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
5530 We Were A Handful Karel Poláček 1946 Czech Czech
5530 Oblak A Valčík Ferdinand Peroutka 1948 Czech Czech
5530 Prométheova Játra Jiří Kolář 1950 Czech Czech
5530 Nezvěstný Egon Hostovský 1948 Czech Czech
5530 Africa Jiří Hanzelka, Miroslav Zikmund 1952 Czech Czech
5530 Maminka Jaroslav Seifert 1966 Czech Czech
5530 Dědeček Automobil Adolf Branald 1955 Czech Czech
5530 Kolik Příležitostí Má Růže Jan Skácel 1957 Czech Czech
5530 The Cowards Josef Škvorecký 1958 Czech Czech
5530 Fimfárum Jan Werich 1963 Czech Czech
5530 Bubáci Pro Všední Den Karel Michal 1962 Czech Czech
5530 Romance For Bugle František Hrubín 1957 Czech Czech
5530 Mr. Theodore Mundstock Ladislav Fuks 1963 Czech Czech
5530 A Prayer For Kateřina Horovitzová Arnost Lustig 1964 Czech Czech
5530 Zimohrádek Ivan Wernisch 1965 Czech Czech
5530 The Axe Louis Vaculík 1966 Czech Czech
5530 Divadlo Járy Cimrmana Zdeněk Svěrák, Ladislav Smoljak, Jára Cimrman 1967 Czech Czech
5569 A Whale For The Killing Farley Mowat 1972 Canadian English
5570 Imaginary Portraits Walter Pater 1887 British English
5572 Stranger Things Happen Kelly Link 2001 American English
5571 The Golden Stranger Henry Treece 1956 British English
5573 Fast Food Nation Eric Schlosser 2001 American English
5574 Lincoln Gore Vidal 1984 American English
5575 Audubon Robert Penn Warren 1969 American English
5576 VALIS Philip K. Dick 1981 American English
5577 Women, Race, And Class Angela Davis 1981 American English
5578 The Puttermesser Papers Cynthia Ozick 1997 American English
5579 The Journeying Boy Michael Innes 1949 British English
5580 The Opener Of The Way Robert Bloch 1945 American English
5582 Democracy Joan Didion 1984 American English
5582 The Young Man Botho Strauß 1984 German German
5585 One For The Money Janet Evanovich 1994 American English
5586 Brother Of Sleep Robert Schneider 1992 Austrian German
5588 Caste Isabel Wilkerson 2020 American English
5589 The Chimera Sebastiano Vassalli 1990 Italian Italian
5593 How It Is Samuel Beckett 1961 Irish French
5590 Felix Holt, The Radical George Eliot 1866 French English
5590 L'argent Émile Zola 1891 French French
5590 Love Among The Chickens P. G. Wodehouse 1906 British English
5594 World War Z Max Brooks 2006 American English
5595 Poetry And Truth From My Own Life Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 2004 German English
5598 Bloodlands Timothy Snyder 2010 American English
5599 Changing My Mind Zadie Smith 2009 British English
5599 The Lost City of Z David Grann 2009 American English
5603 Canada Richard Ford 2012 American English
5605 Sex, Drugs, And Cocoa Puffs Chuck Klosterman 2003 American English
5604 Tree And Leaf J. R. R. Tolkien 1964 British English
5607 Superhighway--superhoax Helen Leavitt 1970 American English
5607 Die Fälschung Nicolas Born 1979 German German
5607 A Man Oriana Fallaci 1979 Italian Italian
5607 The Imperative Of Responsibility Hans Jonas 1979 German German
5611 The Righteous Mind Jonathan Haidt 2012 American English
5612 Zuleikha Guzel Yakhina 2015 Russian Russian
5613 Elegie Jiří Orten 1969 Czech Czech
5614 The Mushroom At The End Of The World Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing 2015 American English
5616 Shadow 81 Lucien Nahum 1978 American English
5617 The Westing Game Ellen Raskin 1978 American English
5619 Diary of a Wimpy Kid Jeff Kinney 2007 American English
5620 Wealth and Poverty George Gilder 1981 American English
