The Greatest Western Books of All Time

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

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.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
10291 I Contain Multitudes Ed Yong 2016 British English
10292 Ruby Redford Look Into My Eyes Lauren Child 2011 British English
10301 Just And Unjust Wars Michael Walzer 1977 American English
10299 Whalefall Daniel Kraus 2023 American English
10302 Dirt Music Tim Winton 2001 Australian English
10304 The Weight Of Blood Laura McHugh 2014 American English
10306 Anywhere But Here Mona Simpson 1986 American English
10309 A Dictionary of the English Language Samuel Johnson 1755 British English
10309 Cleaned Out Annie Ernaux 1974 French French
10309 Dear Departed Marguerite Yourcenar 1974 French French
10309 The Odd Woman Gail Godwin 1974 American English
10309 Street Games Rosellen Brown 1974 American English
10309 The Summer Of The Great Grandmother Madeleine L'Engle 1974 American English
10309 Walls Hiltgunt Zassenhaus 1974 German English
10309 Mimesis Erich Auerbach 1946 German German
10309 Feudal Society Marc Bloch 1940 French French
10309 Chinook Texts Franz Boas 1894 American English
10309 Brecht On Theatre Bertolt Brecht 1964 German German
10309 Man, Play And Games Roger Caillois 1958 French French
10309 Theory Of Peasant Economy Alexander V. Chayanov 1925 Russian Russian
10309 Traditional French Cooking Curnonsky 1961 French French
10309 The Secret Life Of Salvador Dali Salvador Dali 1942 Spanish Spanish
10309 Film Form Sergei Eisenstein 1949 Russian Russian
10309 The Dancing Bees Karl von Frisch 1953 German German
10309 Travels In The Congo André Gide 1927 French French
10309 The Social History Of Art Arnold Hauser 1951 German German
10309 What Is Called Thinking? Martin Heidegger 1954 German German
10309 The Gnostic Religion Hans Jonas 1958 German English
10309 The Conquest Of Bread Petr Kropotkin 1892 Russian French
10309 The Coming Of The French Revolution Georges Lefebvre 1939 French French
10309 Critique Of Everyday Life Henri Lefebvre 1947 French French
10309 Russia El Lissitsky 1930 Russian Russian
10309 Ornament And Crime Adolf Loos 1908 German German
10309 Reform Or Revolution? Rosa Luxemburg 1900 German German
10309 Eros And Civilization Herbert Marcuse 1955 German English
10309 The Gift Marcel Mauss 1925 French French
10309 Sense And Non Sense Maurice Merleau-Ponty 1948 French French
10309 A History Of Russian Literature Dmitry Svyatopolk Mirsky 1926 Russian English
10309 Perspective As Symbolic Form Erwin Panofsky 1927 German German
10309 Morphology Of The Folktale Vladimir Aioakovlevich Propp 1928 Russian Russian
10309 Character Analysis Wilhelm Reich 1945 German German
10309 Renoir, My Father Jean Renoir 1962 French French
10309 The Course In General Linguistics Ferdinand de Saussure 1916 Swiss French
10309 Memoirs Of A Revolutionary Victor Serge 1951 French French
10309 The Philosophy Of Money Georg Simmel 1900 German German
10309 An Actor Prepares Konstantin Stanislavski 1936 Russian Russian
10309 The Russian Revolution N. N. Sukhanov 1922 Russian Russian
10309 Curious Naturalists Niko Tinbergen 1958 British English
10309 The Social Teachings Of The Christian Churches Ernst Troeltsch 1912 German German
10309 History Of The Russian Revolution Leon Trotsky 1930 Russian Russian
10309 Worlds In Collision Immanuel Velikovsky 1950 American English
10309 The Need For Roots Simone Weil 1949 French French
10308 The Love Hypothesis Ali Hazelwood 2021 American English
10359 Wylding Hall Elizabeth Hand 2015 American English
10360 The Colony Audrey Magee 2022 Irish English
10361 Liars Sarah Manguso 2024 American English
10362 The Borrowers Mary Norton 1952 British English
10364 Far Tortuga Peter Matthiessen 1975 American English
10366 A Desolation Called Peace Arkady Martine 2021 American English
