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
4954 Supernatural Horror In Literature H. P. Lovecraft 1927 American English
7215 Pather Panchali Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay 1929 Indian Bengali
7746 The Structure Of Social Action Talcott Parsons 1937 American English
8643 The Raj Quartet Paul Scott 1976 British English
9856 The Delicate Prey Paul Bowles 1950 American English
11485 I Shall Not Be Moved Maya Angelou 1990 American English
13359 Il Grande Meaulnes Alain-Fournier 1913 French French
13359 The Spice Box Of Earth Leonard Cohen 1961 Canadian English
13599 The Mercy Of God Jean Cau 1961 French French
15847 Anna Karanina Leo Tolstoy 1873 Russian Russian
16516 A Noite Elie Wiesel 1956 French Yiddish
16721 Up At The Villa W. Somerset Maugham 1941 British English
16934 Trout Fishing In America / The Pill Vs. The Springhill Mine Disaster / In Watermelon Sugar Richard Brautigan 1967 American English
17117 Lancelot Walker Percy 1977 American English
16958 Between Man And Man Martin Buber 1944 Austrian English
17031 Manhã Submersa Vergílio Ferreira 1953 Portuguese Portuguese
16812 Ensayos I Michel de Montaigne 1580 French French
17117 A Closer Look At "The Lord Of The Rings" Mark Allen Smith American English
17108 Hercule Poirot's Christmas Agatha Christie 1938 British English
17117 Seven Japanese Tales Jun'ichirō Tanizaki Japanese Japanese
16838 Pedro Páramo / El Llano En Llamas Juan Rulfo 1953 Mexican Spanish
16979 The Twilight Of The Idols Nietzsche 1889 German German
17023 Antichrist Nietzsche 1895 German German
17046 Mémoires D'hadrien, Carnets De Notes De Mémoires D'hadrien Marguerite Yourcenar 1951 French French
16798 Fenitschka/Deviations Dorothee Krahn 1898 German English