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
4955 A Crystal Age W. H. Hudson 1887 British English
4955 Mr. Godly Beside Himself Gerald Bullett 1924 British English
4955 The Supermale Alfred Jarry 1902 French French
4955 These Mortals Margaret Irwin 1925 British English
4975 A Fortune To Share Vash Young 1938 American English
4976 God In Search Of Man Abraham Joshua Heschel 1955 American English
4977 Klara And The Sun Kazuo Ishiguro 2021 British English
4978 The First Three Minutes Steven Weinberg 1977 American English
4979 The Hare with Amber Eyes Edmund de Waal 2010 British English
4980 I Want My Hat Back Jon Klassen 2011 Canadian English
4982 Arctic Dreams Barry Lopez 1986 American English
4981 New Poems Rainer Maria Rilke 1907 German German
4983 Sophie's Misfortunes Countess of Ségur. 1858 French French
4984 The Norman Conquests Alan Ayckbourn 1973 British English
4985 The Campaigns Of Alexander Arrian 1976 Greek Greek
4988 Madame Curie - A Biography by Eve Curie Eve Curie 1937 French French
4991 A Thousand Plateaus Gilles Deleuze 1980 French French
4993 Kristy’s Great Idea Ann M. Martin 1986 American English
4994 Tigana Guy Gavriel Kay 1990 Canadian English
4996 The Sun Is Also A Star Nicola Yoon 2016 American English
4997 A Nest Of Nightmares Lisa Tuttle 1986 American English
4997 The Pet Charles L. Grant 1986 American English
4999 The Bamboo Bed William Eastlake 1969 American English
5003 Feel Free Zadie Smith 2018 British English
5004 In A Different Voice Carol Gilligan 1982 American English
5006 Against the Day Thomas Pynchon 2006 American English
5005 The Magic Pudding Norman Lindsay 1918 Australian English
5007 Dance Hall Of The Dead Tony Hillerman 1973 American English
5009 Omtrent Deedee Hugo Claus 1963 Belgian Dutch
5010 Zone One Colson Whitehead 2011 American English
5012 The Lesser Bohemians Eimear McBride 2016 Irish English
5011 The Hungry Moon Ramsey Campbell 1986 British English
5014 High Citadel Desmond Bagley 1965 British English
5015 The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt Edmund Morris 1979 American English
5016 The Singapore Grip J. G. Farrell 1978 British English
5018 Me Before You Jojo Moyes 2012 British English
5019 The Werewolf Aksel Sandemose 1958 Norwegian Norwegian
5022 The City And The Mountains Eça de Queirós 1901 Portuguese Portuguese
5019 The King David Report Stefan Heym 1972 German German
5023 Dying As A Country Dimitris Dimitriadis 1978 Greek Greek
5023 Στην Κοιλαδα Με Τους Ροδωνες Nikos Engonopoulos 1978 Greek Greek
5023 Deathfeast Takis Sinopoulos 1978 Greek Greek
5027 Theophilus North Thornton Wilder 1973 American English
5028 The City & the City China Miéville 2009 British English
5029 Lust For Life Irving Stone 1934 American English
5030 Honored Guest Joy Williams 2004 American English
5030 The Sluts Dennis Cooper 2004 American English
5032 I Jan Cremer Jan Cremer 1964 Dutch Dutch
5033 I Feel Bad About My Neck Nora Ephron 2006 American English
5035 Black Reconstruction In America W. E. B. Du Bois 1935 American English
5036 Highland Velvet Jude Deveraux 1982 American English
5037 Eight Men Richard Wright 1961 American English
5038 Storm Front Jim Butcher 2000 American English
5039 Black Hawk Down Mark Bowden 1999 American English
5043 Chickamauga Ambrose Bierce 1889 American English
5043 Peter Ibbetson Daphne du Maurier 1891 British Unknown
5043 The Death Of Halpin Frayser Ambrose Bierce 1891 American English
5043 The White Old Maid Nathaniel Hawthorne 1837 American English
5043 Selected Poems Of George Sterling George Sterling 1923 American English
5043 The Sandman E. T. A. Hoffmann 1816 German German
5043 A Predicament Edgar Allan Poe 1838 American English
