The Greatest Books of All Time on Tradition

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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
15796 A Sea Island Lady Francis Griswold 1939 American Unknown
15833 The Little House Collection Laura Ingalls Wilder 1932 American English
15832 The Issa Valley Czesław Miłosz 1955 Polish Polish
15820 Fielding's Folly Frances Parkinson Keyes 1940 American English
15866 The Death Of The Past J. H. Plumb 1969 British English
15858 The Setting Sun Osamu Dazai 1947 Japanese Japanese
15871 A Sibila Agustina Bessa-Luís 1954 Portuguese Portuguese
15903 Apu Ollontay Peru 1780 Peruvian Quechua
15903 The Financial Expert R. K. Narayan 1952 Indian English
15903 Private Life Of An Indian Prince Mulk Raj Anand 1953 Indian English
15903 The Flint Anchor Sylvia Townsend Warner 1954 British English
15903 A Heritage And Its History Ivy Compton-Burnett 1959 British English
15903 Pioneers In Ingolstadt Marieluise Fleißer 1928 German German
15903 Japanese Inn Statler, Oliver. 1961 American English
15903 Clementine In The Kitchen Samuel Chamberlain 1943 American English
15903 String Too Short To Be Saved Donald Hall 1961 American English
15903 Kilverts Diary, 1870 1879 Francis Kilvert 1938 British English
15903 Dawn Blossoms Plucked At Dusk Lu Xun 1928 Chinese Chinese
15903 The Sheltered Life Ellen Glasgow 1932 American English
15903 Native Planters In Old Hawaii Elizabeth Hand, E. C. S. Handy 1940 American English
15903 Sketches Of Etruscan Places And Other Italian Essays D. H. Lawrence 1932 British English
15885 The Lamp Of Umm Hashim Yahya Hakki 1944 Egyptian Arabic
15903 The Vienna Melody Ernst Lothar 1944 Austrian German
15903 The Battle To The Weak Hilda Vaughan 1925 British English
15903 In A German Pension Katherine Mansfield 1911 British English
15903 The Corn King And The Spring Queen Naomi Mitchison 1931 British English
15903 The Tentmaker Julius Berstl 1935 Unknown German
15903 High Are The Mountains Hannah Closs 1945 Unknown English
15903 The Cornerstone Zoe Oldenbourg 1953 French French
15903 Bedford Village Hervey Allen 1944 American English
15903 Marching On James Boyd 1927 American English
15903 House Divided Ben Ames Williams 1947 American English
15903 So Red The Rose Stark Young 1934 American English
15903 The Feud Amelia Bean 1952 Unknown English
15903 Children Of God Vardis Fisher 1939 American English
15903 Golden Earth Norman Lewis 1952 British English
15903 Islandia Austin Tappan Wright 1942 American English
15903 A Journey To The Western Islands Of Scotland Samuel Johnson 1775 British English
15903 A Rose For Winter Laurie Lee 1955 British English
15903 The Traveller's Tree Patrick Leigh Fermor 1950 British English
16535 Akenfield Ronald Blythe 1969 American English
16535 Torregreca Ann Cornelisen 1969 Torregreca English
16581 The Halloween Tree Ray Bradbury 1972 American English
16514 The Book Of Dede Korkut Unknown 1400 Multiple Oghuz turkic
16535 Roman Wall Bryher 1954 British English
16569 Tolkien On Fairy Stories J. R. R. Tolkien 1947 British English
16724 Life With Father Howard Lindsay, Russell Crouse 1939 American English
16750 Tournament Shelby Foote 1949 American English
16692 Botchan Natsume Sōseki 1906 Japanese Japanese
16618 The Prophet Shalom Asch 1955 Unknown English
16717 Sanshirō Natsume Sōseki 1908 Japanese Japanese
16642 Personal Knowledge Michael Polanyi 1958 British English
17125 Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers Robert Bringhurst 2000 Canadian English
17125 England in Particular Sue Clifford, Angela King 2006 British English
17125 District and Circle Seamus Heaney 2006 Irish English
17125 The Lost Leader Mick Imlah 2008 British English
17125 The Destiny Waltz Gerda Charles 1968 British English
17125 The Chip Chip Gatherers Shiva Naipaul 1973 Trinidadian English
