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
2148 Tractatus Theologico Politicus Baruch de Spinoza 1670 Dutch Latin
2151 Conversations Of Goethe With Johann Peter Eckermann Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Peter Eckermann 1836 German German
2153 The Track Of The Cat Walter Van Tilburg Clark 1949 American English
2154 Don Juan Molière 1665 French French
2155 The Flame Of Life Gabriele D'Annunzio 1900 Italian Italian
2156 The Green Man Kingsley Amis 1969 British English
2157 The Hot Rock Donald E. Westlake 1970 American English
2158 The Clan of the Cave Bear Jean M. Auel 1980 American English
2159 Soul and Other Stories Andrey Platonov 1999 Russian Russian
2160 The Immense Journey Loren Eiseley 1957 American English
2161 The Uses of Literacy Richard Hoggart 1957 British English
2161 The Poetical Works Of William Wordsworth William Wordsworth 1807 British English
2164 Bread Givers Anzia Yezierska 1925 American English
2165 The Buddha in the Attic Julie Otsuka 2011 American English
2166 Morvern Callar Alan Warner 1995 Scottish English
2167 Bread And Wine Ignazio Silone 1936 Italian Italian
2169 My Cousin Rachel Daphne du Maurier 1951 British English
2170 Noughts and Crosses Malorie Blackman 2001 British English
2171 Italian Folktales Italo Calvino 1956 Italian Italian
2172 Poems Of Robert Burns Robert Burns 1786 Scottish Scots
2172 Essays Charles Lamb 1823 British English
2174 Surfacing Margaret Atwood 1972 Canadian English
2176 Hawaii James A. Michener 1959 American English
2175 Paris Spleen Charles Baudelaire 1869 French French
2177 Old People And The Things That Pass Louis Couperus 1906 Dutch Dutch
2178 The Love Of The Last Tycoon F. Scott Fitzgerald 1941 American English
2179 The Oostakker Poems Hugo Claus 1955 Belgian Dutch
2180 Blue of Noon Georges Bataille 1957 French French
2181 The Little Demon Fedor Sologub 1907 Russian Russian
2182 Far From the Tree Andrew Solomon 2012 American English
2183 No Logo Naomi Klein 1999 Canadian English
2185 On Love Alain de Botton 1993 British English
2186 The American Language H. L. Mencken 1919 American English
2188 No Country for Old Men Cormac McCarthy 2005 American English
2189 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson 2005 Swedish Swedish
2190 Les Tragiques Agrippa d'Aubigné 1616 French French
2191 The Witches Of Eastwick John Updike 1984 American English
2192 American Gods Neil Gaiman 2001 British English
2193 Envy Yury Olesha 1927 Russian Russian
2194 The Giving Tree Shel Silverstein 1964 American English
2195 Portrait Of Jennie Robert Nathan 1940 American English
2196 That Hideous Strength C. S. Lewis 1945 British English
2198 The Last Lion William Manchester 1983 American English
2199 Trojan Women Euripides -415 Greek Ancient greek
2200 Death Of A Hero Richard Aldington 1929 British English
2201 Arch Of Triumph Erich Maria Remarque 1945 German German
2202 The Kindly Ones Jonathan Littell 2006 French French
2204 The Quest for Christa T. Christa Wolf 1968 German German
2203 The Story of My Life Helen Keller 1903 American English
2205 The Gate of Heavenly Peace Jonathan Spence 1981 American English
2206 Dreams from My Father Barack Obama 1995 American English
2208 Trainspotting Irvine Welsh 1993 Scottish English
2209 Sub Rosa Robert Aickman 1968 British English
2210 Exemplary Stories Miguel de Cervantes 1613 Spanish Spanish
2211 Swordspoint Ellen Kushner 1987 American English
2212 Collected Stories W. Somerset Maugham 1951 British English
2213 Closely Watched Trains Bohumil Hrabal 1965 Czech Czech
2214 Roman Elegies Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1795 German German
2214 Mozart On His Way To Prague Eduard Mörike 1856 German German
2214 The Lake of the Bees Theodor Storm 1849 German German
2214 The Threepenny Opera Bertolt Brecht 1928 German German
