The Greatest Western 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
2017 Riddley Walker Russell Hoban 1980 British English
2018 The Death Ship B. Traven 1926 German German
2019 The Berlin Stories Christopher Isherwood 1945 British English
2020 Journals André Gide 1948 French French
2021 Little Poet Nescio 1918 Dutch Unknown
2022 The Color of Water James McBride 1995 American English
2024 The Chosen Chaim Potok 1967 American English
2025 Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden 1997 American English
2026 Stanzas about the Death of his Father Jorge Manrique 1476 Spanish Spanish
2027 Quartet in Autumn Barbara Pym 1977 British English
2028 The Land Of Laughs Jonathan Carroll 1980 American English
2029 Nobody's Boy Hector Malot 1878 French French
2031 The Devil's Pool George Sand 1846 French French
2031 In Parenthesis David Jones 1937 British English
2031 The Crowd Gustave Le Bon 1895 French French
2031 History Of The Reformation In Germany Leopold von Ranke 1834 German German
2031 Cosmos Alexander von Humboldt 1845 German German
2031 Sex And Repression In Savage Society Bronislaw Malinowski 1927 British English
2031 Theodicy Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz 1710 German French
2031 über Den Umgang Mit Menschen Adolph Freiherr von Knigge 1788 German German
2031 The Concept Of Anxiety Soren Kierkegaard 1844 Danish Danish
2031 The History Of Rome Theodor Mommsen 1854 German German
2031 Gedanken Und Erinnerungen Otto von Bismarck 1898 German German
2031 The Riddle Of The Universe Ernst Haeckel 1899 German German
2031 Introduction To Mathematical Philosophy Bertrand Russell 1919 British English
2031 Ideal Marriage, Its Physiology And Technique Theodoor H. van de Velde 1926 Dutch Dutch
2031 Man In The Modern Age Karl Jaspers 1931 German German
2046 The Brothers Lionheart Astrid Lindgren 1973 Swedish Swedish
2047 The Ice Palace Tarjei Vesaas 1963 Norwegian Norwegian
2048 Amusing Ourselves To Death Neil Postman 1985 American English
2049 The Ripening Seed Colette 1923 French French
2052 The Misanthrope Molière 1666 French French
2050 Momo Michael Ende 1973 German German
2054 Verses Herman Gorter 1890 Dutch Dutch
2057 Sixty Stories Donald Barthelme 1981 American English
2056 Tales Of Horror And The Supernatural Arthur Machen 1948 British English
2059 The Passion Of New Eve Angela Carter 1977 British English
2060 Ghost Story Peter Straub 1979 American English
2061 The Last World Christoph Ransmayr 1988 Austrian German
2062 Girl With Green Eyes Edna O'Brien 1962 Irish English
2063 Watt Samuel Beckett 1953 Irish English
2064 The Egghead Republic Arno Schmidt 1957 German German
2065 The Hidden Force Louis Couperus 1921 Dutch Dutch
2066 The Infernal Desire Machines Of Doctor Hoffman Angela Carter 1972 British English
2067 How Late It Was, How Late James Kelman 1994 Scottish English
2068 The Black Dahlia James Ellroy 1987 American English
2069 The Round House Louise Erdrich 2012 American English
2070 The Age of Reform Richard Hofstadter 1955 American English
2071 The Assistant Bernard Malamud 1957 American English
2072 Night Has A Thousand Eyes George Hopley 1945 American English
2073 The Blithedale Romance Nathaniel Hawthorne 1852 American English
2074 Snow Falling on Cedars David Guterson 1994 American English
2077 The Lurker At The Threshold August Derleth, H. P. Lovecraft 1945 American English
2078 The Major Plays Anton Chekhov 1964 Russian Russian
2079 Rationalism in Politics Michael Oakeshott 1962 British English
2080 A Little Princess Frances Hodgson Burnett 1905 British English
2081 Στροφή George Seferis 1931 Greek Greek
2083 The Memoirs of a Survivor Doris May Lessing 1974 British English
2084 Fight Club Chuck Palahniuk 1996 American English
