The Greatest Books of All Time on Governance

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
1192 The Politics Aristotle -350 Greek Ancient greek
1881 The Machiavellians James Burnham 1943 American English
3638 Charter of the United Nations United Nations 1945 Multiple English
3638 Oh, These Times Catherine the Great 1790 Russian Unknown
3914 The History Of A Town Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin 1870 Russian Russian
4875 The Earl of Louisiana A. J. Liebling 1961 American English
5309 The Adams Jefferson Letters Lester J. Cappon 1959 American English
5358 The Treaty Of Waitangi Claudia Orange 1987 New Zealand English
6555 King Matt The First Janusz Korczak 1923 Polish Polish
6762 Citizen And Subject Mahmood Mamdani 1996 Ugandan English
7034 Democracy And Power In An American City Robert Dahl 1961 American English
9506 Political Order And Political Decay Francis Fukuyama 2014 American English
9702 The Book Of Peace Christine De Pizan 1413 French French
9771 Democracy For Realists Christopher H. Achen, Larry Bartels 2016 American English
10448 A Promised Land Barack Obama 2020 American English
10766 Huey Long T. Harry Williams 1969 American English
11939 The Raven Marquis James 1929 American English
11939 Grover Cleveland Allan Nevins 1932 American English
12324 Tropical Gangsters Robert Klitgaard 1988 American English
12324 The Life Of Nelson A. Rockefeller Cary Reich 1996 American English
14553 Getting Better Charles Kenny 2011 American English
14553 Deng Xiaoping And The Transformation Of China Ezra F. Vogel 2011 American English
14553 It's Our Turn To Eat Michela Wrong 2009 British English
14629 Poor Numbers Morten Jerven 2013 Norwegian English
14649 The Myth Of The Strong Leader Archie Brown 2014 British English
14665 Yongzheng Emperor Eryue He 1990 Chinese Chinese
14678 Zeng Guofan Tang Haoming 1992 Chinese Chinese
14694 Seven Great Statesmen In The Warfare Of Humanity With Unreason Andrew Dickson White 1915 American English
14830 Leadership Doris Kearns Goodwin 2018 American English
15585 Modern Democracies James Bryce 1921 British English
15897 Wallace Marshall Frady 1968 English
17117 The Founding of New England James Truslow Adams 1921 American English
17117 The Colonial Period of American History Charles McLean Andrews 1934 American English
17117 The Triumphant Empire Lawrence H. Gipson 1948 American English
17117 Puritan Village Sumner Chilton Powell 1963 American English
17117 The Guardians Susan Pedersen 2015 Canadian English
16764 Rum Rebellion H V Evatt 1938 Australian English
17117 Emperor Of Rome Mary Beard 2023 British English
17117 The Civic Bargain Brook Manville, Josiah Ober 2023 Unknown English
17117 Johnson At 10 Anthony Seldon, Raymond Newell 2023 British English
17117 The Dark Enlightenment Nick Land 2012 British English
17117 Common Wealth Jeffrey D. Sachs 2008 American English
17117 Net Zero Dieter Helm 2021 British English
17010 Mémoires D'hadrien, Carnets De Notes De Mémoires D'hadrien Marguerite Yourcenar 1951 French French
17117 For Us The Living Bruce Lancaster 1983 Unknown English