The Greatest Books of All Time on Colonialism

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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
13582 Heartland Wilson Harris 1964 Guyanese English
13588 The Coup John Updike 1978 American English
13599 Brazil Red Jean-Christophe Rufin 2001 French French
13599 Les Civilisés Claude Farrère 1905 French French
13599 En France Marius-Ary Leblond 1909 French French
13599 The Soul Of Malaya H. Fauconnier 1930 French French
13599 The Savage State Georges Conchon French French
13599 Les Flamboyants Patrick Grainville 1976 French French
13599 Anne Marie Lucien Bodard 1981 French French
13599 Love And Empire Érik Orsenna 1988 French French
13715 The Traitor Baru Cormorant Seth Dickinson 2015 American English
13715 Kintu Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi 2014 Ugandan English
13771 Flood Of Fire Amitav Ghosh 2015 Indian English
13817 Le Isole Del Paradiso Stanislao Nievo 1996 Italian Italian
13923 An Image Of Africa Chinua Achebe 1975 Nigerian English
13971 The Monster Baru Cormorant Seth Dickinson 2018 American English
14025 Time's Monster Priya Satia 2020 American English
14025 Heart Berries Terese Marie Mailhot 2018 Canadian English
14047 Whereas Layli Long Soldier 2017 American English
14107 Kulto Ni Santiago Kristian Cordero Filipino Filipino
14132 A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Winston Churchill 1956 British English
14192 Pax Britannica James Morris 1968 British English
14210 The Word For World Is Forest Ursula K. Le Guin 1972 American English
14226 To Have And To Hold Mary Johnston 1900 American English
14232 The Year of the French Thomas Flanagan 1979 American English
14334 India Under British Rule From The Foundation Of The East India Company James Talboys Wheeler 1874 British English
14347 The News from Paraguay Lily Tuck 2004 American English
14362 Water Music T. C. Boyle 1982 American English
14367 A History Of The American People Woodrow Wilson 1902 American English
14433 Taiwanese Trilogy Chung Chao-cheng 1984 Taiwanese Chinese
14434 The Making Of A Tropical Disease Randall M. Packard 2007 American English
14486 Modern Egypt Evelyn Baring, Earl of Cromer 1908 British English
14492 A History Of Burning Janika Oza 2023 Unknown English
14553 Eradication Nancy Leys Stepan 2011 American English
14666 Sacred Hunger Barry Unsworth 1992 British English
14858 Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile John Hanning Speke 1863 British English
14890 The Deceivers John Masters 1952 British English
14926 White Shadows In The South Seas Frederick O'Brien 1919 American English
14984 The Rifles William T. Vollmann 1994 American English
14984 Lucy Jamaica Kincaid 1990 Antiguan English
14984 Crossing The River Caryl Phillips 1993 British English
14984 The Tyranny Of Distance Geoffrey Blainey 1966 Australian English
14984 Cloud 9 Caryl Churchill 1979 British English
14984 Translations Brian Friel 1980 Irish English
14984 Salt Earl Lovelace 1996 Trinidadian English
14984 The Boer War Thomas Pakenham 1979 British English
14984 The Heart Of Redness Zakes Mda 2000 South African English
14984 The Great Partition Yasmin Khan 2007 British English
14984 The Vorrh Brian Catling 2012 British English
14984 The End Of Drum Time Hanna Pylväinen 2023 Unknown English
14984 The Most Secret Memory Of Men Mohamed Mbougar Sarr 2023 Senegalese French
15561 The Mosquito Timothy C. Winegard 2019 Canadian English
15610 The Hawaiians Gavan Daws, Robert B. Goodman, Ed Sheehan 1970 American English
15661 Born In Blackness Howard W. French 2021 American English
15680 The Hainish Novels And Stories Ursula K. Le Guin 2017 American English
15680 River Spirit Leila Aboulela 2023 Sudanese English
15680 Mexico Nicolas Cheetham Unknown English
15712 Something to Answer For P. H. Newby 1968 British English
15727 Infortunios De Alonso Ramirez / The Misfortunes Of Alonso Ramirez José F. Buscaglia-Salgado, Carlos de Siguenza y Gongora 1690 Mexican Spanish