5621 The Thing About December Donal Ryan 2013 Irish English
5622 V for Vendetta Alan Moore 1982 British English
5623 Biography Of X Catherine Lacey 2023 American English
5625 The Richard Trilogy Paul Horgan 1970 American Unknown
5626 Olivia Dorothy Bussy 1949 British English
5628 Mindfulness In Plain English Henepola Gunaratana 1994 American English
5629 Hatchet Gary Paulsen 1987 American English
5632 Queens' Play Dorothy Dunnett 1964 British English
5634 A Life's Work Rachel Cusk 2001 British English
5633 Sabrina Nick Drnaso 2018 American English
5635 Pictures From Home Larry Sultan 1992 American English
5636 Book Lovers Emily Henry 2021 American English
5637 The Alteration Kingsley Amis 1976 British English
5640 Was Geoff Ryman 1992 British English
5641 The Kites Romain Gary 1980 French French
5642 Enlightenment Now Steven Pinker 2018 American English
5642 These Truths Jill Lepore 2018 American English
5644 Naked In Death J.D. Robb 1995 American English
5645 Pop. 1280 Jim Thompson 1964 American English
5647 The Prize Julie Garwood 1991 American English
5648 The Bear William Faulkner 1942 American English
5649 Ucho Jan Procházka 1970 Czech Czech
5650 The Last Enchantment Mary Stewart 1979 British English
5651 Nothing To See Here Kevin Wilson 2019 American English
5653 Reasons to Live Amy Hempel 1985 American English
5653 The Parable of the Blind Gert Hofmann 1985 German German
5655 The Mezentian Gate E. R. Eddison 1958 British English
5656 Soul Eater K. W. Jeter 1983 American English
5656 Tea With The Black Dragon R. A. MacAvoy 1983 American English
5659 March Violets Philip Kerr 1989 British English
5661 Bluebird, Bluebird Attica Locke 2017 American English
5662 The Evolution Man Or How I Ate My Father Roy Lewis 1960 British English
5663 Invisible Green John Sladek 1977 American English
5664 An Experiment In Criticism C. S. Lewis 1961 British English
5665 New Terrors Ramsey Campbell 1980 British English
5667 Medea And Her Children Lyudmila Ulitskaya 1996 Russian Russian
5666 Rich Man, Poor Man Irwin Shaw 1969 American English
5679 The Covenant Of Water Abraham Verghese 2023 American English
5667 La Famille Boussardel Philippe Heriat 1944 French French
5667 Moira Julien Green 1950 French French
5667 La Haute Morte Paul Vialar 1947 French French
5667 The Little Misery François Mauriac 1951 French French
5667 The Passionate Heart Beatrix Beck 1955 French French
5667 Le Polygone Etoile Kateb Yacine 1961 French French
5667 The boys Henry de Montherlant 1969 French French
5667 For Your Own Good Alice Miller 1980 Swiss French
5667 Baiyun Oder Die Freundschaftsgesellschaft Adolf Muschg 1980 Swiss German
5680 The Tendrils of the Vine Colette 1908 French Unknown
5681 The Illustrated Man Ray Bradbury 1951 American English
5682 Frights Kirby McCauley 1980 American English
5683 Various Persons Named Kevin O'brien Alden Nowlan 1973 Canadian English
5685 Big Blondes Jean Echenoz 1995 French French
5686 The Constant Gardener John le Carré 2001 British English
5688 The Friendly Young Ladies Mary Renault 1943 British English
5690 Sur La Philosophie Africaine Paulin Hountondji 1976 French French
5691 All God’s Dangers Theodore Rosengarten 1974 American English
5692 Period Dennis Cooper 1994 American English
5693 Night Boat To Tangier Kevin Barry 2019 Irish English
5695 A Married Man Piers Paul Read 1979 British English
5694 How I Came To Know Fish Ota Pavel 1971 Czech Czech
5696 Not A Penny More,Not A Penny Less Jeffrey Archer 1976 British English