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
15791 A Sea Island Lady Francis Griswold 1939 American Unknown
15838 The Little House Collection Laura Ingalls Wilder 1932 American English
15839 The Issa Valley Czesław Miłosz 1955 Polish Polish
15813 Fielding's Folly Frances Parkinson Keyes 1940 American English
15873 The Death Of The Past J. H. Plumb 1969 British English
15864 The Setting Sun Osamu Dazai 1947 Japanese Japanese
15879 A Sibila Agustina Bessa-Luís 1954 Portuguese Portuguese
15916 Apu Ollontay Peru 1780 Peruvian Quechua
15916 The Financial Expert R. K. Narayan 1952 Indian English
15916 Private Life Of An Indian Prince Mulk Raj Anand 1953 Indian English
15916 The Flint Anchor Sylvia Townsend Warner 1954 British English
15916 A Heritage And Its History Ivy Compton-Burnett 1959 British English
15916 Pioneers In Ingolstadt Marieluise Fleißer 1928 German German
15916 Japanese Inn Statler, Oliver. 1961 American English
15916 Clementine In The Kitchen Samuel Chamberlain 1943 American English
15916 String Too Short To Be Saved Donald Hall 1961 American English
15916 Kilverts Diary, 1870 1879 Francis Kilvert 1938 British English
15916 Dawn Blossoms Plucked At Dusk Lu Xun 1928 Chinese Chinese
15916 The Sheltered Life Ellen Glasgow 1932 American English
15916 Native Planters In Old Hawaii Elizabeth Hand, E. C. S. Handy 1940 American English
15916 Sketches Of Etruscan Places And Other Italian Essays D. H. Lawrence 1932 British English
15899 The Lamp Of Umm Hashim Yahya Hakki 1944 Egyptian Arabic
15916 The Vienna Melody Ernst Lothar 1944 Austrian German
15916 The Battle To The Weak Hilda Vaughan 1925 British English
15916 In A German Pension Katherine Mansfield 1911 British English
15916 The Corn King And The Spring Queen Naomi Mitchison 1931 British English
15916 The Tentmaker Julius Berstl 1935 Unknown German
15916 High Are The Mountains Hannah Closs 1945 Unknown English
15916 The Cornerstone Zoe Oldenbourg 1953 French French
15916 Bedford Village Hervey Allen 1944 American English
15916 Marching On James Boyd 1927 American English
15916 House Divided Ben Ames Williams 1947 American English
15916 So Red The Rose Stark Young 1934 American English
15916 The Feud Amelia Bean 1952 Unknown English
15916 Children Of God Vardis Fisher 1939 American English
15916 Golden Earth Norman Lewis 1952 British English
15916 Islandia Austin Tappan Wright 1942 American English
15916 A Journey To The Western Islands Of Scotland Samuel Johnson 1775 British English
15916 A Rose For Winter Laurie Lee 1955 British English
15916 The Traveller's Tree Patrick Leigh Fermor 1950 British English
16552 Akenfield Ronald Blythe 1969 American English
16552 Torregreca Ann Cornelisen 1969 Torregreca English
16589 The Halloween Tree Ray Bradbury 1972 American English
16528 The Book Of Dede Korkut Unknown 1400 Multiple Oghuz turkic
16552 Roman Wall Bryher 1954 British English
16593 Tolkien On Fairy Stories J. R. R. Tolkien 1947 British English
16753 Life With Father Howard Lindsay, Russell Crouse 1939 American English
16780 Tournament Shelby Foote 1949 American English
16726 Botchan Natsume Sōseki 1906 Japanese Japanese
16648 The Prophet Shalom Asch 1955 Unknown English
16736 Sanshirō Natsume Sōseki 1908 Japanese Japanese
16674 Personal Knowledge Michael Polanyi 1958 British English
17163 Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers Robert Bringhurst 2000 Canadian English
17163 England in Particular Sue Clifford, Angela King 2006 British English
17163 District and Circle Seamus Heaney 2006 Irish English
17163 The Lost Leader Mick Imlah 2008 British English
17163 The Destiny Waltz Gerda Charles 1968 British English
17163 The Chip Chip Gatherers Shiva Naipaul 1973 Trinidadian English
17163 The Spirit Level Seamus Heaney 1996 Irish English
