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
4824 The Hollow Needle Maurice Leblanc 1909 French French
4823 Vernon Subutex Virginie Despentes 2015 French French
4825 Red Soil Felix Perry 1926 Canadian English
4826 The Prestige Christopher Priest 1995 British English
4827 The Largesse of the Sea Maiden Denis Johnson 2018 American English
4828 Patterns of Childhood Christa Wolf 1976 German German
4828 Blaming Elizabeth Taylor 1976 British English
4828 Cutter and Bone Newton Thornburg 1976 American English
4832 Entwined Destinies Rosalind Welles 1979 American English
4834 Black Magic Marjorie Bowen 1909 British English
4834 The Water Of The Wondrous Isles William Morris 1897 British English
4834 The Uninhabited House Mrs. Joseph H. Riddell 1875 British English
4834 The Silver Stallion James Branch Cabell 1926 American English
4834 The Cream Of The Jest James Branch Cabell 1917 American English
4834 Vice Versa F. Anstey 1882 British English
4834 One Of Cleopatra's Nights Théophile Gautier 1838 French French
4834 Thirteen O'clock Stephen Vincent Benét 1937 American English
4834 The Brass Bottle F. Anstey 1900 British English
4834 A Haunted Man And The Ghost's Bargain Charles Dickens 1848 British English
4845 The World's Wife Carol Ann Duffy 1999 British English
4846 A Season In Sinji J. L. Carr 1967 British English
4847 Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey Lillian Schiessel 1982 American English
4848 The Strange Death of Liberal England George Dangerfield 1935 British English
4849 Peking Story David Kidd 1960 American English
4850 Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, And Wear Cows Melanie Joy 2010 American English
4851 The American Political Tradition Richard Hofstadter 1948 American English
4852 Melbourne David Cecil 1939 British English
4853 Ernesto Umberto Saba 1975 Italian Italian
4854 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Alexander McCall Smith 1998 Scottish English
4855 Best of Simple Langston Hughes 1961 American English
4855 The Biology Of Human Behavior Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt 1970 German German
4855 Zettels Traum Arno Schmidt 1970 German German
4855 Der Tod Im Reisfeld Peter Scholl-Latour 1970 German German
4855 The Gift Horse Hildegard Knef 1970 German German
4860 Het Leven Is Verrukkulluk Remco Campert 1961 Dutch Dutch
4861 The Snowman Raymond Briggs 1978 British English
4863 The Foundations Of Arithmetic Gottlob Frege 1884 German German
4862 What Is Cinema? André Bazin 1967 French French
4863 Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers Max Planck 1922 German German
4865 The Love Songs Of W.E.B. Dubois Honorée Fanonne Jeffers 2021 American English
4866 Grid Systems In Graphic Design Josef Müller-Brockmann 1981 Swiss German
4868 Human Action Ludwig von Mises 1949 Austrian English
4867 The Ego And Its Own Max Stirner 1844 German German
4869 Music and Silence Rose Tremain 1999 British English
4870 Wartime Lies Louis Begley 1991 American English
4872 Βιοτεχνία Υαλικών Menis Koumandareas 1976 Greek Greek
4875 The Earl of Louisiana A. J. Liebling 1961 American English
4876 The Golden String Bede Griffiths 1954 British English
4877 Apoutsiak, Le Petit Flocon De Neige Paul-Émile Victor 1948 French French
4877 To The End Of The World Blaise Cendrars 1957 French French
4877 L'instant Fatal Raymond Queneau 1948 French French
4877 The Cat Colette 1933 French French
4885 The Crimson Petal And The White Michel Faber 2002 British English
4886 The Secret Scripture Sebastian Barry 2008 Irish English
4888 The Book of Salt Monique Truong 2003 American English
4888 The MaddAddam Trilogy Margaret Atwood 2003 Canadian English
4890 Nearer To Thee Gerard Reve 1966 Dutch Dutch
4891 The Short Stories Of Anton Chekhov Anton Chekhov 1886 Russian Russian
4892 Seven Men And Two Others Max Beerbohm 1919 British English
