The Greatest Books of All Time on Scholarship

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

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.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates Countries

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
3548 Samuel Johnson Walter Jackson Bate 1977 American English
7082 The Scholars Wu Ching-tzu 1750 Chinese Chinese
7793 The Rebel Angels Robertson Davies 1981 Canadian English
10922 Robert Grosseteste R. W. Southern 1988 British English
11273 Gospel Wilton Barnhardt 1993 American English
12482 The Sisters Of Sinai Janet Soskice 2009 Unknown English
13337 The Rule Of Four Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason 2004 American English
15897 Israel And The Dead Sea Scrolls Edmund Wilson 1955 American English
17119 Beyond Respectability Brittney C. Cooper 2017 American English
17119 The Professor And The Madman Simon Winchester 1998 British English
17119 The Dictionary People Sarah Ogilvie 2023 Unknown English
17119 The Manuscripts Club Christopher de Hamel 2023 Unknown English
17119 Professing Criticism John Guillory 2023 American English