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 743 '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
1760 Small Is Beautiful E. F. Schumacher 1973 British English
2255 Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality Sigmund Freud 1905 Austrian German
2747 The Montessori Method Maria Montessori 1909 Italian Italian
3632 Charter of the United Nations United Nations 1945 Multiple English
4995 In A Different Voice Carol Gilligan 1982 American English
5256 Accumulation On A World Scale Samir Amin 1970 French French
5658 For Your Own Good Alice Miller 1980 Swiss French
6847 Young Man Luther Erik H. Erikson 1958 German English
8336 China Road Rob Gifford 2007 British English
9112 Why the West Rules - For Now Ian Morris 2010 British English
9234 The Entrepreneurial State Mariana Mazzucato 2013 British English
9506 In Line Behind A Billion People Damien Ma, William Adams 2013 Unknown English
9615 Resources, Values And Development Amartya Sen 1984 Indian English
9669 Development As Freedom Amartya Sen 1999 Indian English
9891 The Capitalist Revolution Peter Berger 1986 American English
11166 Stranglehold On Africa René Dumont 1980 French French
11555 Women's Ways Of Knowing Mary Field Belenky 1986 American English
12296 Tropical Gangsters Robert Klitgaard 1988 American English
13226 The Great Escape Angus Deaton 2013 British English
13226 The Idealist Nina Munk 2013 American English
13327 Household Education Harriet Martineau 1848 British English
14343 The Man Who Fed The World Leon Hesser 2006 American English
14384 The Post American World Fareed Zakaria 2008 American English
14477 Unlocking Energy Innovation Richard K. Lester 2011 American English
14477 Poor Economics Abhijit V. Banerjee, Esther Duflo 2011 American English
14477 Getting Better Charles Kenny 2011 American English
14477 Deng Xiaoping And The Transformation Of China Ezra F. Vogel 2011 American English
14521 One Billion Hungry Gordon Conway 2012 British English
14550 Poor Numbers Morten Jerven 2013 Norwegian English
14617 The Bright Continent Dayo Olopade 2014 Unknown English
15482 Growth Vaclav Smil 2019 Canadian English
15482 Good Economics For Hard Times Abhijit V. Banerjee, Esther Duflo 2019 American English
15575 Life And Confessions Of A Psychologist G. Stanley Hall 1923 American English
15787 On Narcissism Sigmund Freud 1914 Austrian German
15787 The Origin and Development of Psycho-Analysis Sigmund Freud 1910 Austrian German
17010 The Nature of Life C. H. Waddington 1961 British English
17010 Doughnut Economics Kate Raworth 2017 British English
17010 The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog Bruce D. Perry, Danny Campbell, Maia Szalavita 2006 American English
17010 Suburban Nation Andres Duany, Jeff Speck, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk 2000 American English
17010 Magic Trees Of The Mind Marion Diamond, Janet Hopson 1998 American English
17010 Nature Via Nurture Matt Ridley 2003 British English
17010 The Village Of Waiting George Packer 1988 American English
17010 The Beast In The Nursery Adam Phillips 1998 British English
17010 Rivers Of Empire Donald Worster 1985 American English
17010 Madeleine's World Brian Hall 1997 American English
17010 Free To Learn Peter O. Gray 2013 American English
17010 Fox 8 George Saunders 2013 American English
17010 Breaking The Mould Raghuram Rajan, Rohit Lamba Unknown English