The Greatest Books of All Time on Hardship

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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
160 My Antonia Willa Cather 1918 American English
281 The Good Earth Pearl S. Buck 1931 American English
288 Independent People Halldor Laxness 1934 Icelandic Icelandic
317 The Poems of Robert Frost Robert Frost 1913 American English
594 Growth of the Soil Knut Hamsun 1917 Norwegian Norwegian
1442 Little House In The Big Woods Laura Ingalls Wilder 1932 American English
1615 Giants in the Earth Ole Edvart Rolvaag 1927 Norwegian Norwegian
1654 O Pioneers! Willa Cather 1913 American English
1670 The Emigrants Vilhelm Moberg 1949 Swedish Swedish
1684 Train Dreams Denis Johnson 2002 American English
1996 A Childhood Harry Crews 1978 American English
2029 Nobody's Boy Hector Malot 1878 French French
2116 The Life Story And Real Adventures Of The Poor Man Of Toggenburg Ulrich Bräker 1789 Swiss German
3140 Great Heart James West Davidson, John Rugge 1988 American English
3181 Women And Appletrees Moa Martinson 1933 Swedish Swedish
3558 Memoirs of a Peasant Boy Xosé Neira Vilas 1961 Spanish Galician
3952 Συναξάρι Αντρέα Κορδοπάτη Thanassis Valtinos 1964 Greek Greek
4377 Heart Edmondo de Amicis 1886 Italian Italian
4787 Two Years Before the Mast Richard Henry Dana 1840 American English
4847 Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey Lillian Schiessel 1982 American English
5612 Zuleikha Guzel Yakhina 2015 Russian Russian
6321 A Fortunate Life A. B. Facey 1981 Australian English
6984 Fine Just the Way It Is Annie Proulx 2008 American English
8106 Winter Wheat Mildred Walker 1944 American English
8975 The Mother Pearl S. Buck 1934 American English
9035 Them Old Cowboy Songs Annie Proulx 2008 American English
10155 The Way West A. B. Guthrie 1949 American English
10450 Half Broke Horses Jeannette Walls 2009 American English
10815 Firelight and Woodsmoke Claude Michelet 1979 French French
11452 The Able McLaughlins Margaret Wilson 1923 American English
11452 Lamb in His Bosom Caroline Miller 1933 American English
11452 The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters Robert Lewis Taylor 1958 American English
11811 Windbreak Linda M. Hasselstrom 1987 American English
12083 Real Farm Patricia Tichenor Westfall 1989 American English
13360 An Iceland Fisherman Pierre Loti 1886 French French
13600 Le Peuple De La Mer Marc Elder 1913 French French
14099 Eben Holden Irving Bacheller 1900 American English
14341 The Man From Glengarry Ralph Connor 1901 Canadian English
14369 The Blazed Trail Stewart Edward White 1902 American English
14455 The Spell Of The Yukon Robert W. Service 1907 British English
14625 Maria Chapdelaine Louis Hémon 1913 French French
14828 The Great Hunger Johan Bojer 1918 Norwegian Norwegian
14943 The Long Winter Laura Ingalls Wilder 1940 American English
14959 On The Banks Of Plum Creek Laura Ingalls Wilder 1937 American English
15629 Vandemark's Folly Herbert Quick 1922 American English
15648 The Covered Wagon Emerson Hough 1922 American English
15832 The Little House Collection Laura Ingalls Wilder 1932 American English
17126 Postcards Annie Proulx 1992 American English
17126 The Worst Hard Time Timothy Egan 2006 American English
17126 A Window In Thrums J. M. Barrie 1889 Scottish English
16867 By The Shores Of Silver Lake Laura Ingalls Wilder 1939 American English
17060 Little Town On The Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder 1941 American English
17126 This House Of Sky Ivan Doig 1978 American English
17066 The Islandman Tomás Ó Crohan 1929 Irish Irish
17126 Astoria Peter Stark 2014 American English
17126 The Thing About Luck Cynthia Kadohata 2013 American English
17126 I Was Called To Dixie Andrew Karl Larson 1961 Unknown English
17126 A Chair For My Mother Vera B. Williams 1982 American English
17126 Kick The Latch Kathryn Scanlan 2022 American English
17126 Bert Breen's Barn Walter D. Edmonds 1975 American English