The Greatest Modern Classics of All Time

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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
278 A Wizard Of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin 1968 American English
1545 Understanding Media Marshall McLuhan 1964 Canadian English
4371 Frost Thomas Bernhard 1963 Austrian German
4956 Supernatural Horror In Literature H. P. Lovecraft 1927 American English
7216 Pather Panchali Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay 1929 Indian Bengali
7748 The Structure Of Social Action Talcott Parsons 1937 American English
8647 The Raj Quartet Paul Scott 1976 British English
9859 The Delicate Prey Paul Bowles 1950 American English
11488 I Shall Not Be Moved Maya Angelou 1990 American English
13362 Il Grande Meaulnes Alain-Fournier 1913 French French
13362 The Spice Box Of Earth Leonard Cohen 1961 Canadian English
13600 The Mercy Of God Jean Cau 1961 French French
15856 Anna Karanina Leo Tolstoy 1873 Russian Russian
16510 Table Talk William Hazlitt 1822 English English
16548 Up At The Villa W. Somerset Maugham 1941 British English
16537 A Noite Elie Wiesel 1956 French Yiddish
16747 The Essays Of Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson 1841 American English
16997 Trout Fishing In America / The Pill Vs. The Springhill Mine Disaster / In Watermelon Sugar Richard Brautigan 1967 American English
17160 Lancelot Walker Percy 1977 American English
16975 Between Man And Man Martin Buber 1944 Austrian English
17090 Manhã Submersa Vergílio Ferreira 1953 Portuguese Portuguese
17160 Novels 1896–1899 Henry James American English
16855 Ensayos I Michel de Montaigne 1580 French French
17160 A Closer Look At "The Lord Of The Rings" Mark Allen Smith American English
17129 Hercule Poirot's Christmas Agatha Christie 1938 British English
17160 Seven Japanese Tales Jun'ichirō Tanizaki Japanese Japanese
16886 Pedro Páramo / El Llano En Llamas Juan Rulfo 1953 Mexican Spanish
17038 The Twilight Of The Idols Nietzsche 1889 German German
17070 Antichrist Nietzsche 1895 German German
17095 Mémoires D'hadrien, Carnets De Notes De Mémoires D'hadrien Marguerite Yourcenar 1951 French French
16840 Fenitschka/Deviations Dorothee Krahn 1898 German English