The Greatest Books of All Time on Social Issues

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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
1153 Beast In View Margaret Millar 1955 Canadian English
2097 The Bean Trees Barbara Kingsolver 1988 American English
2397 Plumb Maurice Gee 1978 New Zealand English
2533 A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman 2012 Swedish Swedish
2982 Blind Man with a Pistol Chester Himes 1969 American English
3007 Labyrinths Christopher Okigbo 1971 Nigerian English
3916 Zayni Barakat Jamal al- Ghitani 1974 Egyptian Arabic
3953 Η Αυλή των Θαυμάτων Iakovos Kambanellis 1962 Greek Greek
4457 Death Of Jezebel Christianna Brand 1948 British English
4588 The Nickel Boys Colson Whitehead 2019 American English
5264 Anowa Ama Ata Aidoo 1970 Ghanaian English
5688 Sur La Philosophie Africaine Paulin Hountondji 1976 French French
6660 You Caroline Kepnes 2014 American English
6882 The Haunted Land Tina Rosenberg 1995 American English
6974 The Good Life Elsewhere Vladimir Lorchenkov 2008 Russian Russian
7177 The Last Harmattan Of Alusine Dunbar Syl Cheney-Choker 1990 Sierra Leonean English
7871 Psmith, Journalist P. G. Wodehouse 1915 British English
8354 Chanda's Secrets Allan Stratton 2004 Canadian English
8538 Plays Of John Arden John Arden 1961 British English
8585 Sold Patricia McCormick 2006 American English
8756 Mrs. Humphry Ward John Sutherland 1990 British English
8923 Hidden America Jeanne Marie Laskas 2012 American English
9036 Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here Jonathan Blitzer 2024 Unknown English
9060 Soldiers And Kings Jason De León 2024 Unknown English
10167 Dragon's Teeth Upton Sinclair 1942 American English
10283 There Is No Place For Us Brian Goldstone 2025 Unknown English
11413 Djinn Patrol On The Purple Line Deepa Anappara 2020 Indian English
11660 Bernard Shaw, Vol. 1 Michael Holroyd 1988 British English
11899 Margaret Bourke White Vicki Goldberg 1988 American English
11939 The Training of an American Burton J. Hendrick 1928 American English
12124 The Zorg Siddharth Kara 2025 Unknown English
12127 Bad Company Megan Greenwell 2025 American English
12157 Capitalism And Its Critics John Cassidy 2025 British English
12258 The Women Outside Stephanie Golden 1990 American English
12324 Victor Hugo Graham Robb 1997 British English
15897 Work Louisa May Alcott 1873 American English
17117 The Broken Cord Michael Dorris 1989 American English
17117 Delicious Foods James Hannaham 2015 American English
17117 Stonedogs Craig Marriner 2002 New Zealander English
17117 Harlequin Rex Owen Marshall 1999 New Zealander English
17117 Heroine Mindy McGinnis 2019 American English
17117 Justine Alice Thompson 1996 British English
17117 The Deadman’s Pedal Alan Warner 2012 Scottish English
17117 Racing Demon David Hare 1990 British English
17117 Dickens Peter Ackroyd 1990 British English
17117 The Casual Vacancy J. K. Rowling 2012 British English
17117 John Lewis David Greenberg 2024 Unknown English
17117 Undivided Hahrie Han 2024 Unknown English
17117 Our Crumbling Foundation Gregor Craigie 2024 Unknown English
17117 Undue Burden Shefali Luthra 2024 Unknown English
17117 Life And Death Of The American Worker Alice Driver 2024 Unknown English
16873 Poemas Sociales, De Guerra Y De Muerte Miguel Hernández 1937 Spanish Spanish
17117 The Fall Of Roe Elizabeth Dias, Lisa Lerer 2024 Unknown English
17117 The Lost Children Of Wilder Nina Bernstein 2001 American English