2085 The Sheep Look Up John Brunner 1972 British English
2086 Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones 1986 British English
2087 A German Officer in Occupied Paris Ernst Jünger 1949 German German
2088 Madeline Ludwig Bemelmans 1939 Austrian English
2089 Parkinson's Law C. Northcote Parkinson 1957 British English
2090 Strong Poison Dorothy L. Sayers 1930 British English
2091 Lady Audley's Secret M. E. Braddon 1862 British English
2092 Mourning Becomes Electra Eugene O'Neill 1931 American English
2093 The Spirit of St. Louis Charles Lindbergh 1953 American English
2094 Derborence Charles Ferdinand Ramuz 1934 Swiss French
2095 Elias, Or The Fight With The Nightingales Maurice Gilliams 1936 Belgian Dutch
2095 Parken En Woestijnen M. Vasalis 1940 Dutch Dutch
2097 Mio, My Son Astrid Lindgren 1954 Swedish Swedish
2098 The Bean Trees Barbara Kingsolver 1988 American English
2099 From Russia with Love Ian Fleming 1957 British English
2100 Verzamelde Gedichten J.C. Bloem 1954 Dutch Dutch
2101 Tree of Smoke Denis Johnson 2007 American English
2102 Collected Short Stories of Saki Saki 1930 British English
2103 The Bloody Chamber And Other Stories Angela Carter 1979 British English
2104 Someone Like You Roald Dahl 1953 British English
2106 Desert Solitaire Edward Abbey 1968 American English
2107 Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver 2022 American English
2108 The Shell Seekers Rosamunde Pilcher 1987 British English
2109 Oxford English Dictionary Oxford University Press 1884 British English
2110 The Deeps of Deliverance Frederik van Eeden 1900 Dutch Dutch
2110 The Black Lake Hella S. Haasse 1948 Dutch Dutch
2112 House On The Embankment Yuri Trifonov 1976 Russian Russian
2114 All Souls' Day Cees Nooteboom 1998 Dutch Dutch
2115 Just Kids Patti Smith 2010 American English
2116 Siebenkäs Jean Paul 1796 German German
2116 The Treasure Chest Johann Peter Hebel 1811 German German
2116 Querelle of Brest Jean Genet 1947 French French
2116 Stories of Mr. Keuner Bertolt Brecht 1926 German German
2116 The Life Story And Real Adventures Of The Poor Man Of Toggenburg Ulrich Bräker 1789 Swiss German
2121 Julius Caesar William Shakespeare 1623 British English
2122 The Crystal Cave Mary Stewart 1970 British English
2123 The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle 1892 British English
2124 True Grit Charles Portis 1968 American English
2125 Tell Me a Riddle Tillie Olsen 1961 American English
2126 Life In The Folds Henri Michaux 1949 French French
2127 Restoration Rose Tremain 1989 British English
2128 Korenbloemen Constantijn Huygens 1658 Dutch Dutch
2128 Houtekiet Gerard Walschap 1939 Belgian Dutch
2128 Will O' The Wisp Willem Elsschot 1947 Belgian Dutch
2131 Seven Brothers Aleksis Kivi 1870 Finnish Finnish
2132 The Man in the High Castle Philip K. Dick 1962 American English
2133 I Will Bear Witness Victor Klemperer 1995 German German
2134 Farewell To Matyora Valentin Rasputin 1976 Russian Russian
2135 Cop Hater Ed McBain 1956 American English
2136 Conan The Conqueror Robert E. Howard 1935 American English
2137 The Last Days Of Pompeii Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1834 British English
2138 The Worm Ouroboros E. R. Eddison 1922 British English
2139 Shadows on the Rock Willa Cather 1931 American English
2140 The Interrogation J. M. G. Le Clezio 1963 French French
2141 Mythago Wood Robert Holdstock 1984 British English
2142 Home Sweet Homicide Craig Rice 1944 American English
2143 The Assault Harry Mulisch 1982 Dutch Dutch
2144 Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets J. K. Rowling 1998 British English
2145 Cryptonomicon Neal Stephenson 1999 American English
2146 The Night Land William Hope Hodgson 1912 British English
2147 Aniara Harry Martinson 1956 Swedish Swedish