15753 Travels in West Africa Mary Kingsley 1897 British English
15766 Night In Bombay Louis Bromfield 1940 American English
15801 Paul And Virginie Bernardin de Saint-Pierre 1788 French French
15798 To The Indies C.S. Forester 1940 British English
15832 First Footsteps in East Africa Richard Burton 1856 British English
15852 Through the Dark Continent Henry M. Stanley 1878 British English
15898 The Masters and the Slaves Gilberto Freyre 1933 Brazilian Portuguese
16495 Journey Without Maps Graham Greene 1936 British English
16488 Coolie Mulk Raj Anand 1936 Indian English
15898 Funnyhouse Of A Negro Adrienne Kennedy 1964 American English
15898 Private Life Of An Indian Prince Mulk Raj Anand 1953 Indian English
15898 Narrative Of The Captivity And Restoration Of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson Mary White Rowlandson 1682 American English
15898 Hobomok Lydia Maria Child 1824 Hobomok English
15898 The Fur Trade In Canada Harold A. Innis 1930 Canadian English
15898 Discourse On Colonialism Aimé Césaire 1950 French French
15898 A Short Account Of The Destruction Of The Indies Bartolomé de las Casas 1552 Spanish Spanish
15898 Landtakers Brian Penton 1934 Australian English
15898 The Purple Land Jay William Hudson 1885 Unknown Unknown
15898 The Forest And The Fort Hervey Allen 1943 American English
15898 Roanoke Hundred Inglis Fletcher 1948 American English
15898 Northwest Passage Kenneth Roberts 1937 American English
15898 Conceived In Liberty Howard Fast 1945 American English
15898 Lydia Bailey Kenneth Roberts 1940 American English
15898 The Unconquered Ben Ames Williams 1953 American English
15898 The Turning Wheel Stuart Cloete 1937 South African English
15898 Nightrunners Of Bengal John Masters 1951 British English
15898 Golden Earth Norman Lewis 1952 British English
15898 The Traveller's Tree Patrick Leigh Fermor 1950 British English
16574 Zama Antonio di Benedetto 1956 Argentinian Spanish
16689 The Principal Navigations Richard Hakluyt 1589 British English
16744 Dyyni Frank Herbert 1965 American English
17120 In Our Image Stanley Karnow 1989 American English
17120 The War with Mexico Justin H. Smith 1919 American English
17120 The Founding of New England James Truslow Adams 1921 American English
17120 English Passengers Matthew Kneale 2000 British English
17120 A History of the United States Edward Channing 1905 American English
17120 The War of Independence Claude H. Van Tyne 1929 American English
17120 The Colonial Period of American History Charles McLean Andrews 1934 American English
16798 Castaways Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca 1542 Spanish Spanish
17010 Journal of the Voyage to the Pacific Alexander Mackenzie 1801 Canadian English
17120 The Triumphant Empire Lawrence H. Gipson 1948 American English
17120 Puritan Village Sumner Chilton Powell 1963 American English
17120 Neither Black Nor White Carl N. Degler 1971 American English
17120 Voyagers to the West Bernard Bailyn 1986 American English
17120 Embers of War Fredrik Logevall 2012 American English
17120 Genoa Paul C. Metcalf 1965 American English
17120 Chesapeake James A. Michener 1978 American English
17120 The Almanac of the Dead Leslie Marmon Silko 1991 American English
17120 The Wine of Astonishment Earl Lovelace 1982 Trinidadian English
17120 The Telling Ursula K. Le Guin 2000 American English
17120 Embassytown China Miéville 2011 British English
17120 The Calcutta Chromosome Amitav Ghosh 1995 Indian English
17120 Rangatira Paula Morris 2011 New Zealander English
17120 Slow Water Annamarie Jagose 2003 New Zealander English
17120 The Impressionist Hari Kunzru 2002 British English
16885 Kanthapura Raja Rao 1938 Indian English
17120 The Far Cry Emma Smith 1949 British English
17120 Act Of Destruction Ronald Hardy 1971 British English
17120 Destiny Disrupted Tamim Ansary 2009 American English
17120 Downward To The Earth Robert Silverberg 1970 American English
17120 The Fifth Head Of Cerberus Gene Wolfe 1972 American English