The Greatest Books of All Time on Development

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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
1763 Small Is Beautiful E. F. Schumacher 1973 British English
2264 Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality Sigmund Freud 1905 Austrian German
2752 The Montessori Method Maria Montessori 1909 Italian Italian
3637 Charter of the United Nations United Nations 1945 Multiple English
5005 In A Different Voice Carol Gilligan 1982 American English
5265 Accumulation On A World Scale Samir Amin 1970 French French
5667 For Your Own Good Alice Miller 1980 Swiss French
6858 Young Man Luther Erik H. Erikson 1958 German English
8351 China Road Rob Gifford 2007 British English
9131 Why the West Rules - For Now Ian Morris 2010 British English
9252 The Entrepreneurial State Mariana Mazzucato 2013 British English
9525 In Line Behind A Billion People Damien Ma, William Adams 2013 Unknown English
9634 Resources, Values And Development Amartya Sen 1984 Indian English
9687 Development As Freedom Amartya Sen 1999 Indian English
9909 The Capitalist Revolution Peter Berger 1986 American English
11197 Stranglehold On Africa René Dumont 1980 French French
11581 Women's Ways Of Knowing Mary Field Belenky 1986 American English
12326 Tropical Gangsters Robert Klitgaard 1988 American English
13259 The Great Escape Angus Deaton 2013 British English
13259 The Idealist Nina Munk 2013 American English
13362 Household Education Harriet Martineau 1848 British English
14411 The Man Who Fed The World Leon Hesser 2006 American English
14458 The Post American World Fareed Zakaria 2008 American English
14554 Unlocking Energy Innovation Richard K. Lester 2011 American English
14554 Poor Economics Abhijit V. Banerjee, Esther Duflo 2011 American English
14554 Getting Better Charles Kenny 2011 American English
14554 Deng Xiaoping And The Transformation Of China Ezra F. Vogel 2011 American English
14599 One Billion Hungry Gordon Conway 2012 British English
14630 Poor Numbers Morten Jerven 2013 Norwegian English
14698 The Bright Continent Dayo Olopade 2014 Unknown English
15566 Growth Vaclav Smil 2019 Canadian English
15566 Good Economics For Hard Times Abhijit V. Banerjee, Esther Duflo 2019 American English
15682 Life And Confessions Of A Psychologist G. Stanley Hall 1923 American English
15910 On Narcissism Sigmund Freud 1914 Austrian German
15910 The Origin and Development of Psycho-Analysis Sigmund Freud 1910 Austrian German
17152 The Nature of Life C. H. Waddington 1961 British English
17152 Doughnut Economics Kate Raworth 2017 British English
17152 The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog Bruce D. Perry, Danny Campbell, Maia Szalavita 2006 American English
17152 Suburban Nation Andres Duany, Jeff Speck, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk 2000 American English
17152 Magic Trees Of The Mind Marion Diamond, Janet Hopson 1998 American English
17152 Nature Via Nurture Matt Ridley 2003 British English
17152 The Village Of Waiting George Packer 1988 American English
17152 The Beast In The Nursery Adam Phillips 1998 British English
17152 Rivers Of Empire Donald Worster 1985 American English
17152 Madeleine's World Brian Hall 1997 American English
17152 Free To Learn Peter O. Gray 2013 American English
17152 Fox 8 George Saunders 2013 American English
17152 Breaking The Mould Raghuram Rajan, Rohit Lamba Unknown English