List Challenges
Movies Books Travel Food Other
Trending
New
Popular
Sign In
 Make a List Browse Lists Search Lists Leaders Help / Contact Newsletter

The 50 Most Influential Books of All Time

"By educating and informing readers in the areas of politics and government, creating new standards in literature, challenging societal norms, and advancing academic thought in the schools of science and religion, these are top 50 books that changed the world."
Technically one of their entries was two books, plus I added an extra.
Read More
1,908 users · 10,460 views
 
from oedb.org
avg. score: 11 of 52 (22%)
required scores: 1, 5, 8, 11, 18 
type to search

How many have you read?

Page 1 of 2
The Republic (Plato)
The Republic
1
Plato
The Analects (Confucius)
The Analects
2
Confucius
The Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels)
The Communist Manifesto
3
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
The Rights of Man
The Rights of Man
4
Democracy in America (Alexis De Tocqueville)
Democracy in America
5
Alexis De Tocqueville
The Prince (Niccolò Machiavelli)
The Prince
6
Niccolò Machiavelli
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Frederick Douglass)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
7
Frederick Douglass
On Liberty (John Stuart Mill)
On Liberty
8
John Stuart Mill
The Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith)
The Wealth of Nations
9
Adam Smith
Orientalism (Edward W. Said)
Orientalism
10
Edward W. Said
The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)
The Canterbury Tales
11
Geoffrey Chaucer
The Divine Comedy (Dante Alighieri)
The Divine Comedy
12
Dante Alighieri
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (William Shakespeare)
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
13
William Shakespeare
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby Dick
14
Herman Melville
1984 (George Orwell)
1984
15
George Orwell
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Brave New World
16
Aldous Huxley
The Iliad (Homer)
The Iliad
17
Homer
The Odyssey (Homer)
The Odyssey
18
Homer
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes)
Don Quixote
19
Miguel De Cervantes
In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust)
In Search of Lost Time
20
Marcel Proust
Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert)
Madame Bovary
21
Gustave Flaubert
Arabian Nights (Mary Zimmerman)
Arabian Nights
22
Mary Zimmerman
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
23
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
War and Peace
24
Leo Tolstoy
The Tale of Genji (Murasaki Shikibu)
The Tale of Genji
25
Murasaki Shikibu
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
26
Ralph Ellison
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Crime and Punishment
27
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)
Things Fall Apart
28
Chinua Achebe
Faust (Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe)
Faust
29
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
30
Toni Morrison
The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R.Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings
31
J.R.R.Tolkien
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
32
Harper Lee
The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)
The Diary of a Young Girl
33
Anne Frank
A Vindication of the Rights of Men; a Vindication of the Rights of Woman; (Mary Wollstonecraft)
A Vindication of the Rights of Men; a Vindication of the Rights of Woman;
34
Mary Wollstonecraft
The Second Sex (Simone De Beauvoir)
The Second Sex
35
Simone De Beauvoir
A Room of One's Own (Virginia Woolf)
A Room of One's Own
36
Virginia Woolf
Walden (Henry David Thoreau)
Walden
37
Henry David Thoreau
A Dictionary of the English Language
A Dictionary of the English Language
38
Critique of Pure Reason (Immanuel Kant)
Critique of Pure Reason
39
Immanuel Kant
The Jungle (Upton Sinclair)
The Jungle
40
Upton Sinclair
Page 1 of 2
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to 'The 50 Most Influential Books of All Time'
The Most Influential Sci-Fi Books of All Time
The Most Influential Sci-Fi Books of All Time
1,520
73
The 100 Most Influential Queer Books of All Time
The 100 Most Influential Queer Books of All Time
892
99
The Most Influential Science Fiction Books of All Time
The Most Influential Science Fiction Books of All Time
549
10
23 of the Most Influential Fantasy Books of All Time
23 of the Most Influential Fantasy Books of All Time
509
23
Bookriot's 100 Most Influential Queer Books of All Time
Bookriot's 100 Most Influential Queer Books of All Time
478
99
The 10 Most Influential Books of All Time According to Everyday Chirp
The 10 Most Influential Books of All Time According to Everyday Chirp
462
10
20 of the Most Influential Historical Fiction Books of All Time
20 of the Most Influential Historical Fiction Books of All Time
445
20
Bookriot's Most Influential Sci-Fi Books of All Time
Bookriot's Most Influential Sci-Fi Books of All Time
385
54
The 20 Most Influential Picture Books of All Time
The 20 Most Influential Picture Books of All Time
210
20
The Literary 100: The Most Influential Novelists, Playwrights, and Poets of All Time
The Literary 100: The Most Influential Novelists, Playwrights, and Poets of All Time
1,552
200
The 24 Most Influential Horror Novels of All Time
The 24 Most Influential Horror Novels of All Time
570
24
The 20 Most Influential Memoirs of All Time
The 20 Most Influential Memoirs of All Time
331
20
Some of the Most Influential Asian American Literature of All Time
Some of the Most Influential Asian American Literature of All Time
207
26
202 Influential Books by Women Writers
202 Influential Books by Women Writers
4,317
202
Goodreads Most Influential Books Under 100 Pages
Goodreads Most Influential Books Under 100 Pages
4,304
168
Goodreads: The Most Influential Books in History
Goodreads: The Most Influential Books in History
2,998
200
The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written: The History of Thought From Ancient Times to Today
The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written: The History of Thought From Ancient Times to Today
2,826
101
A Book Lover's List of Influential Books
A Book Lover's List of Influential Books
1,831
119
The Incredibly Biased List of Influential Books in Bookcub's Life
The Incredibly Biased List of Influential Books in Bookcub's Life
1,555
89
A Few Influential Books
A Few Influential Books
1,366
194
Magic in Every Book's Influential Books
Magic in Every Book's Influential Books
1,128
47
Top 50 Influential Books by Women
Top 50 Influential Books by Women
886
65
Boston Public Library's 100 Most Influential Books of the 20th Century
Boston Public Library's 100 Most Influential Books of the 20th Century
843
100
Jordan Peterson's "A List of Influential Books Everyone Should Read"
Jordan Peterson's "A List of Influential Books Everyone Should Read"
547
15
The Top 100 Influential Non-Fiction Books According to Chatbot GPT
The Top 100 Influential Non-Fiction Books According to Chatbot GPT
539
100
An Idiosyncratic List of Influential Books
An Idiosyncratic List of Influential Books
516
50
Cate's Most Influential Books
Cate's Most Influential Books
461
55
The 20 Most Influential Fantasy Books of the Last 10 Years
The 20 Most Influential Fantasy Books of the Last 10 Years
415
20
Top Influential or Entertaining (Ever Growing) Books List From a Lifetime Bookworm
Top Influential or Entertaining (Ever Growing) Books List From a Lifetime Bookworm
412
195
Women's Staff Network Most Influential Books by Women
Women's Staff Network Most Influential Books by Women
401
15
All Similar Lists
Newsletter · Help/Contact · Privacy · Copyright Claim   © 2025 App Spring, Inc. · This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb.
Seen It - Movies & TV 
Android & iOS
Seen It is a new app from the creators of List Challenges. You can view movies and shows in one place and filter by streaming provider, genre, release year, runtime, and rating (Rotten Tomatoes, Imdb, and/or Metacritic). Also, you can track what you've seen, want to see, like, or dislike, as well as track individual seasons or episodes of shows. In addition, you can see the most watched/liked stuff amongst your friends. Learn more at SEENIT.FUN