The Greatest Books of All Time on Poverty

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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
9335 Confronting Income Inequality In Japan Toshimasa Tachibanaki 2009 Japanese Japanese
9505 God Bless The Child Kristin Hunter 1964 American English
9602 Lenin's Kisses Yan Lianke 2003 Chinese Chinese
9625 This Hostel Life Melatu Uche Okorie 2018 Irish English
9634 Resources, Values And Development Amartya Sen 1984 Indian English
9687 Development As Freedom Amartya Sen 1999 Indian English
9697 The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes Langston Hughes 1994 American English
9799 No Friend But The Mountains Behrouz Boochani 2018 Unknown Persian
9857 This Child's Gonna Live Sarah E. Wright 1969 American English
9939 Daddy Was A Number Runner Louise Meriwether 1970 American English
10043 Statarna Ivar Lo-Johansson 1936 Swedish Swedish
10064 The Mountain People Colin M. Turnbull 1972 British English
10077 Give People Money Annie Lowrey 2018 American English
10236 Race For Profit Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor 2019 American English
10285 There Is No Place For Us Brian Goldstone 2025 Unknown English
10367 Still Can't See Nothin' Comin' Daniel Grey Marshall 2004 American English
10434 Gomorrah Roberto Saviano 2006 Italian Italian
10450 Half Broke Horses Jeannette Walls 2009 American English
10570 Women Of The Shadows Ann Cornelisen 1976 American English
10601 The Unsettled Ayana Mathis 2023 American English
10633 The Road to Wigan Pier George Orwell 1937 British English
10642 Poonachi Perumal Murugan 2016 Indian Tamil
10676 A Living Remedy Nicole Chung 2023 American English
10833 Ants Among Elephants Sujatha Gidla 2017 American English
10851 The Albany Cycle William Kennedy 1983 American English
10866 Tyrell Coe Booth 2006 American English
10885 Architecture For The Poor Hassan Fathy 1973 Egyptian English
10997 City Of Joy Dominique Lapierre 1985 French French
11087 Mao's Last Dancer Li Cunxin 2003 Australian English
11136 And Their Children After Them Dale Maharidge, Michael Williamson 1989 American English
11194 Stranglehold On Africa René Dumont 1980 French French
11300 A Raisin In The Sun Lorraine Hansberry 1959 American English
11341 Berji Kristin Latife Tekin 1984 Turkish Turkish
11389 Poor Caleb Femi 2020 British English
11415 Djinn Patrol On The Purple Line Deepa Anappara 2020 Indian English
11469 Please, Momma Chesya Burke 2015 American Unknown
11486 Land Of Opportunity William M. Adler 1995 Unknown English
11493 Esther Waters George Moore 1894 British English
11494 The Black Prophet William Carleton 1847 Irish English
11541 Humiliated And Insulted Fyodor Dostoevsky 1861 Russian Russian
11542 Half The Sky Nicholas Kristof 2009 American English
11631 Las Estrellas Son Negras Arnoldo Palacios 1949 Colombian Spanish
11636 Principles Of Political Economy John Stuart Mill 1848 British English
11660 The Cost Of Good Intentions Charles R. Morris 1980 American English
11660 A State Of Freedom Neel Mukherjee 2018 British English
11811 When I Was Puerto Rican Esmeralda Santiago 1993 American English
11859 Highwire Moon Susan Straight 2001 American English
11899 A Small Place Jamaica Kincaid 1988 Antiguan English
11899 A War Of Eyes And Other Stories Wanda Coleman 1988 American English
11936 Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun Geoffrey Canada 1995 American English
11939 Chasing Me To My Grave Winfred Rembert, Erin I. Kelly 2021 American English
12141 Drown Junot Diaz 1996 American English
12258 And They Didn't Die Lauretta Ngcobo 1990 South African English
12258 Riding In Cars With Boys Beverly Donofrio 1990 American English
12324 A Star Called Henry Roddy Doyle 1999 Irish English
12406 Slammerkin Emma Donoghue 2000 Irish English
12436 Imani All Mine Connie Rose Porter 1999 American English
