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
2099 The Bean Trees Barbara Kingsolver 1988 American English
2399 Plumb Maurice Gee 1978 New Zealand English
2535 A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman 2012 Swedish Swedish
2984 Blind Man with a Pistol Chester Himes 1969 American English
3009 Labyrinths Christopher Okigbo 1971 Nigerian English
3915 Zayni Barakat Jamal al- Ghitani 1974 Egyptian Arabic
3954 Η Αυλή των Θαυμάτων Iakovos Kambanellis 1962 Greek Greek
4458 Death Of Jezebel Christianna Brand 1948 British English
4590 The Nickel Boys Colson Whitehead 2019 American English
5266 Anowa Ama Ata Aidoo 1970 Ghanaian English
5691 Sur La Philosophie Africaine Paulin Hountondji 1976 French French
6662 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
7178 The Last Harmattan Of Alusine Dunbar Syl Cheney-Choker 1990 Sierra Leonean English
7872 Psmith, Journalist P. G. Wodehouse 1915 British English
8356 Chanda's Secrets Allan Stratton 2004 Canadian English
8542 Plays Of John Arden John Arden 1961 British English
8589 Sold Patricia McCormick 2006 American English
8761 Mrs. Humphry Ward John Sutherland 1990 British English
8927 Hidden America Jeanne Marie Laskas 2012 American English
9040 Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here Jonathan Blitzer 2024 Unknown English
9065 Soldiers And Kings Jason De León 2024 Unknown English
10171 Dragon's Teeth Upton Sinclair 1942 American English
10288 There Is No Place For Us Brian Goldstone 2025 Unknown English
11419 Djinn Patrol On The Purple Line Deepa Anappara 2020 Indian English
11663 Bernard Shaw, Vol. 1 Michael Holroyd 1988 British English
11901 Margaret Bourke White Vicki Goldberg 1988 American English
11941 The Training of an American Burton J. Hendrick 1928 American English
12125 The Zorg Siddharth Kara 2025 Unknown English
12128 Bad Company Megan Greenwell 2025 American English
12158 Capitalism And Its Critics John Cassidy 2025 British English
12259 The Women Outside Stephanie Golden 1990 American English
12326 Victor Hugo Graham Robb 1997 British English
15914 Work Louisa May Alcott 1873 American English
17162 The Broken Cord Michael Dorris 1989 American English
17162 Delicious Foods James Hannaham 2015 American English
17162 Stonedogs Craig Marriner 2002 New Zealander English
17162 Harlequin Rex Owen Marshall 1999 New Zealander English
17162 Heroine Mindy McGinnis 2019 American English
17162 Justine Alice Thompson 1996 British English
17162 The Deadman’s Pedal Alan Warner 2012 Scottish English
17162 Racing Demon David Hare 1990 British English
17162 Dickens Peter Ackroyd 1990 British English
17162 The Casual Vacancy J. K. Rowling 2012 British English
17162 John Lewis David Greenberg 2024 Unknown English
17162 Undivided Hahrie Han 2024 Unknown English
17162 Our Crumbling Foundation Gregor Craigie 2024 Unknown English
17162 Undue Burden Shefali Luthra 2024 Unknown English
17162 Life And Death Of The American Worker Alice Driver 2024 Unknown English
16915 Poemas Sociales, De Guerra Y De Muerte Miguel Hernández 1937 Spanish Spanish
17162 The Fall Of Roe Elizabeth Dias, Lisa Lerer 2024 Unknown English
17162 The Lost Children Of Wilder Nina Bernstein 2001 American English