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
2693 Waiting to Exhale Terry McMillan 1992 American English
2694 Pet Sematary Stephen King 1983 American English
2695 Dalva Jim Harrison 1988 American English
2696 Wise Children Angela Carter 1991 British English
2697 All Over But The Shoutin' Rick Bragg 1997 American English
2698 Cod Mark Kurlansky 1997 American English
2699 Existentialism And Humanism Jean Paul Sartre 1946 French French
2700 Witch World Andre Norton 1963 American English
2701 Close Range Annie Proulx 1999 American English
2702 The Nightingale Kristin Hannah 2015 American English
2703 Natural History Pliny the Elder 77 Roman Latin
2704 My Brilliant Career Miles Franklin 1901 Australian English
2706 The Works Of Thomas Lovell Beddoes Thomas Lovell Beddoes 1851 British English
2707 A Lover's Discourse Roland Barthes 1977 French French
2708 The Help Kathryn Stockett 2009 American English
2709 Les Caractères Jean de La Bruyère 1688 French French
2712 Mission Of Gravity Hal Clement 1954 American English
2710 Alan Turing Andrew Hodges 1983 British English
2711 Reasons And Persons Derek Parfit 1984 British English
2714 Coriolanus William Shakespeare 1608 British English
2715 Something Happened Joseph Heller 1974 American English
2716 The Great War and Modern Memory Paul Fussell 1975 American English
2717 Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Unknown 1400 British Middle english
2719 Richard Ii William Shakespeare 1595 British English
2720 The Life Of Saint Teresa Of Avila By Herself Teresa of Avila 1588 Spanish Spanish
2722 Perelandra C. S. Lewis 1943 British English
2723 A Man For All Seasons Robert Bolt 1960 American English
2724 The Book Of Questions Edmond Jabès 1963 French French
2725 The Discovery Of Slowness Sten Nadolny 1983 German German
2726 Last Poems A. E. Housman 1922 British English
2727 They Return At Evening H. Russell Wakefield 1928 British English
2728 La légende des siècles Victor Hugo 1859 French French
2729 Overcoat Nikolai Gogol 1842 Russian Russian
2730 The Executioner's Song Norman Mailer 1979 American English
2731 Lost Souls Poppy Z. Brite 1992 American English
2732 Seize The Day Saul Bellow 1956 American English
2733 A Violent Life Pier Paolo Pasolini 1959 Italian Italian
2734 The Circular Staircase Mary Roberts Rinehart 1908 American English
2735 Severance Ling Ma 2018 American English
2736 Philosophical Writings Novalis 1798 German German
2737 Look Back In Anger John Osborne 1956 British English
2739 Dark Night of the Soul St. John of the Cross 1578 Spanish Spanish
2738 My Friend Flicka Mary O'Hara 1941 American English
2740 The Martian Andy Weir 2011 American English
2741 Jerusalem Selma Lagerlöf 1901 Swedish Swedish
2742 The Little White Horse Elizabeth Goudge 1946 British English
2743 Ved Vejen Herman Bang 1886 Danish Danish
2745 Erec And Enide Chrétien de Troyes 1160 French Old french
2750 The Montessori Method Maria Montessori 1909 Italian Italian
2750 Psychological Types Carl Jung 1921 Swiss German
2750 Dust Tracks on a Road Zora Neale Hurston 1942 American English
2750 Struwwelpeter, Or, Merry Rhymes and Funny Pictures... Heinrich Hoffmann 1845 German German
2746 The Romance of the Rose Guillaume (de Lorris) 1230 French Old french
2750 Castle Gripsholm Kurt Tucholsky 1931 German German
2750 The Wild Swans at Coole William Butler Yeats 1917 Irish English
2750 My Fight for Birth Control Margaret Sanger 1931 American English
2749 The Broken Jug Heinrich von Kleist 1808 German German
2750 The Worm Forgives The Plough John Stewart Collis 1947 British English
2750 Gods And Heroes Gustav Schwab 1838 German German
2750 Threepenny Novel Bertolt Brecht 1934 German German
2750 Mephisto Klaus Mann 1936 German German