2218 The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes 2011 British English
2219 King Solomon's Ring Konrad Lorenz 1949 Austrian German
2220 Against Our Will Susan Brownmiller 1975 American English
2221 Simon and the Oaks Marianne Fredriksson 1985 Swedish Swedish
2222 The Theory And Practice Of Hell Eugen Kogon 1950 German German
2223 Good Omens Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman 1990 British English
2224 My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh 2018 American English
2225 Aspects of the Novel E. M. Forster 1927 British English
2226 Operation Shylock Philip Roth 1993 American English
2228 The Anubis Gates Tim Powers 1983 American English
2229 A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles 2016 American English
2230 The Cathedral Folk Nikolai Leskov 1872 Russian Russian
2232 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J. K. Rowling 2007 British English
2233 Resurrection Leo Tolstoy 1899 Russian Russian
2234 Last And First Men Olaf Stapledon 1930 British English
2236 Billiards at Half-Past Nine Heinrich Böll 1959 German German
2237 Ringworld Larry Niven 1970 American English
2239 A Treatise of Human Nature David Hume 1739 British English
2240 Flashman George MacDonald Fraser 1969 British English
2241 Collected Poems Arthur Rimbaud 1898 French French
2242 Milkman Anna Burns 2018 Irish English
2243 The Tombs Of Atuan Ursula K. Le Guin 1971 American English
2244 The Gathering Anne Enright 2007 Irish English
2245 Poems Of Gottfried Benn Gottfried Benn 1948 German German
2246 The Bald Soprano Eugène Ionesco 1950 French French
2247 Roman De La Rose Guillaume de Lorris, Jean de Meun 1237 French Old french
2249 Twenty Years at Hull-House Jane Addams 1910 American English
2249 1066 And All That W. C. Sellar 1930 British English
2249 The Physiology Of Taste Or Meditations On Transcendental Gastronomy Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin 1825 French French
2249 Emil And The Detectives Erich Kästner 1929 German German
2253 A Field Guide to the Birds Roger Tory Peterson 1934 American English
2255 Busman’s Honeymoon Dorothy L. Sayers 1937 British English
2256 Correction Thomas Bernhard 1975 Austrian German
2257 A History Of The World In 10 1/2 Chapters Julian Barnes 1989 British English
2258 Pale Horse, Pale Rider Katherine Anne Porter 1939 American English
2259 Advertisements for Myself Norman Mailer 1959 American English
2261 Appointment in Samarra John O'Hara 1934 American English
2260 The Iceman Cometh Eugene O'Neill 1946 American English
2262 The Crystal World J. G. Ballard 1966 British English
2264 Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality Sigmund Freud 1905 Austrian German
2266 Pricksongs and Descants Robert Coover 1969 American English
2265 The Murderess Alexandros Papadiamantis 1903 Greek Greek
2268 The Jewel In The Crown Paul Scott 1966 British English
2269 The Virgin in the Garden A. S. Byatt 1978 British English
2270 The Nun Denis Diderot 1796 French French
2270 In a Glass Darkly Sheridan Le Fanu 1872 Irish English
2273 The Accidental Tourist Anne Tyler 1985 American English
2274 Hedda Gabler Henrik Ibsen 1890 Norwegian Norwegian
2276 The Old English Baron Clara Reeve 1777 British English
2277 The Twelve Alexander Blok 1918 Russian Russian
2278 One of Ours Willa Cather 1922 American English
2279 Poems of Eugenio Montale Eugenio Montale 1925 Italian Italian
2280 The Corner That Held Them Sylvia Townsend Warner 1948 British English
2281 Boris Godunov Alexander Pushkin 1831 Russian Russian
2282 Crowds And Power Elias Canetti 1960 German German
2283 Goodnight Mister Tom Michelle Magorian 1981 British English
2284 Smiley's People John le Carré 1979 British English
2285 The Crossing Cormac McCarthy 1994 American English
2286 The Cloister and the Hearth Charles Reade 1861 British English