17163 Art and Life in America Oliver W. Larkin 1949 American English
16989 Kabloona Gontran de Poncins 1941 French French
17163 People of Paradox Michael Kammen 1972 American English
17163 Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat 1995 Haitian English
17163 Kaaterskill Falls Allegra Goodman 1998 American English
17163 The Stain Rikki Ducornet 1984 American English
17163 Always Coming Home Ursula K. Le Guin 1985 American English
17163 Go in Beauty William Eastlake 1956 American English
17163 The Bronc People William Eastlake 1958 American English
17163 Whoredom in Kimmage Rosemary Mahoney 1993 American English
17163 The Names N. Scott Momaday 1976 American English
17163 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Rebecca Wells 1996 American English
17163 Chesapeake James A. Michener 1978 American English
17163 Native American Folktales Thomas A. Green 2008 American English
17163 The Complete Stories Zora Neale Hurston 1995 American English
17163 The Telling Ursula K. Le Guin 2000 American English
17163 Cards of Grief Jane Yolen 1984 American English
17163 Solstice Wood Patricia A. McKillip 2006 American English
17163 Vessel Sarah Beth Durst 2012 American English
17163 Dark Eden Chris Beckett 2012 British English
17163 Black Panther By Ta Nehisi Coates Vol. 1 Ta-Nehisi Coates 2016 American English
17163 A Bride's Story Kaoru Mori 2009 Japanese Japanese
17163 Grass Sheri S. Tepper 1989 American English
16925 Kanthapura Raja Rao 1938 Indian English
17163 Old Cypress Nisha Da Cunha 1991 Indian Unknown
17163 Without My Cloak Kate O'Brien 1931 Irish English
17163 Tales From Bective Bridge Mary Lavin 1942 Irish English
17163 A Slanting Light Gerda Charles 1963 British English
17163 The Ice Saints Frank Tuohy 1974 British English
17163 The Golden Bird George Mackay Brown 1962 Scottish English
17163 Ugly Ways Tina McElroy Ansa 1993 American English
17163 African American Music Mellonee V. Burnim, Portia K. Maultsby 2006 American English
17163 The Other Wind Ursula K. Le Guin 2001 American English
17163 Tooth And Claw Jo Walton 2003 British English
17163 The Long Tomorrow Leigh Brackett 1955 American English
17163 Interpreters Wole Soyinka 1965 Nigerian English
17163 Nation Of Fools Balraj Khanna 1984 Indian English
17163 Family And Friends Anita Brookner 1985 British English
17163 Jerusalem Simon Sebag Montefiore 2011 British English
17163 Bad Jews Joshua Harmon 2013 American English
17163 Anna In The Tropics Nilo Cruz 2003 American English
16850 The House Of Bernarda Alba Federico García Lorca 1936 Spanish Spanish
16926 Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll Ray Lawler 1955 Australian English
17163 Dancing At Lughnasa Brian Friel 1990 Irish English
17163 King Charles Iii Mike Bartlett 2014 British English
17163 Renegades Of Pern Anne McCaffrey 1989 American English
17163 All The Weyrs Of Pern Anne McCaffrey 1991 American English
17163 A Window In Thrums J. M. Barrie 1889 Scottish English
17163 Duncton Wood William Horwood 1980 British English
17163 Updraft Fran Wilde 2015 American English
17163 Son Of The Black Sword Larry Correia 2015 American English
17163 African Tales Gcina Mhlophe 1989 South African English
17094 Little Town On The Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder 1941 American English
17133 Call It Courage Armstrong Sperry 1940 American English
17163 Go Set A Watchman Harper Lee 2015 American English
17000 The Well Cradle Zeami Motokiyo 1430 Japanese Japanese
17163 Woman Hollering Creek Sandra Cisneros 1991 American English
17163 Discerner Of Hearts Olive Senior 1995 Canadian English
17163 The Best Of Albert Wendt’s Short Stories Albert Wendt 1999 New Zealand English
17163 Dogside Story Patricia Grace 2001 New Zealand English
17163 Shell Shaker LeAnne Howe 2001 American English