The Greatest Reference Books Since 1900

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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
620 The Elements of Style E. B. White, William Strunk Jr. 1918 American English
675 The Joy of Cooking Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan Becker 1931 American English
787 Quotations from Chairman Mao Mao 1964 Chinese Chinese
806 The Story of Art Ernest H. Gombrich 1950 British English
1526 A History of Western Philosophy Bertrand Russell 1945 British English
1706 The Principia Mathematica Alfred North Whitehead, Bertrand Russell 1910 British English
1896 Smoking and Health Surgeon General 1964 American English
2187 The American Language H. L. Mencken 1919 American English
2254 A Field Guide to the Birds Roger Tory Peterson 1934 American English
2879 Scouting For Boys Robert Baden-Powell 1908 British English
3219 The American Cinema Andrew Sarris 1968 American English
3412 A Biographical Dictionary Of Film David Thomson 1975 British English
3468 The Story Of English Robert McCrum 1986 British English
3637 Charter of the United Nations United Nations 1945 Multiple English
3637 Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home Emily Post 1922 American English
3637 The Jazz Book Joachim-Ernst Berendt 1953 German German
3637 The Tomb Of Tutankhamun Howard Carter 1954 British English
3637 Architecture Walter Gropius 1935 German German
3637 An Outline Of European Architecture Nikolaus Pevsner 1943 British English
3843 The Fractal Geometry Of Nature Benoît Mandelbrot 1977 French English
4223 A Pattern Language Christopher Alexander 1977 American English
4415 The House Book Terence Conran 1974 British English
4677 Our Bodies, Ourselves Unknown 1970 American English
4738 Trees And Shrubs Of New Zealand Audrey Eagle 1975 New Zealand English
4817 The New Oxford Book Of English Verse Helen Gardner 1972 British English
4868 Grid Systems In Graphic Design Josef Müller-Brockmann 1981 Swiss German
5090 On Food and Cooking Harold McGee 1984 American English
5485 The Ants E. O. Wilson, Bert Hölldobler 1990 American English
5847 Revolution in the Head Ian MacDonald 1994 British English
6242 Dictionary Of Newfoundland English G.M. Story 1982 Canadian English
6382 The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights United Nations 1948 Multiple English
6483 The Dictionary Of New Zealand English Harry Orsman 1997 New Zealand English
6657 Aus Dem Wörterbuch Des Unmenschen Dolf Sternberger 1989 German German
6714 Diccionario De Autores Latinoamericanos César Aira 2001 Argentinian Spanish
6973 Our Bodies, Ourselves Boston Women’s Health Collective 1970 American English
7112 Index To Science Fiction Anthologies And Collections And Supplement William G. Contento 1978 American English
7200 Science Fiction And Fantasy Literature & Supplement R. Reginald 1979 American English
7216 The New York Times Manual Of Style And Usage Allan M. Siegal, William G. Connolly 1950 American English
7597 The Guide To Supernatural Fiction Everett F. Bleiler 1983 American English
7597 Supernatural Fiction Writers Everett F. Bleiler 1983 American English
7688 The Rest is Noise Alex Ross 2007 American English
7933 The Penguin Encyclopedia Of Horror And The Supernatural Jack Sullivan 1986 American English
8262 Diccionario Sánscrito Español Oscar Pujol 2011 Spanish Spanish
8289 The Interpretation Of Cultures Clifford Geertz 1973 American English
8399 The First Gothics Frederick S. Frank 1987 American English
8399 Science Fiction And Fantasy Reference Index, 1878 1985 And Supplements H. W. Hall 1987 American English
8640 The Whole Internet Ed Krol 1992 American English
8688 Fantasy Literature For Children And Young Adults Ruth Nadelman Lynn 1989 American English
8735 Kiswahili, Past, Present And Future Horizons Rocha Chimera 1998 Kenyan English
9221 Eats, Shoots and Leaves Lynne Truss 2003 British English
9378 Commentary On The Bibliography Of Edgar A. Poe John W. Robertson 1923 American English
9540 Petit Robert Paul Robert 1967 French French
9632 Bibliography Of The Writings Of Edgar A. Poe John W. Robertson 1934 American English
9661 Brehm's Life Of Animals Alfred Edmund Brehm 2015 German German
9661 De Architectura Vitruvius 2016 Roman Latin
9691 The Code Book Simon Singh 1999 British English
9817 The Supernatural Index Mike Ashley 1995 British English
9849 The Gothic Quest Montague Summers 1938 British English
9911 The Oxford Book Of Letters Frank Kermode, Anita Kermode 1995 British English
9955 A Gothic Bibliography Montague Summers 1940 British English
