The Modern Library | 100 Best Nonfiction
This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.
About this list
The Modern Library, 100 Books
who voted:
The same ten-member Modern Library Editorial Board that produced the companion “100 Best Novels” list also voted on the non-fiction list in 1999. The board was:
• Daniel J. Boorstin (historian)
• A. S. Byatt (novelist/critic)
• Christopher Cerf (publisher/author, board chair)
• Shelby Foote (historian/novelist)
• Vartan Gregorian (scholar/philanthropist)
• Edmund Morris (biographer)
• John Richardson (art historian)
• Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (historian)
• William Styron (novelist)
• Gore Vidal (novelist/essayist)
how they voted:
Modern Library sent each board member a ballot of 440 pre-selected titles from its catalogue. Members marked every book they thought belonged on the list (an approval-voting method). Titles with the most checks were ranked highest; ties were broken internally by Random House staff.
This list was originally published in 1999 and was added to this site over 12 years ago.