5043 The Minister's Black Veil Nathaniel Hawthorne 1836 American English
5043 The Wolf Leader Alexandre Dumas 1857 French French
5043 For The Blood Is The Life F. Marion Crawford 1905 American English
5043 Flower Phantoms Ronald Fraser 1926 British English
5043 Fantazius Mallare Ben Hecht 1922 American English
5043 Typewriter In The Sky & Fear L. Ron Hubbard 1940 American English
5043 Still She Wished For Company Margaret Irwin 1924 British English
5043 Devil's Tor David Lindsay 1932 British English
5043 The Face In The Abyss A. Merritt 1931 American English
5043 By Firelight Edith Pargeter 1948 British English
5043 The Girl And The Faun Eden Phillpotts 1917 British English
5043 Pan And The Twins Eden Phillpotts 1906 British English
5043 The Wonderful Visit H. G. Wells 1895 British English
5043 The Two Thieves T. F. Powys 1932 British English
5043 The Stray Lamb Thorne Smith 1929 American English
5043 A Man Made Of Money Douglas Jerrold 1849 British English
5043 My First Two Thousand Years George Vierick 1928 American English
5043 Salome the Wandering Jewess George Vierick, Paul Eldridge 1930 American English
5043 The Invincible Adam George Vierick, Paul Eldridge 1932 American English
5043 Essays And Tales John Sterling 1848 British English
5043 Who Wants A Green Bottle? Tod Robbins 1926 American English
5043 The Well Of St. Clare Anatole France 1895 French French
5043 Maker Of Shadows Jack Mann 1939 British English
5043 Grey Shapes Jack Mann 1937 British English
5043 In Brief Authority F. Anstey 1896 British English
5043 The Lord Of The Dark Red Star Eugene Lee-Hamilton 1903 British English
5043 Lieut. Gullivar Jones Edwin Lester Arnold 1905 British English
5043 Tongues Of Conscience Robert Hichens 1893 British English
5043 Living Alone Stella Benson 1919 British English
5043 The Charwoman's Shadow Lord Dunsany 1926 British English
5039 Woman Natalie Angier 1999 American English
5039 The Pleasure Of Finding Things Out Richard P. Feynman 1999 American English
5081 Autobiography Of A Face Lucy Grealy 1994 American English
5082 Ernest And Celestine Gabrielle Vincent 1981 French French
5083 Nowhere In Africa Stefanie Zweig 1995 German German
5085 The Horsemen Joseph Kessel 1967 French French
5086 Imperial Life in the Emerald City Rajiv Chandrasekaran 2006 American English
5088 On Food and Cooking Harold McGee 1984 American English
5089 Past Caring Robert Goddard 1986 British English
5090 Poetic Justice Amanda Cross 1970 American English
5092 Amity and Prosperity Eliza Griswold 2018 American English
5093 The Suns of Independence Ahmadou Kourouma 1968 French French
5094 Sartoris William Faulkner 1929 American English
5095 Where Do We Go From Here Martin Luther King 1967 American English
5096 The Disappearance Philip Wylie 1951 American English
5097 A Hunger Like No Other Kresley Cole 2006 American English
5098 Three To Kill Jean-Patrick Manchette 1976 French French
5099 Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese 2009 American English
5101 Where Angels Fear to Tread E. M. Forster 1905 British English
5100 The Doctor Stories William Carlos Williams 1984 American English
5103 Abel Sánchez Miguel de Unamuno 1917 Spanish Spanish
5104 Saving The Appearances Owen Barfield 1957 British English
5107 Brother Of The More Famous Jack Barbara Trapido 1982 British English
5110 The Winter Of Our Discontent John Steinbeck 1961 American English
5112 Let The Right One In John Ajvide Lindqvist 2004 Swedish Swedish
5111 The War Of Art Steven Pressfield 2002 American English
5114 Le Lion Joseph Kessel 1958 French French
5115 The Boat Who Wouldn't Float Farley Mowat 1969 Canadian English
5116 Swamplandia! Karen Russell 2011 American English