The 100 Best Books in the World

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

AbeBooks.de (in German), 101 Books

German bookseller website AbeBooks.de makes their selection for the "100 greatest books ever written".

This list was originally published in 2021 and was added to this site over 11 years ago.

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Cover of 'Metamorphoses' by Ovid
Metamorphoses

Ovid

Cover of 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare

Cover of 'Don Quixote' by Miguel de Cervantes
Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes

Cover of 'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe
Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe

Cover of 'The Adventures of Oliver Twist' by Charles Dickens
The Adventures of Oliver Twist

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'War and Peace' by Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy

Cover of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll

Cover of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde

Cover of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain

Cover of 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain

Cover of 'Germany, a Winter Tale' by Heinrich Heine
Germany, a Winter Tale

Heinrich Heine

Cover of 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë

Cover of 'The Brothers Karamazov' by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Brothers Karamazov

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cover of 'Thus Spake Zarathustra' by Friedrich Nietzsche
Thus Spake Zarathustra

Friedrich Nietzsche

Cover of 'The Jungle Book' by Rudyard Kipling
The Jungle Book

Rudyard Kipling

Cover of 'Steppenwolf' by Hermann Hesse
Steppenwolf

Hermann Hesse

Cover of 'The Man Without Qualities' by Robert Musil
The Man Without Qualities

Robert Musil

Cover of 'Berlin Alexanderplatz' by Alfred Döblin
Berlin Alexanderplatz

Alfred Döblin

Cover of 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Cover of 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley
Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

Cover of 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell
Animal Farm

George Orwell

Cover of 'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller
Catch-22

Joseph Heller

Cover of 'The Trial' by Franz Kafka
The Trial

Franz Kafka

Cover of 'Ulysses' by James Joyce
Ulysses

James Joyce

Cover of 'Buddenbrooks' by Thomas Mann
Buddenbrooks

Thomas Mann

Cover of 'The Counterfeiters' by André Gide
The Counterfeiters

André Gide

Cover of 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' by Ernest Hemingway
For Whom the Bell Tolls

Ernest Hemingway

Cover of 'The Tin Drum' by Günter Grass
The Tin Drum

Günter Grass

Cover of 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding
Lord of the Flies

William Golding

Cover of 'I'm Not Stiller' by Max Frisch
I'm Not Stiller

Max Frisch

Cover of 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote
In Cold Blood

Truman Capote

Cover of 'Nausea' by Jean Paul Sartre
Nausea

Jean Paul Sartre

Cover of 'The Stranger' by Albert Camus
The Stranger

Albert Camus

Cover of 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' by Milan Kundera
The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Milan Kundera

Cover of 'A Bend in the River' by V. S. Naipaul
A Bend in the River

V. S. Naipaul

Cover of 'Satanic Verses' by Salman Rushdie
Satanic Verses

Salman Rushdie

Cover of 'The Lover' by Marguerite Duras
The Lover

Marguerite Duras

Cover of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel García Márquez
One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel García Márquez

Cover of 'The English Patient' by Michael Ondaatje
The English Patient

Michael Ondaatje

Cover of 'The New York Trilogy' by Paul Auster
The New York Trilogy

Paul Auster

Cover of 'The Remains of the Day' by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Remains of the Day

Kazuo Ishiguro

Cover of 'Waiting for the Barbarians' by J. M. Coetzee
Waiting for the Barbarians

J. M. Coetzee

Cover of 'American Psycho' by Bret Easton Ellis
American Psycho

Bret Easton Ellis

Cover of 'Waiting' by Ha Jin
Waiting

Ha Jin

Cover of 'The Mists of Avalon' by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Mists of Avalon

Marion Zimmer Bradley

Cover of 'Baudolino' by Umberto Eco
Baudolino

Umberto Eco

Cover of 'A Brief History of Time' by Stephen Hawking
A Brief History of Time

Stephen Hawking

Cover of 'The Prince' by Niccolo Machiavelli
The Prince

Niccolo Machiavelli

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

Adam Smith

Cover of 'Das Kapital' by Karl Marx
Das Kapital

Karl Marx

Cover of 'The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money' by John Maynard Keynes
The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money

John Maynard Keynes

Cover of 'Sophie's World' by Jostein Gaarder
Sophie's World

Jostein Gaarder

Cover of 'Household Tales' by Brothers Grimm
Household Tales

Brothers Grimm

Cover of 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' by Edward Gibbon
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Edward Gibbon

Cover of 'The World as Will and Idea' by Arthur Schopenhauer
The World as Will and Idea

Arthur Schopenhauer

Cover of 'Principia Mathematica' by Isaac Newton
Principia Mathematica

Isaac Newton

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

Charles Darwin

Cover of 'The Story of Art' by Ernest H. Gombrich
The Story of Art

Ernest H. Gombrich

Cover of 'Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Cover of 'Nathan the Wise' by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Nathan the Wise

