The Greatest Reference Books Since 1967

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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
3219 The American Cinema Andrew Sarris 1968 American English
3413 A Biographical Dictionary Of Film David Thomson 1975 British English
3469 The Story Of English Robert McCrum 1986 British English
3844 The Fractal Geometry Of Nature Benoît Mandelbrot 1977 French English
4222 A Pattern Language Christopher Alexander 1977 American English
4414 The House Book Terence Conran 1974 British English
4675 Our Bodies, Ourselves Unknown 1970 American English
4736 Trees And Shrubs Of New Zealand Audrey Eagle 1975 New Zealand English
4815 The New Oxford Book Of English Verse Helen Gardner 1972 British English
4866 Grid Systems In Graphic Design Josef Müller-Brockmann 1981 Swiss German
5087 On Food and Cooking Harold McGee 1984 American English
5482 The Ants E. O. Wilson, Bert Hölldobler 1990 American English
5844 Revolution in the Head Ian MacDonald 1994 British English
6238 Dictionary Of Newfoundland English G.M. Story 1982 Canadian English
6481 The Dictionary Of New Zealand English Harry Orsman 1997 New Zealand English
6655 Aus Dem Wörterbuch Des Unmenschen Dolf Sternberger 1989 German German
6713 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
7199 Science Fiction And Fantasy Literature & Supplement R. Reginald 1979 American English
7596 The Guide To Supernatural Fiction Everett F. Bleiler 1983 American English
7596 Supernatural Fiction Writers Everett F. Bleiler 1983 American English
7687 The Rest is Noise Alex Ross 2007 American English
7932 The Penguin Encyclopedia Of Horror And The Supernatural Jack Sullivan 1986 American English
8259 Diccionario Sánscrito Español Oscar Pujol 2011 Spanish Spanish
8286 The Interpretation Of Cultures Clifford Geertz 1973 American English
8395 The First Gothics Frederick S. Frank 1987 American English
8395 Science Fiction And Fantasy Reference Index, 1878 1985 And Supplements H. W. Hall 1987 American English
8634 The Whole Internet Ed Krol 1992 American English
8682 Fantasy Literature For Children And Young Adults Ruth Nadelman Lynn 1989 American English
8728 Kiswahili, Past, Present And Future Horizons Rocha Chimera 1998 Kenyan English
9215 Eats, Shoots and Leaves Lynne Truss 2003 British English
9534 Petit Robert Paul Robert 1967 French French
9656 Brehm's Life Of Animals Alfred Edmund Brehm 2015 German German
9656 De Architectura Vitruvius 2016 Roman Latin
9686 The Code Book Simon Singh 1999 British English
9812 The Supernatural Index Mike Ashley 1995 British English
9906 The Oxford Book Of Letters Frank Kermode, Anita Kermode 1995 British English
9990 Magill's Guide To Science Fiction And Fantasy Literature Magill 1996 Unknown English
10214 Her Majesty's Secret Service Christopher Andrew 1985 Unknown English
10840 The World Of Economics John Eatwell, Murray Milgate, Peter Newman 1991 British English
11161 The Creators Daniel J. Boorstin 1992 American English
12019 An Illustrated History Of The Horror Film Carlos Clarens 1967 American English
12916 Let Only Red Flowers Bloom Emily Feng 2025 Unknown English
13229 A Bibliography Of Arthur Machen Adrian Goldstone, Wesley Sweetser 1973 Unknown English
13295 Reference Guide To Fantastic Films Walt Lee 1974 American English
13295 The Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction And Fantasy, Vol. I Donald H. Tuck 1974 Australian English
13352 The Ray Bradbury Companion William F. Nolan 1975 American English
13574 The Sound Of The City Charlie Gillett 1970 British English
13693 The Fabulous Fantasy Films Jeff Rovin 1977 American English
13734 Atlas Der Abgelegenen Inseln Judith Schalansky 2009 German German
13742 Dictionary Of Subjects And Symbols In Art James Hall 1974 British English
14212 Frank Stewart's Bridge Club Frank Stewart 2001 American English
14410 Global Health Ann Lindstrand 2006 Unknown English