2750 Young Henry Of Navarre Heinrich Mann 1935 German German
2750 Ides Of March Thornton Wilder 1948 American English
2748 Physica Hildegard of Bingen 1150 German Latin
2750 Out Of Africa Karen Blixen 1937 Danish Danish
2747 Poor Henry Hartmann von Aue 1190 German Middle high german
2750 Fabian Erich Kästner 1931 German German
2768 Amsterdam Stories Nescio 1918 Dutch Dutch
2766 Decisive Moments in History Stefan Zweig 1927 Austrian German
2772 Man-Eaters of Kumaon Jim Corbett 1944 British English
2771 The Twilight of the Idols and The Antichrist Friedrich Nietzsche 1888 German German
2770 The Book Of Divine Consolation Meister Eckhart 1308 German Middle high german
2774 Travels in Arabia Deserta Charles M. Doughty 1888 British English
2773 Max And Moritz Wilhelm Busch 1865 German German
2777 The Art Of Worldly Wisdom Baltasar Gracián 1647 Spanish Spanish
2776 Helmbrecht Wernher der Gartenaere 1250 German Middle high german
2775 Gedichte Walther von der Vogelweide 1200 German Middle high german
2781 The Legend Of Thyl Ulenspiegel And Lamme Goedzak Charles de Coster 1867 Belgian French
2779 Lay Down Your Arms! Bertha von Suttner 1889 Austrian German
2780 Mist Miguel de Unamuno 1914 Spanish English
2782 Mountain Interval Robert Frost 1916 American English
2783 North Of Boston Robert Frost 1914 American English
2789 The Weavers Gerhart Hauptmann 1892 German German
2788 How To Stop Worrying And Start Living Dale Carnegie 1948 American English
2785 The Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms Ernst Cassirer 1929 German German
2787 A Cultural History Of The Modern Age Egon Friedell 1927 Austrian English
2784 Märchenalmanach Auf Das Jahr 1828 Wilhelm Hauff 1827 German German
2786 By Night Under The Stone Bridge Leo Perutz 1953 Austrian German
2790 The Island Of Second Sight Albert Vigoleis Thelen 1953 German English
2791 Dog Years Günter Grass 1963 German German
2792 Soft Soap Willem Elsschot 1931 Belgian Dutch
2793 The Eagle Has Landed Jack Higgins 1975 British English
2794 Small Souls Louis Couperus 1901 Dutch Dutch
2795 The Silver Chair C. S. Lewis 1953 British English
2796 The Theory Of Communicative Action Jürgen Habermas 1981 German German
2797 The Anatomy of Melancholy Robert Burton 1621 British English
2798 Goodbye, Columbus Philip Roth 1959 American English
2799 Delta Wedding Eudora Welty 1946 American English
2800 Collected Plays Of Euripides Euripides -405 Greek Ancient greek
2801 The Old Devils Kingsley Amis 1986 British English
2802 Stormbringer Michael Moorcock 1965 British English
2803 Mastering the Art of French Cooking Julia Child, Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle 1961 American English
2804 Fates and Furies Lauren Groff 2015 American English
2805 James Percival Everett 2024 American English
2806 The Art of Memory Frances A. Yates 1966 British English
2808 Jacob Have I Loved Katherine Paterson 1980 American English
2809 Roadside Picnic Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky 1972 Russian Russian
2810 The Agony and the Ecstasy Irving Stone 1961 American English
2811 The Haunted Omnibus Alexander Laing 1937 American English
2813 La Débâcle Émile Zola 1892 French French
2814 The Golden Apples Eudora Welty 1949 American English
2815 The Belkin Tales Alexander Pushkin 1831 Russian Russian
2816 The Gnostic Gospels Elaine Pagels 1979 American English
2817 The Great Fire Shirley Hazzard 2003 Australian English
2818 The Empty House And Other Ghost Stories Algernon Blackwood 1906 British English
2818 The Riddle Walter de la Mare 1923 British English
2818 On The Edge Walter de la Mare 1930 British English
2821 The Damnation Game Clive Barker 1985 British English
2822 The Horse and His Boy C. S. Lewis 1954 British English
2823 The Leg Willem Elsschot 1946 Belgian Dutch