9996 Magill's Guide To Science Fiction And Fantasy Literature Magill 1996 Unknown English
10221 Her Majesty's Secret Service Christopher Andrew 1985 Unknown English
10246 Understanding Poetry Robert Penn Warren, Cleanth Brooks 1938 American English
10246 A History of Philosophy Frederick Charles Copleston 1946 British English
10309 A History Of Russian Literature Dmitry Svyatopolk Mirsky 1926 Russian English
10309 Morphology Of The Folktale Vladimir Aioakovlevich Propp 1928 Russian Russian
10394 Basic Documents in American History Richard Brandon Morris 1958 American English
10430 A Bibliography Of The Works Of Sir Henry Rider Haggard J. E. Scott 1947 British English
10531 The Checklist Of Science Fiction And Supernatural Fiction Everett F. Bleiler 1948 American English
10846 The World Of Economics John Eatwell, Murray Milgate, Peter Newman 1991 British English
11168 The Creators Daniel J. Boorstin 1992 American English
11473 Index To The Weird Fiction Magazines T. G. L. Cockcroft 1962 Unknown English
12021 An Illustrated History Of The Horror Film Carlos Clarens 1967 American English
12918 Let Only Red Flowers Bloom Emily Feng 2025 Unknown English
13232 A Bibliography Of Arthur Machen Adrian Goldstone, Wesley Sweetser 1973 Unknown English
13298 Reference Guide To Fantastic Films Walt Lee 1974 American English
13298 The Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction And Fantasy, Vol. I Donald H. Tuck 1974 Australian English
13355 The Ray Bradbury Companion William F. Nolan 1975 American English
13362 How To Lie With Statistics Darrell Huff 1954 American English
13362 The Feynman Lectures On Physics, Vol. Iii Richard P. Feynman 1965 American English
13533 Gardner's Art Through The Ages Helen Gardner 1926 American English
13575 The Sound Of The City Charlie Gillett 1970 British English
13694 The Fabulous Fantasy Films Jeff Rovin 1977 American English
13735 Atlas Der Abgelegenen Inseln Judith Schalansky 2009 German German
13743 Dictionary Of Subjects And Symbols In Art James Hall 1974 British English
14212 Frank Stewart's Bridge Club Frank Stewart 2001 American English
14411 Global Health Ann Lindstrand 2006 Unknown English
14435 The World Of Mathematics James R. Newman 1956 American English
14554 Reading Shakespeare's Sonnets Don Paterson 2010 British English
14788 A Dictionary Of Modern English Usage H. W. Fowler 1926 British English
14788 French Country Cooking Elizabeth David 1951 British English
14985 Book Lust Nancy Pearl 2003 American English
15594 Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex David Reuben 1969 American English
15594 The Sensuous Woman Terry Garrity 1969 American English
15745 The Faber Book Of Aphorisms W. H. Auden 1962 British English
15811 The New Guide To Modern World Literature Martin Seymour-Smith 1973 British English
15916 The Stars H. A. Rey 1952 German English
15916 Light On Yoga B. K. S. Iyengar 1966 Indian English
15916 Daily Life In Ancient Rome Jérôme Carcopino 1936 French French
16648 Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha Satyananda Saraswati 1969 Indian English
17165 African American Music Mellonee V. Burnim, Portia K. Maultsby 2006 American English
17165 Turn Left At Orion Guy Consolmagno, Dan M. Davis 1989 American English
17165 The Backyard Astronomer's Guide Terence Dickinson 1991 Canadian English
17165 365 Starry Nights Chet Raymo 1982 American English
17165 Black Inventors For Children Charles Jones 2002 American Unknown
17165 Bathtub Science Shar Levine 2001 British English
17165 Mistakes That Worked Charlotte Jones 1991 Unknown English
17165 What Is The World Made Of? Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld 1994 American English
17165 The Periodic Table Adrian Dingle, Simon Basher 2007 British English
17165 Microlife That Helps Us Steve Parker 2005 British English
17165 Basic Physics Karl F. Kuhn 1996 American English
17165 Home Comforts Cheryl Mendelson 1999 American English
17086 The Law Of Presidential Impeachment Association of the Bar of the City of New York 1974 American English
17165 The Plan Kendra Adachi 2024 Unknown English
17165 Deep Space Govert Schilling 2024 Dutch English
17165 The Lost World Of The Dinosaurs Armin Schmitt 2024 Unknown English
17165 The Propagation Handbook Hilton Carter 2024 Unknown English
17165 Growing Bulbs In The Natural Garden Jacqueline van der Kloet 2024 Unknown English
17165 Extra Time Beckons, Penalties Loom Adam Hurrey 2024 Unknown English
17165 The Story Of Drawing Susan Owens 2024 Unknown English