The Greatest Books of All Time on Trade

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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
361 Foundation Isaac Asimov 1951 American English
531 The Wealth of Nations Adam Smith 1776 Scottish English
1244 The Travels of Marco Polo Marco Polo 1300 Italian Old french
1624 The Mediterranean And The Mediterranean World In The Age Of Philip Ii Fernand Braudel 1949 French French
1778 Rob Roy Sir Walter Scott 1817 British English
1925 The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano Olaudah Equiano 1789 African English
2698 Cod Mark Kurlansky 1997 American English
2774 Travels in Arabia Deserta Charles M. Doughty 1888 British English
4477 The Economy of Cities Jane Jacobs 1969 American English
4497 The Rise And Fall Of The Great Powers Paul Kennedy 1987 British English
4626 The Opium War Julia Lovell 2011 British English
5368 The Way the World Works Jude Wanniski 1978 American English
5860 France And England In North America Francis Parkman 1865 American English
5974 1491 Charles C. Mann 2005 American English
5994 Paradise Abdulrazak Gurnah 1994 British English
6149 The Thousand Autumns Of Jacob De Zoet David Mitchell 2010 British English
6577 Venice Jan Morris 1960 British English
6843 A History of the World in 100 Objects Neil MacGregor 2010 British English
8060 The Anarchy William Dalrymple 2019 British English
8209 China Shakes The World James Kynge 2006 British English
9027 Citizen Of The Galaxy Robert A. Heinlein 1957 American English
9142 The World For Sale Jack Farchy, Javier Blas 2021 British English
9656 The Silk Road Sven Hedin 2012 Swedish Swedish
10652 The Travels of Ibn Battutah Ibn Battúta 1355 Moroccan Arabic
10914 The Economic Weapon Nicholas Mulder 2022 American English
11181 Die Puppenspieler Tanja Kinkel 1995 German German
11529 Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa Mungo Park 1799 British English
11636 Principles Of Political Economy John Stuart Mill 1848 British English
11660 The Ordeal Of Elizabeth Marsh Linda Colley 2007 British English
12225 The Collapsing Empire John Scalzi 2017 American English
12595 The History Of Money David McWilliams 2024 Irish English
13337 River Of Smoke Amitav Ghosh 2011 Indian English
14180 Chanur's Venture C. J. Cherryh 1984 American English
14192 Pax Britannica James Morris 1968 British English
14334 India Under British Rule From The Foundation Of The East India Company James Talboys Wheeler 1874 British English
14410 The Box Marc Levinson 2006 American English
14457 The Post American World Fareed Zakaria 2008 American English
14519 The Rational Optimist Matt Ridley 2010 British English
14543 The Great Illusion Norman Angell 1910 British English
14629 How Asia Works Joe Studwell 2013 British English
14666 Sacred Hunger Barry Unsworth 1992 British English
14983 The Tyranny Of Distance Geoffrey Blainey 1966 Australian English
14983 Ship Of Magic Robin Hobb 1998 American English
14983 Gai Jin James Clavell 1993 American English
14983 Salt Mark Kurlansky 2002 American English
15646 The Mercy Of Allah Hilaire Belloc 1922 British English
15752 Travels in West Africa Mary Kingsley 1897 British English
15753 England's Treasure By Forraign Trade Thomas Mun 1664 English English
15830 First Footsteps in East Africa Richard Burton 1856 British English
15897 Medieval Cities Henri Pirenne 1925 Belgian French
15897 La Salle And The Discovery Of The Great West Francis Parkman 1869 American English
16687 The Principal Navigations Richard Hakluyt 1589 British English
17117 History of the American Frontier Frederic L. Paxson 1924 American English
17117 Pinckney's Treaty Samuel Flagg Bemis 1926 American English
17117 The Colonial Period of American History Charles McLean Andrews 1934 American English
17117 The Old Northwest, Pioneer Period 1815-1840 R. Carlyle Buley 1950 American English
17007 Journal of the Voyage to the Pacific Alexander Mackenzie 1801 Canadian English
17117 The Triumphant Empire Lawrence H. Gipson 1948 American English
17117 Destiny Disrupted Tamim Ansary 2009 American English
17117 Viking Britain Thomas Williams 2017 British English
17117 Mr Isaacs F. Marion Crawford 1882 British English
17117 The Great Divergence Kenneth Pomeranz 2000 American English
17117 The Dawn Watch Maya Jasanoff 2017 American English
17117 Going Dutch Lisa Jardine 2008 British English
17117 The Adventures Of Ibn Battuta Ross E. Dunn 1986 American English
17117 The American Crucible Robin Blackburn 2011 British English
17117 An Unfinished History Of The World Hugh Thomas 1979 British English
17117 The Mongol Empire Peter Ludwig Brent 1976 British English
17117 Caribbean James A. Michener 1989 American English
17117 Niccolò Rising Dorothy Dunnett 1986 British English
17117 Astoria Peter Stark 2014 American English
17117 The Silk Roads Peter Frankopan 2015 British English
17117 A Concise History Of South India Noboru Karashima 2014 Unknown English
17117 Silk Roads Sue Brunning 2024 Unknown English
17117 Four Points Of The Compass Jerry Brotton 2024 Unknown English
17117 Genghis Khan And The Making Of The Modern World Jack Weatherford 2004 American English
17117 The Wealth And Poverty Of Nations David S. Landes 1998 American English
17117 The Silk Road Valerie Hansen 2012 Unknown English
17117 The History Of The Medieval World Susan Wise Bauer 2010 American English
16870 A History Of Civilizations Fernand Braudel 1963 French French
17117 An Insular Possession Timothy Mo 1986 British English
17117 All The Horses Of Iceland Sarah Tolmie 2022 Unknown English
17117 The Coin Of Carthage Bryher 1963 British English
17117 Lord Of The Kongo Peter Forbath 1988 Unknown English
17117 Ming Robert B. Oxnam 1995 Unknown English
17117 The Moghul Thomas Hoover 1983 American English
16933 Astoria Washington Irving 1835 American English
17117 Digital Empires Anu Bradford 2023 Unknown English
17117 The World Simon Sebag Montefiore 2023 British English
17117 Courting India Nandini Das 2023 Unknown English
17117 The Scythian Empire Christopher I. Beckwith 2023 Unknown English
17117 A History Of The World In Twelve Shipwrecks David Gibbins Unknown Unknown
16944 Ibn Fadlān And The Land Of Darkness Ahmad ibn Fadlān 921 Unknown Arabic
17117 The Walking Drum Louis L'Amour 1984 American English
17117 Ireland In The Medieval World, Ad400–1000 Bhreathnach, Edel Irish English
17117 Banners Of Silk Rosalind Laker 1981 British English