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Cover of 'Don Carlos' by Friedrich Schiller
Don Carlos

Friedrich Schiller

Cover of 'Michael Kohlhaas' by Heinrich von Kleist
Michael Kohlhaas

Heinrich von Kleist

Cover of 'A Harlot High And Low' by Honoré de Balzac
A Harlot High And Low

Honoré de Balzac

Cover of 'Effi Briest' by Theodor Fontane
Effi Briest

Theodor Fontane

Cover of 'The Last Days of Mankind' by Karl Kraus
The Last Days of Mankind

Karl Kraus

Cover of 'The Maurizius Case' by Jakob Wassermann
The Maurizius Case

Jakob Wassermann

Cover of 'Professor Unrat' by Heinrich Mann
Professor Unrat

Heinrich Mann

Cover of 'Farewell, My Lovely' by Raymond Chandler
Farewell, My Lovely

Raymond Chandler

Cover of 'The Royal Game' by Stefan Zweig
The Royal Game

Stefan Zweig

Cover of 'The German Lesson' by Siegfried Lenz
The German Lesson

Siegfried Lenz

Cover of 'The Clown' by Heinrich Böll
The Clown

Heinrich Böll

Cover of 'The Good Person of Szechwan' by Bertolt Brecht
The Good Person of Szechwan

Bertolt Brecht

Cover of 'The Physicists' by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
The Physicists

Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Cover of 'Eye Of The Needle' by Ken Follett
Eye Of The Needle

Ken Follett

Cover of 'The Day of the Jackal' by Frederick Forsyth
The Day of the Jackal

Frederick Forsyth

Cover of 'The New Sorrows of Young W.' by Ulrich Plenzdorf
The New Sorrows of Young W.

Ulrich Plenzdorf

Cover of 'A Tale of Love and Darkness' by Amos Oz
A Tale of Love and Darkness

Amos Oz

Cover of 'The Songlines' by Bruce Chatwin
The Songlines

Bruce Chatwin

Cover of 'The Discovery of Heaven' by Harry Mulisch
The Discovery of Heaven

Harry Mulisch

Cover of 'Cat's Eye' by Margaret Atwood
Cat's Eye

Margaret Atwood

Cover of 'The Hunting Gun' by Yasushi Inoue
The Hunting Gun

Yasushi Inoue

Cover of 'Shadows on the Hudson' by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Shadows on the Hudson

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Cover of 'Betty Blue' by Philippe Djian
Betty Blue

Philippe Djian

Cover of 'South of the Border, West of the Sun' by Haruki Murakami
South of the Border, West of the Sun

Haruki Murakami

Cover of 'The Feast of the Goat' by Mario Vargas Llosa
The Feast of the Goat

Mario Vargas Llosa

Cover of 'Desert Flower' by Waris Dirie, Cathleen Miller
Desert Flower

Waris Dirie, Cathleen Miller

Cover of 'The Shadow of the Wind' by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Shadow of the Wind

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Cover of 'The Meaning of Hitler' by Sebastian Haffner
The Meaning of Hitler

Sebastian Haffner

Cover of 'The Clash of Civilizations' by Samuel P. Huntington
The Clash of Civilizations

Samuel P. Huntington

Cover of 'An Inconvenient Truth' by Al Gore
An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore

Cover of 'The Theory of Economic Development' by Joseph A. Schumpeter
The Theory of Economic Development

Joseph A. Schumpeter

Cover of 'Auto Da Fé' by Elias Canetti
Auto Da Fé

Elias Canetti

Cover of 'Success' by Lion Feuchtwanger
Success

Lion Feuchtwanger

Cover of 'Die andere Bildung. Was man von den Naturwissenschaften wissen sollte' by Ernst Peter Fischer
Die andere Bildung. Was man von den Naturwissenschaften wissen sollte

Ernst Peter Fischer

Cover of 'The Animals' Conference' by Erich Kästner
The Animals' Conference

Erich Kästner

Cover of 'The Statement' by Brian Moore
The Statement

Brian Moore

Cover of 'German History 1800–1918' by Thomas Nipperdey
German History 1800–1918

Thomas Nipperdey

Cover of 'Crusade and Jihad' by Bassam Tibi
Crusade and Jihad

Bassam Tibi

Cover of 'Castle Gripsholm' by Kurt Tucholsky
Castle Gripsholm

Kurt Tucholsky

Cover of 'Alberta empfängt einen Liebhaber' by Birgit Vanderbeke
Alberta empfängt einen Liebhaber

Birgit Vanderbeke

Cover of 'Journey to the West' by Wu Cheng'en
Journey to the West

Wu Cheng'en