14553 Reading Shakespeare's Sonnets Don Paterson 2010 British English
14983 Book Lust Nancy Pearl 2003 American English
15586 Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex David Reuben 1969 American English
15586 The Sensuous Woman Terry Garrity 1969 American English
15792 The New Guide To Modern World Literature Martin Seymour-Smith 1973 British English
16613 Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha Satyananda Saraswati 1969 Indian English
17117 African American Music Mellonee V. Burnim, Portia K. Maultsby 2006 American English
17117 Turn Left At Orion Guy Consolmagno, Dan M. Davis 1989 American English
17117 The Backyard Astronomer's Guide Terence Dickinson 1991 Canadian English
17117 365 Starry Nights Chet Raymo 1982 American English
17117 Black Inventors For Children Charles Jones 2002 American Unknown
17117 Bathtub Science Shar Levine 2001 British English
17117 Mistakes That Worked Charlotte Jones 1991 Unknown English
17117 What Is The World Made Of? Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld 1994 American English
17117 The Periodic Table Adrian Dingle, Simon Basher 2007 British English
17117 Microlife That Helps Us Steve Parker 2005 British English
17117 Basic Physics Karl F. Kuhn 1996 American English
17117 Home Comforts Cheryl Mendelson 1999 American English
17048 The Law Of Presidential Impeachment Association of the Bar of the City of New York 1974 American English
17117 The Plan Kendra Adachi 2024 Unknown English
17117 Deep Space Govert Schilling 2024 Dutch English
17117 The Lost World Of The Dinosaurs Armin Schmitt 2024 Unknown English
17117 The Propagation Handbook Hilton Carter 2024 Unknown English
17117 Growing Bulbs In The Natural Garden Jacqueline van der Kloet 2024 Unknown English
17117 Extra Time Beckons, Penalties Loom Adam Hurrey 2024 Unknown English
17117 The Story Of Drawing Susan Owens 2024 Unknown English
17117 Private Equity Carrie Sun 2024 Unknown English
17117 Summa Contra Gentiles Thomas Aquinas 1992 Italian Latin
17117 Island Book Of Records Volume 2: 1969 1970 Neil Storey 2024 Unknown Unknown
17045 The Golden Dawn Israel Regardie 1971 British English
17117 A Taste Of India Madhur Jaffrey 1985 British English
17117 The Chinese Computer Thomas S. Mullaney 2024 Unknown English
17117 The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract Bill James 1985 American English
17117 The Baseball Encyclopedia Macmillan 1969 American English
17117 The Story Of American Golf Herbert Warren Wind 1975 American English
17117 The Work Of Art Adam Moss 2024 Unknown English
17117 Memories Of Philippine Kitchens Amy Besa, Romy Dorotan 2006 Philippine English
17117 The Angelical Language, Volume I Aaron Leitch 2010 Unknown English
17117 The Great Movies Roger Ebert 2003 American English
17117 Writing Fiction Janet Burroway 1982 American English
17117 Screenplay Syd Field 1979 American English
17117 The Great American Bathroom Book Stevens W. Anderson 2007 American English
17117 The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook Joshua Piven 2001 American English
17117 The Visual Display Of Quantitative Information, 2nd Ed. Thomas Tufte 1983 Unknown English
17117 Atlas Obscura Joshua Foer 2016 American English
17117 The Etymologicon Mark Forsyth 2011 British English
17117 Dreyer's English Eileen Dreyer 2019 Unknown English
17117 Hedge Fund Market Wizards Jack D. Schwager 2012 American English
17117 Evidence Based Physical Diagnosis Steven McGee MD 2001 Unknown English
17117 Sapira's Art & Science Of Bedside Diagnosis Jane M. Orient 1999 Unknown English
17117 How To Read A Paper Adam Greenhalgh 1999 Unknown Unknown
17117 Framed Ink Marcos Mateu-Mestre 2010 Unknown English
17117 Icons And Saints Of The Eastern Orthodox Church Alfredo Tradigo 2006 Unknown Italian
17117 The Ode Less Travelled Stephen Fry 2005 British English
16936 The Anarchist Cookbook William Powell 1971 American English
17117 The Days Of Vengeance David H. Chilton 1987 Canadian English