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
2022 Little Poet Nescio 1918 Dutch Unknown
2769 Amsterdam Stories Nescio 1918 Dutch Dutch
2789 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
3879 Kees The Boy Theo Thijssen 1923 Dutch Dutch
3899 Groot Lied Boeck G. A. Bredero 1622 Dutch Dutch
4059 The Woutertje Pieterse Chronicles Multatuli 1890 Dutch Dutch
4059 Awater Martinus Nijhoff 1934 Dutch Dutch
4179 Warenar P. C. Hooft 1617 Dutch Dutch
4234 Een Liefde Lodewijk van Deyssel 1887 Dutch Dutch
4234 The Mountain Of Light Louis Couperus 1906 Dutch Dutch
4234 Eva Carry van Bruggen 1927 Dutch Dutch
4234 The Tears Of The Acacias W.F. Hermans 1949 Dutch Dutch
4862 Het Leven Is Verrukkulluk Remco Campert 1961 Dutch Dutch
4892 Nearer To Thee Gerard Reve 1966 Dutch Dutch
5035 I Jan Cremer Jan Cremer 1964 Dutch Dutch
5110 The Ministry Of Pain Dubravka Ugrešić 2004 Croatian Croatian
5228 The Green Face Gustav Meyrink 1916 German German
5436 The Office J.J. Voskuil 1996 Dutch Dutch
6005 The Story Of My Life Giacomo Casanova 1822 Italian French
6106 Poems Of Mr. Pieter C. Hooft P. C. Hooft 1642 Dutch Dutch
6106 Poetry Or Various Poems Joost van den Vondel 1650 Dutch Dutch
6147 The Historian Elizabeth Kostova 2005 American English
6211 Gimmick! Joost Zwagerman 1989 Dutch Dutch
6256 Midwinter Break Bernard MacLaverty 2017 Irish English
6337 The Worldly Philosophers Robert Heilbroner 1953 American English
6382 History Of Germany In The Nineteenth Century Heinrich von Treitschke 1879 German German
6422 The Laws Connie Palmen 1991 Dutch Dutch
6445 Eaarth Bill McKibben 2010 American English
6748 De Advocaat Van De Hanen A. F. Th. van der Heijden 1990 Dutch Dutch
6748 Hoffman's Hunger Leon de Winter 1990 Dutch Dutch
6889 Frisk Dennis Cooper 1991 American English
7177 The Asylum Seeker Arnon Grunberg 2003 Dutch Dutch
7206 Het Meesterstuk Anna Enquist 1994 Dutch Dutch
7701 Tirza Arnon Grunberg 2006 Dutch Dutch
8090 Approaching The End Gerard Reve 1993 Dutch Dutch
8897 Yoga For People Who Can’t Be Bothered To Do It Geoff Dyer 2003 British English
9062 The Book Of Records Madeleine Thien 2025 Canadian English
9139 The Consequences Niña Weijers 2014 Dutch Dutch
9192 How We Got To Now Steven Johnson 2014 American English
9654 The Dinner Herman Koch 2009 Dutch Dutch
9827 The Opposite Of A Person Lieke Marsman 2017 Dutch Dutch
9835 An Interrupted Life Etty Hillesum 1981 Dutch Dutch
9884 The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue Mackenzi Lee 2017 American English
9886 Man And The Natural World Keith Thomas 1983 British English
9974 Gebrek Is Een Groot Woord Nina Polak 2018 Dutch Dutch
10768 An Embarrassment Of Riches Simon Schama 1987 British English
10973 This Machine Kills Secrets Andy Greenberg 2012 Unknown English
11168 The Creators Daniel J. Boorstin 1992 American English
11637 The Means Of Reproduction Michelle Goldberg 2009 American English
11934 Animals Strike Curious Poses Elena Passarello 2017 American English
13290 Publieke Werken Thomas Rosenboom 1999 Dutch Dutch
13362 Child Of All Nations Irmgard Keun 1938 German German
13743 Dictionary Of Subjects And Symbols In Art James Hall 1974 British English
13886 Anne Frank Francine Prose 2009 American English
14025 Jamrach’s Menagerie Carol Birch 2011 British English
14232 Quicksilver Neal Stephenson 2003 American English
14630 The Gutenberg Galaxy Marshall McLuhan 1962 Canadian English
14985 The Baroque Cycle Neal Stephenson 2003 American English
14985 Europe Norman Davies 1996 British English
14985 Salt Mark Kurlansky 2002 American English
14985 The Most Secret Memory Of Men Mohamed Mbougar Sarr 2023 Senegalese French
15916 The Gathering Storm Winston Churchill 1948 British English
16617 The Diary Of Anne Frank Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich 1955 American English
17162 Utopia Avenue David Mitchell 2020 British English
17162 The Witching Hour Anne Rice 1990 American English
17162 Art History Marilyn Stokstad 1995 American English
17162 The Third Reich Michael Burleigh 2000 British English
17162 Whole Earth Discipline Stewart Brand 2009 American English
17162 Spook Mary Roach 2005 American English
17162 Diplomacy Henry A. Kissinger 1994 American English
17162 The Lexus And The Olive Tree Thomas L. Friedman 1999 American English
17162 Neither Here Nor There Bill Bryson 1992 American English
17162 The Silk Roads Peter Frankopan 2015 British English
17162 Soccer In Sun And Shadow Eduardo Galeano 1995 Uruguayan Spanish
17162 The Wages Of Destruction Adam Tooze 2006 British English
17162 The System Of The World Neal Stephenson 2004 American English
16890 Extraordinary Popular Delusions & The Madness Of Crowds Charles Mackay 1841 British English
17162 Gun Before Butter Nicolas Freeling 1963 British English
17162 The Wealth And Poverty Of Nations David S. Landes 1998 American English
17162 Atlas Obscura Joshua Foer 2016 American English
17162 Thunderclap Laura Cumming 2023 British English
17162 The Diary Keepers Nina Siegal 2023 Unknown English
17162 Monet Jackie Wullschläger 2023 Unknown English
17162 The Mastermind Evan Ratliff 2019 American English
17162 The Devil And The Dark Water Stuart Turton 2020 British English
17162 The Holocaust Martin Gilbert 1978 British English
16999 De Uitvreter / Titaantjes / Dichtertje / Mene Tekel Nescio 1918 Dutch Dutch
17162 Walkable City Rules Jeff Speck 2018 American English
17162 Fox Dubravka Ugrešić 2017 Croatian Croatian
17162 Women, Art, And Society Whitney Chadwick 1990 American English