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
8719 La Cuadratura Del Círculo Álvaro Pombo 1995 Spanish Spanish
8722 Prejudices H. L. Mencken 1919 American English
8723 Rules Of Prey John Sandford 1989 American English
8725 The Social Construction Of Reality Peter Berger, Thomas Luckmann 1966 German English
8727 Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Dog Dylan Thomas 1940 British English
8729 In Praise Of Older Women Stephen Vizinczey 1965 Canadian English
8728 The Uninhabitable Earth David Wallace-Wells 2019 American English
8730 The Living End Stanley Elkin 1979 American English
8731 The History of Silence Pedro Zarraluki 1995 Spanish Spanish
8732 It Happened One Summer Tessa Bailey 2021 American English
8734 Hymns And Fragments Freidrich Hölderlin 1984 German German
8737 Houses Without Doors Peter Straub 1990 American English
8733 A Girl's Story Annie Ernaux 2016 French French
8740 The End Of Eddy Édouard Louis 2014 French French
8741 Poems Of Sophia De Mello Breyner Sophia de Mello Breyner 1964 Portuguese Portuguese
8741 The Dalkey Archive Flann O'Brien 1964 Irish English
8741 Second Skin John Hawkes 1964 American English
8741 Poems Of Alvin Feinman Alvin Feinman 1964 American English
8741 Poems Of Mark Strand Mark Strand 1964 American English
8749 The Key To Rebecca Ken Follett 1980 British English
8750 The Murder Of The Maharajah H. R. F. Keating 1980 British English
8748 All The Sinners Bleed S. A. Cosby 2023 American English
8753 The Leper Of Saint Giles Ellis Peters 1981 British English
8752 Reaper Man Terry Pratchett 1991 British English
8754 The Creation Of Patriarchy Gerda Lerner 1986 American English
8755 Running Away Jean-Philippe Toussaint 2005 French French
8758 Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys Viv Albertine 2014 British English
8759 Russian Thinkers Isaiah Berlin 1978 British English
8759 The Foundations Of Modern Political Thought Quentin Skinner 1978 British English
8761 Night Draws Near Anthony Shadid 2005 American English
8761 Disney War James B. Stewart 2005 American English
8763 Mrs. Humphry Ward John Sutherland 1990 British English
8763 Rats And Gargoyles Mary Gentle 1990 British English
8770 Man Meets Dog Konrad Lorenz 1949 German German
8770 War Diaries Jean Paul Sartre 1940 French French
8766 Prentice Alvin Orson Scott Card 1989 American English
8766 Tourists Lisa Goldstein 1989 American English
8769 The Island Of Crimea Vasily Aksenov 1979 Russian Russian
8768 Spill Simmer Falter Wither Sara Baume 2015 Irish English
8772 John Adams David McCullough 2001 American English
8775 Inland Téa Obreht 2019 American English
8776 Four Ways To Forgiveness Ursula K. Le Guin 1994 American English
8779 State And Revolution Vladimir Il’ich Lenin 1917 Russian Russian
8778 Eroticism Georges Bataille 1957 French French
8781 Like One Of The Family Alice Childress 1956 American English
8781 Proud Shoes Pauli Murray 1956 American English
8781 Two In The Far North Margaret E. Murie 1956 American English
8784 Among The Cities Jan Morris 1985 British English
8788 The Greening Of The Church Findley Edge 1976 American English
8787 Cape Breton Road D. R. MacDonald 2001 Canadian English
8789 Natasha’s Dance Orlando Figes 2002 British English
8792 Dinosaurs On Other Planets Danielle McLaughlin 2014 Irish English
8793 Bittersweet Philip Lee 2001 Canadian English
8794 The Reivers William Faulkner 1962 American English
8795 What Work Is Philip Levine 1991 American English
8797 Viper In The Fist Hervé Bazin 1948 French French
8798 Here Are The Young Men Rob Doyle 2014 Irish English
8801 It Happened One Wedding Julie James 2014 American English
8801 The Understatement Of The Year Sarina Bowen 2014 American English
