War, Histories' by Sallust
Catiline's War, The Jugurthine War, Histories

Sallust

Cover of 'The History of Rome' by Livy
The History of Rome

Livy

Cover of 'Annals' by Cornelius Tacitus
Annals

Cornelius Tacitus

Cover of 'Histories' by Cornelius Tacitus
Histories

Cornelius Tacitus

Cover of 'Hippocratic Corpus' by Hippocrates
Hippocratic Corpus

Hippocrates

Cover of 'Theophrastus' by William Wall Fortenbaugh, Dimitri Gutas
Theophrastus

William Wall Fortenbaugh, Dimitri Gutas

Cover of 'The Works of Archimedes' by Archimedes
The Works of Archimedes

Archimedes

Cover of 'Natural History' by Pliny the Elder
Natural History

Pliny the Elder

Cover of 'The City of God' by Augustine
The City of God

Augustine

Cover of 'On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres' by Nicolaus Copernicus
On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres

Nicolaus Copernicus

Cover of 'On the Fabric of the Human Body' by Andreas Vesalius
On the Fabric of the Human Body

Andreas Vesalius

Cover of 'An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Living Beings' by William Harvey
An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Living Beings

William Harvey

Cover of 'An inquiry into the causes and effects of the variolae vaccinae' by Edward Jenner
An inquiry into the causes and effects of the variolae vaccinae

Edward Jenner

Cover of 'The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783' by Alfred Thayer Mahan
The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783

Alfred Thayer Mahan