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
6243 Audience Vaclav Havel 1978 Czech Czech
6245 Skeleton Crew Stephen King 1985 American English
6246 The Unwinding George Packer 2013 American English
6247 Claudius The God Robert Graves 1935 British English
6248 Parting the Waters Taylor Branch 1988 American English
6249 Great Apes Will Self 1997 British English
6250 Assata Assata Shakur 1987 American English
6251 Why Nations Fail Daron Acemoğlu, James A. Robinson 2012 American English
6253 The Craftsman Richard Sennett 2008 American English
6255 Midwinter Break Bernard MacLaverty 2017 Irish English
6256 Omensetter's Luck William H. Gass 1966 American English
6258 Moments Of Being Virginia Woolf 1976 British English
6258 The Allure Of Chanel Paul Morand 1976 French French
6261 At The Existentialist Café Sarah Bakewell 2016 British English
6262 Economics Paul Samuelson 1947 American English
6263 Shane Jack Schaefer 1949 American English
6264 The Other Boleyn Girl Philippa Gregory 2001 British English
6265 Der Baader Meinhof Komplex Stefan Aust 1985 German German
6265 So Laßt Uns Denn Ein Apfelbäumchen Pflanzen Hoimar von Ditfurth 1985 German German
6265 Pan In Oslo Knut Faldbakken 1985 Norwegian German
6265 Lowest Of The Low Günter Wallraff 1985 German German
6273 Frost At Christmas R. D. Wingfield 1984 British English
6275 American Tabloid James Ellroy 1995 American English
6276 The Narrow Road To The Deep North Richard Flanagan 2013 Australian English
6277 Citizens Simon Schama 1989 British English
6278 Primary Colors Unknown 1996 American English
6279 Nothing Henry Green 1950 British English
6280 Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark Alvin Schwartz 1981 American English
6281 The Mirror and the Lamp Meyer Howard Abrams 1953 American English
6282 Union Street Pat Barker 1982 British English
6283 Sur La Scène Intérieure Marcel Cohen 2013 French French
6284 Earth Abides George Rippey Stewart 1949 American English
6285 New Worlds Of Fantasy Terry Carr 1967 American English
6286 The Colour Of Murder Julian Symons 1957 British English
6288 Visitation Jenny Erpenbeck 2008 German German
6289 I Have A Dream Martin Luther King 1973 American English
6290 Out Of My Mind Sharon M. Draper 2010 American English
6291 Amers Saint-John Perse 1957 French French
6292 Gaston André Franquin 1957 French French
6293 The Ringed Castle Dorothy Dunnett 1971 British English
6294 Oracle Bones Peter Hessler 2006 American English
6295 Dream Story Arthur Schnitzler 1926 Austrian German
6296 Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children Ransom Riggs 2011 American English
6297 Stone Junction Jim Dodge 1990 American English
6298 Guy Mannering Sir Walter Scott 1815 Scottish English
6299 Mark Twain's Which Was The Dream Mark Twain 1966 American English
6300 Ecology Of Fear Mike Davis 1998 American English
6301 Rejection Tony Tulathimutte 2024 American English
6302 Lord Of The Barnyard Tristan Egolf 1998 American English
6303 The Professor Of Desire Philip Roth 1977 American English
6303 A Life Of Her Own Émilie Carles 1977 French French
6303 Dreaming Of Babylon Richard Brautigan 1977 American English
6303 Les Lieux De Marguerite Duras Marguerite Duras 1977 French French
6307 The Lost Symbol Dan Brown 2009 American English
6308 Hatter's Castle A. J. Cronin 1931 British English
6309 What Color Is Your Parachute? Richard Nelson Bolles 1970 American English
6310 Burial Rites Hannah Kent 2013 Australian English
6311 Getting Things Done David Allen 2001 American English
6313 Every Man Dies Alone Hans Fallada 1947 German German
6314 The Fifth Gospel Mario Pomilio 1974 Italian Italian
6315 Comfort Me With Apples Peter De Vries 1956 American English
6316 Borderlands/La Frontera Gloria Anzaldúa 1987 American English