8800 Heave Christy Ann Conlin 2002 Canadian English
8803 The Edge Of Running Water William M. Sloane 1939 American English
8803 The Revenger's Tragedy Thomas Middleton 1606 British English
8803 The Trail Of Fu Manchu Sax Rohmer 1934 British English
8803 Creep, Shadow! A. Merritt 1934 American English
8803 Pages From Cold Point Paul Bowles 1947 American English
8803 Jumbee And Other Uncanny Tales Henry S. Whitehead 1929 American English
8803 House Of Flesh Bruno Fischer 1950 American English
8803 A Question Of Upbringing Anthony Powell 1951 British English
8803 Time Regained Marcel Proust 1927 French French
8803 Ann Veronica H. G. Wells 1909 British English
8803 Trails Plowed Under Charles Marion Russell 1927 American English
8803 The Valley Of The Moon Jack London 1913 American English
8816 Feed M. T. Anderson 2002 American English
8819 Shikasta Doris May Lessing 1979 British English
8820 Man Gone Down Michael Thomas 2007 American English
8823 The Werewolves Of London Brian Stableford 1990 British English
8823 Victorian Fantasy Literature Karen Michaelson 1990 American Unknown
8823 The Weird Tale S. T. Joshi 1990 American English
8823 The Unsettled Dust Robert Aickman 1990 British English
8829 The Laws Of Hospitality Pierre Klossowski 1965 French French
8829 The Baphomet Pierre Klossowski 1965 French French
8829 Words In Stone Yves Bonnefoy 1965 French French
8829 Harlem Gallery M. B. Tolson 1965 American English
8828 Plenilunio Antonio Muñoz Molina 1997 Spanish Spanish
8827 The Sacred Hoop Paula Gunn Allen 1986 American English
8829 Photographs Eudora Welty 1971 American English
8835 Fire Weather John Vaillant 2023 Canadian English
8837 The Flies Jean Paul Sartre 1943 French French
8838 Stones For Ibarra Harriet Doerr 1984 American English
8839 Ordinary Grace William Kent Krueger 2013 American English
8843 The Chalice And The Blade Riane Eisler 1987 American English
8847 Zeitoun Dave Eggers 2009 American English
8848 Our Kids Robert D. Putnam 2015 American English
8852 The Munch Mancini Mystery Series Barbara Seranella 1997 American English
8854 The Emperor's New Mind Roger Penrose 1989 British English
8852 My Lives Edmund White 2005 American English
8855 I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home Lorrie Moore 2023 American English
8856 How German Is It Walter Abish 1980 American English
8858 The Water Dancer Ta-Nehisi Coates 2019 American English
8860 Letters From My Windmill Alphonse Daudet 1869 French French
8861 The Navigator Of New York Wayne Johnston 2002 Canadian English
8864 The Warrior's Honor Michael Ignatieff 1997 Canadian English
8864 A Commotion in the Blood Stephen S. Hall 1997 American English
8863 Empire Of The Ants Bernard Werber 1991 French French
8867 Dungeon Crawler Carl Matt Dinniman 2020 American English
8868 First on the Rope Roger Frison-Roche 1941 French French
8871 African Stories Doris May Lessing 1964 British English
8871 For the Union Dead Robert Lowell 1964 American English
8871 Crisis Of The House Divided Harry V. Jaffa 1959 American English
8874 Becoming Mrs. Lewis Patti Callahan Henry 2018 American English
8874 When Katie Met Cassidy Camille Perri 2018 American English
8876 Yawning Heights Alexander Sinowjew 1976 Russian Russian
8878 April Morning Howard Fast 1961 American English
8879 How To Survive A Plague David France 2016 American English
8880 Tongues Anders Nilsen 2025 American English
8882 Philosophy And The Mirror Of Nature Richard Rorty 1979 American English
8883 Mockingbird Walter Tevis 1980 American English
8884 Hard Revolution George P. Pelecanos 2004 American English
8884 I'll Go To Bed At Noon Gerard Woodward 2004 British English
8884 Měsíc Nad řekou Fráňa Šrámek 2006 Czech Czech