17125 The Spirit Level Seamus Heaney 1996 Irish English
17125 Art and Life in America Oliver W. Larkin 1949 American English
16957 Kabloona Gontran de Poncins 1941 French French
17125 People of Paradox Michael Kammen 1972 American English
17125 Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat 1995 Haitian English
17125 Kaaterskill Falls Allegra Goodman 1998 American English
17125 The Stain Rikki Ducornet 1984 American English
17125 Always Coming Home Ursula K. Le Guin 1985 American English
17125 Go in Beauty William Eastlake 1956 American English
17125 The Bronc People William Eastlake 1958 American English
17125 Whoredom in Kimmage Rosemary Mahoney 1993 American English
17125 The Names N. Scott Momaday 1976 American English
17125 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Rebecca Wells 1996 American English
17125 Chesapeake James A. Michener 1978 American English
17125 Native American Folktales Thomas A. Green 2008 American English
17125 The Complete Stories Zora Neale Hurston 1995 American English
17125 The Telling Ursula K. Le Guin 2000 American English
17125 Cards of Grief Jane Yolen 1984 American English
17125 Solstice Wood Patricia A. McKillip 2006 American English
17125 Vessel Sarah Beth Durst 2012 American English
17125 Dark Eden Chris Beckett 2012 British English
17125 Black Panther By Ta Nehisi Coates Vol. 1 Ta-Nehisi Coates 2016 American English
17125 A Bride's Story Kaoru Mori 2009 Japanese Japanese
17125 Grass Sheri S. Tepper 1989 American English
16891 Kanthapura Raja Rao 1938 Indian English
17125 Old Cypress Nisha Da Cunha 1991 Indian Unknown
17125 Without My Cloak Kate O'Brien 1931 Irish English
17125 Tales From Bective Bridge Mary Lavin 1942 Irish English
17125 A Slanting Light Gerda Charles 1963 British English
17125 The Ice Saints Frank Tuohy 1974 British English
17125 The Golden Bird George Mackay Brown 1962 Scottish English
17125 Ugly Ways Tina McElroy Ansa 1993 American English
17125 African American Music Mellonee V. Burnim, Portia K. Maultsby 2006 American English
17125 The Other Wind Ursula K. Le Guin 2001 American English
17125 Tooth And Claw Jo Walton 2003 British English
17125 The Long Tomorrow Leigh Brackett 1955 American English
17125 Interpreters Wole Soyinka 1965 Nigerian English
17125 Nation Of Fools Balraj Khanna 1984 Indian English
17125 Family And Friends Anita Brookner 1985 British English
17125 Jerusalem Simon Sebag Montefiore 2011 British English
17125 Bad Jews Joshua Harmon 2013 American English
17125 Anna In The Tropics Nilo Cruz 2003 American English
16813 The House Of Bernarda Alba Federico García Lorca 1936 Spanish Spanish
16892 Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll Ray Lawler 1955 Australian English
17125 Dancing At Lughnasa Brian Friel 1990 Irish English
17125 King Charles Iii Mike Bartlett 2014 British English
17125 Renegades Of Pern Anne McCaffrey 1989 American English
17125 All The Weyrs Of Pern Anne McCaffrey 1991 American English
17125 A Window In Thrums J. M. Barrie 1889 Scottish English
17125 Duncton Wood William Horwood 1980 British English
17125 Updraft Fran Wilde 2015 American English
17125 Son Of The Black Sword Larry Correia 2015 American English
17125 African Tales Gcina Mhlophe 1989 South African English
17059 Little Town On The Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder 1941 American English
17098 Call It Courage Armstrong Sperry 1940 American English
17125 Go Set A Watchman Harper Lee 2015 American English
16966 The Well Cradle Zeami Motokiyo 1430 Japanese Japanese
17125 Woman Hollering Creek Sandra Cisneros 1991 American English
17125 Discerner Of Hearts Olive Senior 1995 Canadian English
17125 The Best Of Albert Wendt’s Short Stories Albert Wendt 1999 New Zealand English
17125 Dogside Story Patricia Grace 2001 New Zealand English
17125 Shell Shaker LeAnne Howe 2001 American English