10365 Witches Abroad Terry Pratchett 1991 British English
10367 The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page Burton J. Hendrick 1922 American English
10368 Isola Allegra Goodman 2025 American English
10371 Sweet Land Stories E. L. Doctorow 2004 American English
10371 Still Can't See Nothin' Comin' Daniel Grey Marshall 2004 American English
10374 The Doll And One Other Algernon Blackwood 1946 British English
10374 West India Lights Henry S. Whitehead 1946 American English
10374 Who Knocks? August Derleth 1946 American English
10370 Close To Home Michael Magee 2023 Irish English
10373 Complete Poems James Weldon Johnson 2000 American English
10377 Green City In The Sun Barbara Wood 1988 American English
10378 Al Morir Don Quijote Andrés Trapiello 2004 Spanish Spanish
10379 The Mouse And The Motorcycle Beverly Cleary 1965 American English
10385 Tiger Daughter Rebecca Lim 2021 Australian English
10384 Again, Rachel Marian Keyes 2022 Irish English
10391 Chasing The Sea Tom Bissell 2003 American English
10394 Basic Documents in American History Richard Brandon Morris 1958 American English
10395 Mudwoman Joyce Carol Oates 2012 American English
10400 Essays On Music Theodor Adorno 2002 German English
10401 For Marx Louis Althusser 1965 French French
10401 The Bog People P. V. Glob 1965 Danish Danish
10403 The Triumph of the Therapeutic Philip Rieff 1966 American English
10406 Oh Pure And Radiant Heart Lydia Millet 2005 American English
10406 Drama City George P. Pelecanos 2005 American English
10406 Nice Big American Baby Judy Budnitz 2005 American English
10406 Dunkelblum Eva Menasse 2021 Austrian German
10410 The Anxious Generation Jonathan Haidt 2024 American English
10410 Dark Renaissance Stephen Greenblatt 2025 American English
10412 The Harder They Come Michael Thelwell 1980 American English
10412 Selected Longer Poems A. R. Ammons 1980 American English
10412 The Double Invention Of Komo Jay Wright 1980 American Unknown
10417 H Hh H Laurent Binet 2010 French French
10412 The Free Frenchman Piers Paul Read 1986 British English
10418 Taking On The Heart Of Christ John Henry Newman British Unknown
10421 Eleanor and Franklin Joseph P. Lash 1971 American English
10422 Matterhorn Karl Marlantes 2010 American English
10419 The Bright Sword Lev Grossman 2024 American English
10419 The Wayfinder Adam Johnson 2025 American English
10423 How To Build A Boat Elaine Feeney 2023 Irish English
10428 Abaddon's Gate James S. A. Corey 2013 American English
10427 The Son Philipp Meyer 2013 American English
10425 Written In The Stars Alexandria Bellefleur 2020 American English
10429 Crossings Ben Goldfarb 2023 American English
10430 This Mortal Coil Cynthia Asquith 1947 British English
10430 Revelations In Black Carl Jacobi 1947 American English
10430 The Night Side August Derleth 1947 American English
10430 A Bibliography Of The Works Of Sir Henry Rider Haggard J. E. Scott 1947 British English
10434 A Fire Upon the Deep Vernor Vinge 1992 American English
10435 I'll Give You The Sun Jandy Nelson 2014 American English
10437 She's Come Undone Wally Lamb 1992 American English
10436 Finishing Touches Thomas Tessier 1978 American English
10438 Gomorrah Roberto Saviano 2006 Italian Italian
10439 The Forest Of Hours Kerstin Ekman 1988 Swedish Swedish
10440 Bluff Danez Smith 2024 American English
10443 Limbo Carobeth Laird 1975 American English
10443 Rain Of Scorpions And Other Stories Estela Portillo Trambley 1975 American English
10443 Women In The Resistance And In The Holocaust Vera Laska 1975 Czech English
10443 The Words Of César Chávez César Chávez 2002 American English
10442 There Must Be A Pony In Here Somewhere Kara Swisher 2003 American English
10451 The Speed Of Light Javier Cercas 2005 Spanish Spanish
10452 The Testament Of Mary Colm Toibin 2012 Irish English