The Greatest British Technical Books of All Time

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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
180 On the Origin of Species Charles Darwin 1859 British English
319 The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money John Maynard Keynes 1936 British English
1018 Principia Mathematica Isaac Newton 1687 British Latin
1122 A Brief History of Time Stephen Hawking 1988 British English
1327 An Essay Concerning Human Understanding John Locke 1689 British English
1706 The Principia Mathematica Alfred North Whitehead, Bertrand Russell 1910 British English
1757 Books of Blood Clive Barker 1984 British English
2031 Introduction To Mathematical Philosophy Bertrand Russell 1919 British English
2089 Parkinson's Law C. Northcote Parkinson 1957 British English
2307 The Selfish Gene Richard Dawkins 1976 British English
2368 On Growth and Form D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson 1917 British English
3891 The Concept Of Law H. L. A. Hart 1961 British English
4112 Art and Illusion Ernest H. Gombrich 1960 British English
4441 Demons By Daylight Ramsey Campbell 1973 British English
4643 Micrographia Robert Hooke 1665 British English
4811 Gaia James Lovelock 1979 British English
6003 Geological Evidences Of The Antiquity Of Man Charles Lyell 1863 British English
6458 Science and Civilisation in China Joseph Needham 1954 British English
6576 Crashed Adam Tooze 2018 British English
6729 The Mysterious Universe James Jeans 1930 British English
7071 E=Mc2 David Bodanis 2000 British English
7750 Critical Mass Philip Ball 2004 British English
8850 The Emperor's New Mind Roger Penrose 1989 British English
9018 Climbing Mount Improbable Richard Dawkins 1996 British English
9252 The Entrepreneurial State Mariana Mazzucato 2013 British English
9687 The Code Book Simon Singh 1999 British English
9819 The Precipice Toby Ord 2020 British English
10541 The Face That Must Die Ramsey Campbell 1979 British English
11540 The Economic Consequences of the Peace John Maynard Keynes 1919 British English
12194 Earth Richard Fortey 2004 British English
12707 The Revenge of Gaia James Lovelock 2006 British English
13211 Stuff Matters Mark Miodownik 2013 British English
13359 The New Science Of Strong Materials J. E. Gordon 1968 British English
13805 Global Warming John Theodore Houghton 1986 British English
14819 Logic And Knowledge Bertrand Russell 1956 British English
14984 In Search Of Schrodinger's Cat John Gribbin 1984 British English
15899 The Beveridge Report William Beveridge 1942 British English
16588 Profiles Of The Future Arthur C. Clarke 1962 British English
17120 Big Bang Simon Singh 2004 British English
17120 Charged Up Jacqui Bailey 2004 British English
17120 The Periodic Table Adrian Dingle, Simon Basher 2007 British English
17120 The Magic Furnace Marcus Chown 1999 British English
17120 The Mighty Micro Christopher Evans 1979 British English
17120 The Anthropic Cosmological Principle John D. Barrow, Frank J. Tipler 1986 British English
17120 Code Dependent Madhumita Murgia 2024 British Unknown
17120 Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka: A Philosophical Introduction Jan Westerhoff 2009 British English