The Greatest Modern Books 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
2717 The Great War and Modern Memory Paul Fussell 1975 American English
6005 Three Women Robert Musil 1924 Austrian German
6135 The Dance Of Life Havelock Ellis 1923 British English
7001 Collected Poems Jack Gilbert 2012 American English
7216 The Bloater Rosemary Tonks 1968 English English
9603 The Interpreter From Java Alfred Birney 2016 Dutch Dutch
9699 The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes Langston Hughes 1994 American English
10182 B Utterfield 8 John O'Hara 1935 American English
10308 The Gift Marcel Mauss 1925 French French
10617 Service Sarah Gilmartin 2023 Irish English
11239 Until Stones Become Lighter Than Water António Lobo Antunes 2017 Portuguese Portuguese
11257 Praisesong For The Widow Paule Marshall 1983 American English
11393 Poor Caleb Femi 2020 British English
11605 One Hundred Poems By Cavafy Cavafy Greek Greek
11663 Walt Whitman Justin Kaplan 1980 American English
11663 The Ice Stephen J. Pyne 1986 American English
11813 Ecology, Community And Lifestyle Arne Naess 1989 Norwegian Norwegian
11829 The Mother Of All Questions Rebecca Solnit 2017 American English
12084 Blue Taxis Eileen Drew 1989 American Unknown
12259 Beirut Fragments Jean Said Makdisi 1990 Lebanese English
12251 Getting In Jennifer Finney Boylan 1998 American English
12326 The Ant And The Peacock Helena Cronin 1991 British English
13104 The Life And Poetry Of Frank Stanford James McWilliams 2025 American English
13137 Katherine Mansfield Gerri Kimber 2025 Unknown English
13161 Lode Gillian Allnutt 2025 English English
13362 The Spice Box Of Earth Leonard Cohen 1961 Canadian English
13362 Night Shift Maritta Wolff 1942 American English
13513 Indecision Benjamin Kunkel 2005 American English
13543 The Spectator Bird Wallace Stegner 1976 American English
13600 Enemy Force John Antoine Nau 1903 French French
13600 Les Civilisés Claude Farrère 1905 French French
13600 De Goupil à Margot Louis Pergaud 1910 French French
13600 The Call Of The Soil Adrien Bertrand 1916 French French
13600 Private Gaspard René Benjamin 1915 French French
13600 Civilization Georges Duhamel 1918 French French
13600 Rabevel Ou Le Mal Des Ardents Lucien Fabre French French
13600 Le Chèvrefeuille, Le Purgatoire, Le Chapitre Xiii Thierry Sandre French French
13600 Raboliot Maurice Genevoix 1925 French French
13600 Le Supplice De Phèdre Henri Deberly French French
13600 The Soul Of Malaya H. Fauconnier 1930 French French
13600 The Wolves Guy Mazeline 1932 French English
13600 Faux Passeports Charles Plisnier 1937 Belgian French
13600 Les Enfants Gâtés Philippe Heriat French French
13600 The Forests Of The Night Jean-Louis Curtis 1992 French French
13600 The Rise Of Simon Lachaume Maurice Druon 1948 French English
13600 The Law Roger Vailland 1957 French French
13600 Saint Germain Ou La Négociation Francis Walder 1958 Belgian French
13600 The Mercy Of God Jean Cau 1961 French French
13600 The Lost Shore Anna Langfus 1962 French French
13600 Quand La Mer Se Retire Armand Lanoux 1963 French French
13600 Les Bêtises Jacques Laurent 1971 French French
13753 Documents of Modern Art Robert Motherwell 1944 American English
13986 Scenes From Provincial Life William Cooper 1950 British English
13986 I'm Dying Laughing Christina Stead 1986 Australian English
14023 Generation Of Vipers Philip Wylie 1942 American English
14554 Love And Death In The American Novel Leslie Fiedler 1960 American English
14834 Listen To The Warm Rod McKuen 1967 American English
15686 The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over The Hills Charles Bukowski American English
15686 The Motorcycle Betrayal Poems Diane Wakoski American English
15686 Literature And Existentialism Jean Paul Sartre French French
15686 Places Where I’ve Done Time William Saroyan American English
15812 A World I Never Made James T. Farrell 1936 American English
15828 Fame Is The Spur Howard Spring 1940 Welsh English
15872 The Richest Man In Babylon GEORGE S. CLASON 1926 American English
16615 The Castle Franz Kafka 1926 German German
16737 Αναφορά στον Γκρέκο Nikos Kazantzakis 1961 Greek Greek
16674 Personal Knowledge Michael Polanyi 1958 British English
17162 1984 And After Nigel Calder 1984 British English
17162 A Short History Of Modern Philosophy Roger Scruton 1982 British English
17162 Modern Poetry Diane Seuss 2024 Unknown English
17162 Caledonian Road Andrew O'Hagan 2024 British English
17162 The Summer Game Roger Angell 1972 American English
17162 Tūla Jurgis Kunčinas 1993 Lithuanian Lithuanian
17162 The Salmon Of Doubt Douglas Adams 2002 British English
17162 The Men Can't Be Saved Ben Purkert 2023 Unknown English
17162 Modern Russian Poetry Vladimir Markov, Merrill Sparks 1967 Unknown English
17162 The Stirrings Catherine Taylor Unknown English
17162 The Seventh Son Sebastian Faulks 2023 British English
17162 Letters To Friends, Family, And Editors Franz Kafka German German
17162 Census Jesse Ball 2018 American English
17162 L'écroulement De La Baliverna Dino Buzzati Italian Italian
17162 History Of Modern India Bipan Chandra Indian English
17162 I Must Be Living Twice Eileen Myles 2015 American English
16894 Il Male Oscuro Berto, Giuseppe 1964 Italian Italian
17162 The Magnetist's Fifth Winter Per Olov Enquist Swedish Swedish
17162 City Of Illusion Vardis Fisher American English
17070 Rebellion Joseph Roth 1924 Austrian German