The Greatest Books of All Time on Influence

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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
88 The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1890 Irish English
805 The Story of Art Ernest H. Gombrich 1950 British English
1205 How to Win Friends and Influence People Dale Carnegie 1936 American English
1574 The Hidden Persuaders Vance Packard 1957 American English
1899 The Power Broker Robert Caro 1974 American English
2023 The Land Of Laughs Jonathan Carroll 1980 American English
2332 Master of the Senate Robert Caro 2002 American English
2518 The Passage Of Power Robert Caro 2012 American English
3165 The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell 2000 American English
4516 Last Train to Memphis Peter Guralnick 1994 American English
4628 The Medici George Frederick Young 1910 Unknown English
4709 A Life of Picasso John Richardson 1991 British English
4886 Influence Robert B. Cialdini 1984 American English
5227 Memories And Commentaries Igor Stravinsky 1960 Russian English
6214 Power Politics Martin Wright 1946 British Unknown
6249 The Allure Of Chanel Paul Morand 1976 French French
6515 The Private Life of Chairman Mao Li Zhi-Sui 1994 Chinese English
7024 Democracy And Power In An American City Robert Dahl 1961 American English
7201 Representative Men Ralph Waldo Emerson 1850 American English
8376 de Kooning Mark Stevens, Annalyn Swan 2004 American English
8875 Chronicles Bob Dylan 2004 American English
8872 The Beautiful Fall Alicia Drake 2006 British English
9968 Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom Nik Cohn 1969 British English
10018 Maoism Julia Lovell 2019 British English
10283 A History Of Russian Literature Dmitry Svyatopolk Mirsky 1926 Russian English
10936 The Films In My Life Francois Truffaut 1975 French French
11304 How New York Stole The Idea Of Modern Art Serge Guilbaut 1983 American English
11636 The Patriarch David Nasaw 2012 American English
11636 Raymond Carver Carol Sklenicka 2009 American English
11636 Haydn H. C. Robbins Landon 1976 British English
11913 Charles W. Eliot Henry James 1909 American Unknown
11913 Luce and His Empire W. A. Swanberg 1972 American English
12111 The Powers That Be David Halberstam 1979 American English
12296 The Unknown Matisse Hilary Spurling 1998 British English
13053 Shadow Cell Andrew Bustamante, Jihi Bustamante 2025 American English
13327 The Lives Of The Poets Samuel Johnson 1779 British English
13514 The Path to Power Robert Caro 1982 American English
13958 The Life And Times Of Little Richard Charles White 1984 British English
14145 Queen Victoria Lytton Strachey 1921 British English
14569 The Myth Of The Strong Leader Archie Brown 2014 British English
15786 Talleyrand Duff Cooper 1932 British English
15786 On The Shoulders Of Giants Robert K. Merton 1965 American English
15786 Boss Mike Royko 1971 American English
16466 Schopenhauer As Educator Friedrich Nietzsche 1874 German German
16577 How To Win Friends & Influence People Dale Carnegie 1936 American English
17010 The Power Elite C. Wright Mills 1956 American English
17010 A Mirror For Observers Edgar Pangborn 1954 American English
16654 The Pound Era Hugh Kenner 1971 Canadian English
17010 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership John C. Maxwell 1998 American English
17010 One Two Three Four Craig Brown 2020 British English
17010 The Art Of Seduction Robert Greene 2001 American English
17010 The Bright Book Of Life Harold Bloom 2020 American English
17010 Audience Of One James Poniewozik 2019 American English
17010 Dilla Time Dan Charnas 2022 Unknown English
17010 The Man From The Future Ananyo Bhattacharya 2021 Unknown English
17010 The Glow Jessie Gaynor 2023 Unknown English
17010 The Money Kings Daniel Schulman 2023 Unknown Unknown
17010 Camille Pissarro Anka Muhlstein 2023 Unknown French
17010 I’m A Fan Sheena Patel 2023 Unknown English
17010 24 7 Politics Kathryn Cramer Brownell 2023 Unknown English
17010 Schoenberg Harvey Sachs 2023 Unknown English
17010 Holding The Note David Remnick 2023 American English
17010 Traffic Ben Smith 2023 Unknown English
17010 Camera Girl Carl Sferrazza Anthony 2023 Unknown English
17010 Ringmaster Abraham Riesman 2023 Unknown English
17010 Three Roads Back Robert D. Richardson 2023 Unknown English
17010 The Big Break Ben Terris 2023 Unknown English
17010 Lou Reed Will Hermes 2023 Unknown English
17010 Ian Fleming Nicholas Shakespeare 2023 Unknown English
17010 The 48 Laws Of Power robert green 1998 Unknown English
17010 Led Zeppelin Bob Spitz 2021 American English
17010 Colossus Niall Ferguson 2004 British English
17010 Bob Dylan Mark Davidson, Parker Fishel 2022 Unknown English
17010 All Sorts Of Lives Claire Harman 2023 Unknown English
17010 The Go Giver Bob Burg 2007 American English
17010 A Chance Meeting Cohen, Rachel 2004 American English