The Greatest Books of All Time on Progress

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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
1992 Headlong Hall Thomas Love Peacock 1816 British English
2729 La légende des siècles Victor Hugo 1859 French French
2935 The Better Angels Of Our Nature Steven Pinker 2011 American English
3637 The Future Has Already Begun Robert Jungk 1952 Austrian German
5643 Enlightenment Now Steven Pinker 2018 American English
5928 Hope in the Dark Rebecca Solnit 2004 American English
6767 Peter Parley's Universal History Samuel Goodrich 1837 American English
7106 Technopoly Neil Postman 1992 American English
7216 Hymn To Satan Giosué Carducci 1865 Italian Italian
7681 The Long Journey Johannes V. Jensen 1908 Danish Danish
9194 How We Got To Now Steven Johnson 2014 American English
9861 Democratic Vistas Walt Whitman 1871 American English
10283 Birth Of A Bridge Maylis de Kerangal 2010 French French
10287 The Ascent Of Man Jacob Bronowski 1973 British English
11547 The Course in Positive Philosophy Auguste Comte 1830 French French
13259 The Great Escape Angus Deaton 2013 British English
13362 The Pioneers James Fenimore Cooper 1823 American English
13818 The Worldwide Machine Paolo Volponi 1965 Italian Unknown
14410 The Life Of Reason George Santayana 1905 American English
14520 The Rational Optimist Matt Ridley 2010 British English
14760 The Outline Of History H. G. Wells 1920 British English
15568 The Mind In The Making James Harvey Robinson 1921 American English
15595 Story Of Mankind Hendrik Willem van Loon 1921 American English
15662 The Revolt Against Civilization Lothrop Stoddard 1922 American English
15665 Christianity And Progress Harry Emerson Fosdick 1922 American English
15920 On The Shoulders Of Giants Robert K. Merton 1965 American English
15920 Black On White M. Ilin 1932 Russian Russian
15920 The Social Function Of Science J. D. Bernal 1939 British English
15920 The Machine In The Garden Leo Marx 1964 American English
15920 Technics And Civilization Lewis Mumford 1934 American English
16619 Profiles Of The Future Arthur C. Clarke 1962 British English
17172 The Measure of Man Joseph Wood Krutch 1954 American English
17172 The Launching of Modern American Science, 1846-1876 Robert V. Bruce 1987 American English
17172 The Shock Of The Old David Edgerton 2006 British English
17172 Zero To One Peter Thiel 2014 American English
17172 What Technology Wants Kevin Kelly 2010 American English
17172 Pandaemonium Humphrey Jennings 1985 British English
17172 American Visions Edward L. Ayers 2023 American English
17172 Absolute Dc Darwyn Cooke 2006 Canadian English