The Greatest Books of All Time Set in Amsterdam

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
113 The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank 1947 Dutch Dutch
374 Ethics Baruch de Spinoza 1677 Dutch Latin
741 The Goldfinch Donna Tartt 2013 American English
796 The Fall Albert Camus 1956 French French
843 The Evenings Gerard Reve 1947 Dutch Dutch
897 The Darkroom Of Damocles W.F. Hermans 1958 Dutch Dutch
1586 Gijsbrecht Van Aemstel Joost van den Vondel 1637 Dutch Dutch
1957 The Spanish Brabanter G. A. Bredero 1617 Dutch Dutch
1970 The Freeloader Nescio 1916 Dutch Dutch
1984 Little Titans Nescio 1918 Dutch Dutch
2021 Little Poet Nescio 1918 Dutch Unknown
2768 Amsterdam Stories Nescio 1918 Dutch Dutch
2787 A Cultural History Of The Modern Age Egon Friedell 1927 Austrian English
3507 The Most Secret Memory Of Men Mohamed Mbougar Sarr 2021 Senegalese French
3562 The History Of Miss Sara Burgerhart Betje Wolff, Aagje Deken 1782 Dutch Dutch
3638 An Outline Of European Architecture Nikolaus Pevsner 1943 British English
3880 Kees The Boy Theo Thijssen 1923 Dutch Dutch
3900 Groot Lied Boeck G. A. Bredero 1622 Dutch Dutch
4058 The Woutertje Pieterse Chronicles Multatuli 1890 Dutch Dutch
4058 Awater Martinus Nijhoff 1934 Dutch Dutch
4178 Warenar P. C. Hooft 1617 Dutch Dutch
4233 Een Liefde Lodewijk van Deyssel 1887 Dutch Dutch
4233 The Mountain Of Light Louis Couperus 1906 Dutch Dutch
4233 Eva Carry van Bruggen 1927 Dutch Dutch
4233 The Tears Of The Acacias W.F. Hermans 1949 Dutch Dutch
4860 Het Leven Is Verrukkulluk Remco Campert 1961 Dutch Dutch
4890 Nearer To Thee Gerard Reve 1966 Dutch Dutch
5031 I Jan Cremer Jan Cremer 1964 Dutch Dutch
5107 The Ministry Of Pain Dubravka Ugrešić 2004 Croatian Croatian
5225 The Green Face Gustav Meyrink 1916 German German
5433 The Office J.J. Voskuil 1996 Dutch Dutch
6002 The Story Of My Life Giacomo Casanova 1822 Italian French
6103 Poems Of Mr. Pieter C. Hooft P. C. Hooft 1642 Dutch Dutch
6103 Poetry Or Various Poems Joost van den Vondel 1650 Dutch Dutch
6144 The Historian Elizabeth Kostova 2005 American English
6207 Gimmick! Joost Zwagerman 1989 Dutch Dutch
6253 Midwinter Break Bernard MacLaverty 2017 Irish English
6334 The Worldly Philosophers Robert Heilbroner 1953 American English
6379 History Of Germany In The Nineteenth Century Heinrich von Treitschke 1879 German German
6419 The Laws Connie Palmen 1991 Dutch Dutch
6442 Eaarth Bill McKibben 2010 American English
6747 De Advocaat Van De Hanen A. F. Th. van der Heijden 1990 Dutch Dutch
6747 Hoffman's Hunger Leon de Winter 1990 Dutch Dutch
6889 Frisk Dennis Cooper 1991 American English
7176 The Asylum Seeker Arnon Grunberg 2003 Dutch Dutch
7205 Het Meesterstuk Anna Enquist 1994 Dutch Dutch
7700 Tirza Arnon Grunberg 2006 Dutch Dutch
8089 Approaching The End Gerard Reve 1993 Dutch Dutch
8893 Yoga For People Who Can’t Be Bothered To Do It Geoff Dyer 2003 British English
9057 The Book Of Records Madeleine Thien 2025 Canadian English
9134 The Consequences Niña Weijers 2014 Dutch Dutch
9188 How We Got To Now Steven Johnson 2014 American English
9651 The Dinner Herman Koch 2009 Dutch Dutch
9824 The Opposite Of A Person Lieke Marsman 2017 Dutch Dutch
9832 An Interrupted Life Etty Hillesum 1981 Dutch Dutch
9881 The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue Mackenzi Lee 2017 American English
9883 Man And The Natural World Keith Thomas 1983 British English
9970 Gebrek Is Een Groot Woord Nina Polak 2018 Dutch Dutch
10762 An Embarrassment Of Riches Simon Schama 1987 British English
10966 This Machine Kills Secrets Andy Greenberg 2012 Unknown English
11161 The Creators Daniel J. Boorstin 1992 American English
11634 The Means Of Reproduction Michelle Goldberg 2009 American English
11932 Animals Strike Curious Poses Elena Passarello 2017 American English
13287 Publieke Werken Thomas Rosenboom 1999 Dutch Dutch
13359 Child Of All Nations Irmgard Keun 1938 German German
13742 Dictionary Of Subjects And Symbols In Art James Hall 1974 British English
13885 Anne Frank Francine Prose 2009 American English
14025 Jamrach’s Menagerie Carol Birch 2011 British English
14232 Quicksilver Neal Stephenson 2003 American English
14629 The Gutenberg Galaxy Marshall McLuhan 1962 Canadian English
14983 The Baroque Cycle Neal Stephenson 2003 American English
14983 Europe Norman Davies 1996 British English
14983 Salt Mark Kurlansky 2002 American English
14983 The Most Secret Memory Of Men Mohamed Mbougar Sarr 2023 Senegalese French
15897 The Gathering Storm Winston Churchill 1948 British English
16582 The Diary Of Anne Frank Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich 1955 American English
17117 Utopia Avenue David Mitchell 2020 British English
17117 The Witching Hour Anne Rice 1990 American English
17117 Art History Marilyn Stokstad 1995 American English
17117 The Third Reich Michael Burleigh 2000 British English
17117 Whole Earth Discipline Stewart Brand 2009 American English
17117 Spook Mary Roach 2005 American English
17117 Diplomacy Henry A. Kissinger 1994 American English
17117 The Lexus And The Olive Tree Thomas L. Friedman 1999 American English
17117 Neither Here Nor There Bill Bryson 1992 American English
17117 The Silk Roads Peter Frankopan 2015 British English
17117 Soccer In Sun And Shadow Eduardo Galeano 1995 Uruguayan Spanish
17117 The Wages Of Destruction Adam Tooze 2006 British English
17117 The System Of The World Neal Stephenson 2004 American English
16863 Extraordinary Popular Delusions & The Madness Of Crowds Charles Mackay 1841 British English
17117 Gun Before Butter Nicolas Freeling 1963 British English
17117 The Wealth And Poverty Of Nations David S. Landes 1998 American English
17117 Atlas Obscura Joshua Foer 2016 American English
17117 Thunderclap Laura Cumming 2023 British English
17117 The Diary Keepers Nina Siegal 2023 Unknown English
17117 Monet Jackie Wullschläger 2023 Unknown English
17117 The Mastermind Evan Ratliff 2019 American English
17117 The Devil And The Dark Water Stuart Turton 2020 British English
17117 The Holocaust Martin Gilbert 1978 British English
16942 De Uitvreter / Titaantjes / Dichtertje / Mene Tekel Nescio 1918 Dutch Dutch
17117 Walkable City Rules Jeff Speck 2018 American English
17117 Fox Dubravka Ugrešić 2017 Croatian Croatian
17117 Women, Art, And Society Whitney Chadwick 1990 American English