12586 Sunday You Learn How To Box Bil Wright 2000 American English
12597 Rapport Från En Skurhink Maja Ekelöf 1970 Swedish Swedish
12832 I Been In Sorrow's Kitchen And Licked Out All The Pots Susan Straight 1992 American English
12868 Factfulness Hans Rosling 2018 Swedish English
13276 Golden Child Claire Adam 2019 Trinidadian English
13276 Even The Dogs Jon McGregor 2010 British English
13256 The Great Escape Angus Deaton 2013 British English
13256 The Idealist Nina Munk 2013 American English
13276 The Adversary Michael Crummey 2024 Canadian English
13359 London Labour and the London Poor Henry Mayhew 1851 British English
13359 Past And Present Thomas Carlyle 1843 British English
13359 Fardorougha, The Miser William Carleton 1837 Irish English
13359 Night Shift Maritta Wolff 1942 American English
13563 Betty Tiffany McDaniel 2020 American English
13599 La Maternelle Léon Frapié 1904 French French
13599 Le Rouet D'ivoire And Jean Des Brebis Ou Le Livre De La Misère Émile Moselly French French
13599 Les Filles De La Pluie André Savignon French French
13599 Le Peuple De La Mer Marc Elder 1913 French French
13599 Nêne Ernest Pérochon 1920 French French
13599 Raboliot Maurice Genevoix 1925 French French
13599 Hath Not The Potter Maxence Van Der Meersch 1936 French English
13599 Pareil à Des Enfants Marc Bernard French French
13599 The Fruits Of Winter Bernard Clavel 1968 French French
13599 Momo Émile Ajar French French
13715 Tweak Nic Sheff 2007 American English
13771 The Flowers Dagoberto Gilb 2008 American English
13817 Poveri E Semplici Anna Maria Ortese 1967 Italian Italian
13817 Vita Melania Mazzucco 2003 Italian Italian
13817 As God Commands Niccolò Ammaniti 2006 Italian Italian
13885 Faith Singer Rosie Scott 2000 Australian English
13917 Son's Big Doll Huang Chun-ming 1968 Chinese Chinese
14006 The Five Hallie Rubenhold 2019 British English
14078 Ordinary Girls Jaquira Díaz 2019 American English
14087 The Girl With The Louding Voice Abi Daré 2020 Nigerian English
14232 Topdog Underdog Suzan-Lori Parks 2001 American English
14231 Fat City Leonard Gardner 1969 American English
14389 The End Of Poverty Jeffrey D. Sachs 2005 American English
14410 How To Spend $50 Billion To Make The World A Better Place Bjørn Lomborg 2006 Danish English
14448 Q & A Vikas Swarup 2005 Indian English
14457 The White Man’s Burden William Russell Easterly 2006 Unknown English
14492 Cobalt Red Siddharth Kara 2023 Unknown English
14518 Dogshit Food Liu Heng 1986 Chinese Unknown
14553 Poor Economics Abhijit V. Banerjee, Esther Duflo 2011 American English
14553 Getting Better Charles Kenny 2011 American English
14553 The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind William Kamkwamba 2009 Malawian English
14553 Portfolios Of The Poor Daryl Collins, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart Rutherford, Orlanda Ruthven 2009 Unknown English
14588 The Good Girls Sonia Faleiro 2021 Indian English
14598 One Billion Hungry Gordon Conway 2012 British English
14622 The Promised Land Mary Antin 1912 American English
14666 Saville David Storey 1976 British English
14674 An Orphan World Giuseppe Caputo 2019 Colombian Spanish
14697 The Tyranny Of Experts William Russell Easterly 2014 American English
14829 The Great Hunger Johan Bojer 1918 Norwegian Norwegian
14897 Maggie Stephen Crane 1893 American English
14897 The Harp In The South Ruth Park 1948 Australian English
14897 The Third Life Of Grange Copeland Alice Walker 1970 American English
14897 When Rain Clouds Gather Bessie Head 1968 Botswana English
14876 To Have And Have Not Ernest Hemingway 1937 American English
14931 Tortilla Flat John Steinbeck 1935 American English
14932 Piers The Ploughman William Langland 1370 English Middle english
14954 334 Thomas M. Disch 1972 American English
14984 Say You’re One of Them Uwem Akpan 2008 Nigerian English
14984 Behold the Dreamers Imbolo Mbue 2016 Cameroonian English