The Greatest American 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
2935 The Better Angels Of Our Nature Steven Pinker 2011 American English
5642 Enlightenment Now Steven Pinker 2018 American English
5927 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
9191 How We Got To Now Steven Johnson 2014 American English
9857 Democratic Vistas Walt Whitman 1871 American English
13360 The Pioneers James Fenimore Cooper 1823 American English
14409 The Life Of Reason George Santayana 1905 American English
15561 The Mind In The Making James Harvey Robinson 1921 American English
15588 Story Of Mankind Hendrik Willem van Loon 1921 American English
15655 The Revolt Against Civilization Lothrop Stoddard 1922 American English
15658 Christianity And Progress Harry Emerson Fosdick 1922 American English
15903 On The Shoulders Of Giants Robert K. Merton 1965 American English
15903 The Machine In The Garden Leo Marx 1964 American English
15903 Technics And Civilization Lewis Mumford 1934 American English
17125 The Measure of Man Joseph Wood Krutch 1954 American English
17125 The Launching of Modern American Science, 1846-1876 Robert V. Bruce 1987 American English
17125 Zero To One Peter Thiel 2014 American English
17125 What Technology Wants Kevin Kelly 2010 American English
17125 American Visions Edward L. Ayers 2023 American English