4893 Influence Robert B. Cialdini 1984 American English
4898 Titus Andronicus William Shakespeare 1594 British English
4898 The Theory Of Moral Sentiments Adam Smith 1759 Scottish English
4898 Leaf By Niggle J. R. R. Tolkien 1945 British English
4898 The Tragedy Of Mariam Elizabeth Cary 1613 British English
4898 The Last Man Mary Shelley 1826 British English
4898 The Redeemed Captive John Williams 1707 American English
4898 On Occult Philosophy Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa 1531 German Latin
4898 The Poetry Of Anne Bradstreet Anne Bradstreet 1867 American English
4898 The Discovery Of Freedom Rose Wilder Lane 1943 American English
4898 Lord Of The World Robert Hugh Benson 1907 British English
4898 The Foxes Of Harrow Frank Yerby 1946 American English
4898 Rules Of Civility And Decent Behavior In Company And Conversation George Washington 1748 American English
4898 Winter In Moscow Malcolm Muggeridge 1934 British English
4898 The Gates Ajar Elizabeth Stuart Phelps 1868 American English
4898 Cruising Speed William F. Buckley, Jr 1971 American English
4898 The River War Winston Churchill 1899 British English
4898 The Poems Of Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1850 British English
4898 Once An Eagle Anton Myrer 1968 American English
4898 The Autobiography Of Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge 1929 American English
4898 Notes Of Debates In The Federal Convention Of 1787 James Madison 1840 American English
4898 The Memorandum Vaclav Havel 1965 Czech Czech
4898 The Rough Riders Theodore Roosevelt 1899 American English
4898 The Unmaking Of A Mayor William F. Buckley, Jr 1966 American English
4898 King John William Shakespeare 1700 British English
4928 Dreaming Of You Lisa Kleypas 1994 American English
4929 The Poorhouse Fair John Updike 1959 American English
4930 Running Jean Echenoz 2008 French French
4931 The Military Philosophers Anthony Powell 1968 British English
4932 The Terror Dan Simmons 2007 American English
4934 Exile And Pride Eli Clare 1999 American English
4937 The Smile Of The Unknown Mariner Vincenzo Consolo 1976 Italian Italian
4938 Stone Yard Devotional Charlotte Wood 2023 Australian English
4940 Being Dead Jim Crace 1999 British English
4942 The Buried Giant Kazuo Ishiguro 2015 British English
4941 Ghettoside Jill Leovy 2015 American English
4943 Mama Day Gloria Naylor 1988 American English
4945 The Breast Philip Roth 1972 American English
4944 A Short History Of Decay Emil Cioran 1949 French French
4946 Les Regrets Joachim Du Bellay 1558 French French
4947 Fata Morgana William Kotzwinkle 1977 American English
4948 Dark Money Jane Mayer 2016 American English
4952 Songs Of A Dead Dreamer And Grimscribe Thomas Ligotti 1985 American English
4953 The Trickster of Seville and His Guest of Stone Tirso de Molina 1630 Spanish Spanish
4954 Lorenzaccio Alfred de Musset 1834 French French
4955 The Man Who Was Born Again Paull Busson 1921 Austrian German
4955 Creeps By Night Dashiell Hammett 1931 American English
4955 Miss Hargreaves Frank Baker 1939 British English
4955 The Secret Mountain And Other Tales Kenneth Morris 1926 British English
4955 Thunder On The Left Christopher Morley 1925 American English
4955 Black God's Shadow C. L. Moore 1934 American English
4955 Unclay T. F. Powys 1931 British English
4955 Figures Of Earth James Branch Cabell 1921 American English
4955 The High Place James Branch Cabell 1923 American English
4955 A Fallen Idol F. Anstey 1886 British English
4955 Uncanny Stories May Sinclair 1923 British English
4955 The Fiery Angel Valeri Briussof 1908 Russian Russian
4955 Supernatural Horror In Literature H. P. Lovecraft 1927 American English
4955 The Centaur Algernon Blackwood 1911 British English
4955 The Human Chord Algernon Blackwood 1910 British English
4955 The Venetian Glass Nephew Elinor Wylie 1925 American English