6318 The Artist's Way Julia Cameron 1992 American English
6317 Greenwitch Susan Cooper 1974 British English
6319 The Power Of Habit Charles Duhigg 2012 American English
6321 A Fortunate Life A. B. Facey 1981 Australian English
6322 Living Up The Street Gary Soto 1985 American English
6324 The Voices Of Silence Andre Malraux 1951 French French
6325 The New Kings Of Nonfiction Ira Glass 2007 American English
6327 Systematic Theology Wolfhart Pannenberg 1988 German German
6326 The Day Of Creation J. G. Ballard 1987 British English
6328 No Good Men Among The Living Anand Gopal 2014 American English
6331 Religion And The Rise Of Capitalism R. H. Tawney 1926 British English
6332 Devotions Mary Oliver 2017 American English
6333 The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich 2020 American English
6334 A Preface to Morals Walter Lippmann 1929 American English
6335 Spartacus Raffaello Giovagnoli 1874 Italian Italian
6336 Srpnovští Páni Vladimir Neff 1980 Czech Czech
6336 The Worldly Philosophers Robert Heilbroner 1953 American English
6340 No No Boy John Okada 2024 American English
6341 Nothing Holds Back The Night Delphine de Vigan 2011 French French
6342 Kriminalgeschichte Des Christentums Karlheinz Deschner 1986 German German
6342 In Hitler's Germany Bernt Engelmann 1986 German English
6342 Repetition Peter Handke 1986 Austrian German
6342 Reise Durch Die Nacht Friederike Mayröcker 1986 Austrian German
6348 Nineteen Ways Of Looking At Wang Wei Eliot Weinberger 1987 American English
6351 My Brother Michael Mary Stewart 1959 British English
6352 The Shallows Nicolas Carr 2010 American English
6353 The Historian’s Craft Marc Bloch 1949 French French
6353 The Perennial Scope Of Philosophy Karl Jaspers 1949 German German
6355 Yes Thomas Bernhard 1978 Austrian German
6355 Delirious New York Rem Koolhaas 1978 Dutch English
6357 At Twilight They Return Zyranna Zateli 1993 Greek Greek
6357 Heroes' Shrine For Sale or The Elegant Toilet Marios Hakkas 1993 Greek Greek
6360 The Library Book Susan Orlean 2018 American English
6365 Moon Tiger Penelope Lively 1987 British English
6362 Master Georgie Beryl Bainbridge 1998 British English
6361 Во сне ты горько плакал Yuri Kazakov 1995 Russian Russian
6362 The Restraint Of Beasts Magnus Mills 1998 British English
6362 Girlfriend In A Coma Douglas Coupland 1998 Canadian English
6366 Studies in Iconology Erwin Panofsky 1939 German English
6367 Cabbage And Kings O. Henry 1904 American English
6369 All Aunt Hagar’s Children Edward P. Jones 2006 American English
6370 The Journal Of Raïssa Maritain Raïssa Maritain 1974 French French
6370 The Candle Of Vision George William Russell 1974 Irish English
6372 The Body Stephen King 1982 American English
6373 The Promise of American Life Herbert Croly 1909 American English
6374 The Feeling Of What Happens Antonio Damasio 1999 Portuguese English
6375 The Priory Of The Orange Tree Samantha Shannon 2019 British English
6376 Beartown Fredrik Backman 2016 Swedish Swedish
6377 Asterios Polyp David Mazzucchelli 2009 American English
6378 Leonardo Da Vinci Walter Isaacson 2017 American English
6379 Jumpers Tom Stoppard 1972 British English
6380 The Mysterious Island Jules Verne 1874 French French
6381 The Principles Of Scientific Management Frederick Winslow Taylor 1911 American English
6381 Married Love Marie Stopes 1918 British English
6381 What Is Property? Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 1840 French French
6381 An Essay On Universal History, The Manners, And Spirit Of Nations Voltaire 1756 French French
6381 History Of Germany In The Nineteenth Century Heinrich von Treitschke 1879 German German
6381 Of The Geometrical Spirit Blaise Pascal 1658 French French