The Greatest Books of All Time on Expression

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

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.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates Countries

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
806 The Story of Art Ernest H. Gombrich 1950 British English
1508 Surrealist Manifesto André Breton 1924 French French
1737 Exercises in Style Raymond Queneau 1947 French French
3637 Areopagitica John Milton 1644 British English
3907 Med Ana Schwoazzn Dintn Hans Carl Artmann 1958 Austrian German
4099 Четвёртая проза Osip Mandelstam 1930 Russian Russian
4436 Native Funk & Flash Alexandra Jacopetti 1974 American English
4579 History Of Art Elie Faure 1919 French French
4581 Laut Und Luise Ernst Jandl 1966 Austrian German
5487 Dark symphony James A. Emanuel (Comp), Theodore L. Gross 1968 American English
5828 On The Sublime Longinus -50 Greek Greek
5936 Las Poetas Visitan A Andrea Del Sarto Juana Bignozzi 1993 Argentinian Spanish
5938 Music As Speech Nikolaus Harnoncourt 1982 Austrian German
5993 Writing Degree Zero Roland Barthes 1953 French French
6134 The Dance Of Life Havelock Ellis 1923 British English
6178 Geste Michelle Grangaud 1991 French French
6281 The Mirror and the Lamp Meyer Howard Abrams 1953 American English
6324 The Voices Of Silence Andre Malraux 1951 French French
7216 Laocoön Gotthold Ephraim Lessing 1766 German German
7216 My Voice Because Of You Pedro Salinas 1933 Spanish Spanish
7216 The Art Of Poetry Paul Valéry 1939 French French
7216 Seven Dada Manifestoes Tristan Tzara 1924 French French
7216 The Use Of Speech Nathalie Sarraute 1933 French French
7216 Counter Statement Kenneth Burke 1931 American English
7606 Writing Marguerite Duras 1993 French French
9218 Eats, Shoots and Leaves Lynne Truss 2003 British English
9241 Silences Tillie Olsen 1978 American English
10305 Sense And Non Sense Maurice Merleau-Ponty 1948 French French
10305 An Actor Prepares Konstantin Stanislavski 1936 Russian Russian
11074 Life Adjustment Center Ryan McGinley 2010 American Unknown
11165 The Creators Daniel J. Boorstin 1992 American English
11364 Lessons On The French Language Pierre Guyotat French French
11661 An Arrow In The Wall Andrey Voznesensky 1987 Russian Russian
11850 Havana Real Yoani Sánchez 2011 Cuban Spanish
12011 What Art Is Arthur C. Danto 2013 American English
13258 The Spoken Word Revolution Mark Eleveld 2003 Unknown English
14457 The Romantic Generation Charles Rosen 1995 American English
14984 Understanding Comics Scott McCloud 1993 American English
15910 Looking at Dance Edwin Denby 1949 American English
15910 The Expression Of The Emotions In Man And Animals Charles Darwin 1872 British English
15910 Sparkle And Spin Ann Rand 1957 American English
15910 Blues Fell This Morning Paul Oliver 1960 British English
17151 Art and Life in America Oliver W. Larkin 1949 American English
17151 Art Matters Neil Gaiman 2018 British English
17151 Why Your Five Year Old Could Not Have Done That Susie Hodge 2012 British English
17151 The Elements Of Eloquence Mark Forsyth 2013 British English
17151 Kafka Gilles Deleuze 1975 French French
17151 The Last Language Jennifer duBois 2023 Unknown English
17151 Steady Rollin Fred Noland 2023 Unknown Unknown
17151 None Of The Above Travis Alabanza 2022 Unknown English
17151 More Letters Of Note Nikki Usher 2019 Unknown English
17151 Selected Translations 1948–1968 W. S. Merwin 1969 American English
17151 A "Working Life" Eileen Myles 2023 American English