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
13583 Heartland Wilson Harris 1964 Guyanese English
13589 The Coup John Updike 1978 American English
13600 Brazil Red Jean-Christophe Rufin 2001 French French
13600 Les Civilisés Claude Farrère 1905 French French
13600 En France Marius-Ary Leblond 1909 French French
13600 The Soul Of Malaya H. Fauconnier 1930 French French
13600 The Savage State Georges Conchon French French
13600 Les Flamboyants Patrick Grainville 1976 French French
13600 Anne Marie Lucien Bodard 1981 French French
13600 Love And Empire Érik Orsenna 1988 French French
13716 The Traitor Baru Cormorant Seth Dickinson 2015 American English
13716 Kintu Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi 2014 Ugandan English
13772 Flood Of Fire Amitav Ghosh 2015 Indian English
13818 Le Isole Del Paradiso Stanislao Nievo 1996 Italian Italian
13924 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
14335 India Under British Rule From The Foundation Of The East India Company James Talboys Wheeler 1874 British English
14348 The News from Paraguay Lily Tuck 2004 American English
14363 Water Music T. C. Boyle 1982 American English
14368 A History Of The American People Woodrow Wilson 1902 American English
14434 Taiwanese Trilogy Chung Chao-cheng 1984 Taiwanese Chinese
14435 The Making Of A Tropical Disease Randall M. Packard 2007 American English
14487 Modern Egypt Evelyn Baring, Earl of Cromer 1908 British English
14493 A History Of Burning Janika Oza 2023 Unknown English
14554 Eradication Nancy Leys Stepan 2011 American English
14667 Sacred Hunger Barry Unsworth 1992 British English
14826 The Turning Wheel Stuart Cloete 1937 South African English
14859 Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile John Hanning Speke 1863 British English
14893 The Deceivers John Masters 1952 British English
14927 White Shadows In The South Seas Frederick O'Brien 1919 American English
14985 The Rifles William T. Vollmann 1994 American English
14985 Lucy Jamaica Kincaid 1990 Antiguan English
14985 Crossing The River Caryl Phillips 1993 British English
14985 The Tyranny Of Distance Geoffrey Blainey 1966 Australian English
14985 Cloud 9 Caryl Churchill 1979 British English
14985 Translations Brian Friel 1980 Irish English
14985 Salt Earl Lovelace 1996 Trinidadian English
14985 The Boer War Thomas Pakenham 1979 British English
14985 The Heart Of Redness Zakes Mda 2000 South African English
14985 The Great Partition Yasmin Khan 2007 British English
14985 The Vorrh Brian Catling 2012 British English
14985 The End Of Drum Time Hanna Pylväinen 2023 Unknown English
14985 The Most Secret Memory Of Men Mohamed Mbougar Sarr 2023 Senegalese French
15567 The Mosquito Timothy C. Winegard 2019 Canadian English
15616 The Hawaiians Gavan Daws, Robert B. Goodman, Ed Sheehan 1970 American English
15667 Born In Blackness Howard W. French 2021 American English
15686 The Hainish Novels And Stories Ursula K. Le Guin 2017 American English
15686 River Spirit Leila Aboulela 2023 Sudanese English
15686 Mexico Nicolas Cheetham Unknown English
15718 Something to Answer For P. H. Newby 1968 British English
15734 Infortunios De Alonso Ramirez / The Misfortunes Of Alonso Ramirez José F. Buscaglia-Salgado, Carlos de Siguenza y Gongora 1690 Mexican Spanish
15760 Travels in West Africa Mary Kingsley 1897 British English
15761 Night In Bombay Louis Bromfield 1940 American English
15792 To The Indies C.S. Forester 1940 British English
15818 Paul And Virginie Bernardin de Saint-Pierre 1788 French French
15844 First Footsteps in East Africa Richard Burton 1856 British English
15863 Through the Dark Continent Henry M. Stanley 1878 British English
15916 The Masters and the Slaves Gilberto Freyre 1933 Brazilian Portuguese
16511 Journey Without Maps Graham Greene 1936 British English
16504 Coolie Mulk Raj Anand 1936 Indian English
15916 Funnyhouse Of A Negro Adrienne Kennedy 1964 American English
15916 Private Life Of An Indian Prince Mulk Raj Anand 1953 Indian English
15916 Narrative Of The Captivity And Restoration Of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson Mary White Rowlandson 1682 American English
15916 Hobomok Lydia Maria Child 1824 American English
15916 The Fur Trade In Canada Harold A. Innis 1930 Canadian English
15916 Discourse On Colonialism Aimé Césaire 1950 French French
15916 A Short Account Of The Destruction Of The Indies Bartolomé de las Casas 1552 Spanish Spanish
15916 Landtakers Brian Penton 1934 Australian English
15916 The Purple Land Jay William Hudson 1885 Unknown Unknown
15916 The Forest And The Fort Hervey Allen 1943 American English
15916 Roanoke Hundred Inglis Fletcher 1948 American English
15916 Northwest Passage Kenneth Roberts 1937 American English
15916 Conceived In Liberty Howard Fast 1945 American English
15916 Lydia Bailey Kenneth Roberts 1940 American English
15916 The Unconquered Ben Ames Williams 1953 American English
15916 Nightrunners Of Bengal John Masters 1951 British English
15916 Golden Earth Norman Lewis 1952 British English
15916 The Traveller's Tree Patrick Leigh Fermor 1950 British English
16605 Zama Antonio di Benedetto 1956 Argentinian Spanish
16551 When The Lion Feeds Wilbur Smith 1964 South African English
16726 The Principal Navigations Richard Hakluyt 1589 British English
16775 Dyyni Frank Herbert 1965 American English
17164 In Our Image Stanley Karnow 1989 American English
17164 The War with Mexico Justin H. Smith 1919 American English
17164 The Founding of New England James Truslow Adams 1921 American English
17164 English Passengers Matthew Kneale 2000 British English
17164 A History of the United States Edward Channing 1905 American English
17164 The War of Independence Claude H. Van Tyne 1929 American English
17164 The Colonial Period of American History Charles McLean Andrews 1934 American English
16838 Castaways Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca 1542 Spanish Spanish
17050 Journal of the Voyage to the Pacific Alexander Mackenzie 1801 Canadian English
17164 The Triumphant Empire Lawrence H. Gipson 1948 American English
17164 Puritan Village Sumner Chilton Powell 1963 American English
17164 Neither Black Nor White Carl N. Degler 1971 American English
17164 Voyagers to the West Bernard Bailyn 1986 American English
17164 Embers of War Fredrik Logevall 2012 American English
17164 Genoa Paul C. Metcalf 1965 American English
17164 Chesapeake James A. Michener 1978 American English
17164 The Almanac of the Dead Leslie Marmon Silko 1991 American English
17164 The Wine of Astonishment Earl Lovelace 1982 Trinidadian English
17164 The Telling Ursula K. Le Guin 2000 American English
17164 Embassytown China Miéville 2011 British English
17164 The Calcutta Chromosome Amitav Ghosh 1995 Indian English
17164 Rangatira Paula Morris 2011 New Zealander English
17164 Slow Water Annamarie Jagose 2003 New Zealander English
17164 The Impressionist Hari Kunzru 2002 British English
16925 Kanthapura Raja Rao 1938 Indian English
17164 The Far Cry Emma Smith 1949 British English
17164 Act Of Destruction Ronald Hardy 1971 British English
17164 Destiny Disrupted Tamim Ansary 2009 American English
17164 Downward To The Earth Robert Silverberg 1970 American English