Greater Books

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The Great Books Foundation, The Great Books: A Reading List [1998]

74 entries: 40 monographical, 34 otherwise

Unranked—arranged alphabetically by author

The New York Public Library Desk Reference, 3rd ed., includes this list devised by the Great Books Foundation, the same organization founded by Mortimer Adler and Robert Hutchins, editors of the Great Books of the Western World set. Very likely this book is not the origin of this list. The Great Books Foundation published numerous periodicals and books over the years, and I would like to think this list exists in better form, perhaps accompanying a reader/ anthology.

  1. Henry Adams

  2. The Education of Henry Adams_11
    1918—English
    *Durant* *Invitation* *Hundred* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Foundation* *Fadiman* *Kanigel*


    Agamemnon_3
    part of The Oresteia; 458 B C—Greek
    *Foundation* *O'Hear* *Educated*

  3. Aristotle

  4. Politik_10
    Politics
    Fourth Century B.C—Greek

    *Lubbock* *Durant* *Invitation* *Downs* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Adler* *Fadiman* *Foundation*


    Nicomachean Ethics
    'On Happiness'; Fourth Century B C—Greek

    *Foundation*


    De Poetica; Poetics
    'On Tragedy'; Fourth Century B C—Greek

    *Foundation*

  5. Augustine of Hippo

  6. De Civitate Dei Contra Paganos_9
    City of God
    426—Latin

    *Downs* *Read* *Ward* *Adler* *Bloom* *Foundation* *Trinity* *Great* *Educated*

    --

    part of the Bible—Hebrew; Aramaic; Greek
    *Durant* *Classics* *Learning* *Foundation* *Great*

    --

    part of the Bible—Hebrew; Aramaic; Greek
    *Durant* *Learning* *Foundation* *Great*

    --

    part of the Bible—Hebrew; Aramaic; Greek
    *Eliot* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *Rexroth* *Foundation* *Norway* *Great*

    --

    part of the Bible—Hebrew; Aramaic; Greek
    *Eliot* *Durant* *Classics* *Foundation* *Kanigel*

    --

    part of the Bible—Hebrew; Aramaic; Greek
    *Durant* *Foundation*

  7. Edmund Burke

  8. Reflections on the Revolution in France_9
    1790—English
    *Eliot* *Invitation* *Classics* *Downs* *Ward* *Bloom* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Great*

  9. Geoffrey Chaucer

  10. Canterbury Tales_30
    1478; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Nevill Coghill's modern English version—English
    *Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Hundred* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *Smart* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *Reynolds* *World* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*

    Anton Chekhov

    'Rothschild's Violin'
    originally published Feb. 1894 in Russkie Vedomosti—Russian

    *Foundation* *Newman*

  11. Dâdâ Vanâ_10

  12. Uncle Vanya
    1897—Russian

    *Classics* *Ward* *Adler* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Dirda* *Great* *Newman*


    Vom Kriege [excerpted]_1
    On War
    'What Is War?'; complete work published 1832—German

    *Foundation*

  13. Joseph Conrad

  14. Heart of Darkness_16
    originally published serially Feb.-Apr. 1899 in Blackwood's—English
    *Magill* *Adler* *Learning* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Great* *Guardian* *Zane* *Smart* *Newman* *Graphic* *Deposit* *Educated*


    Inferno_6
    part of La Divina Commedia; written ca. 1308-21; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Robert and Jean Hollander's English translation—Italian
    *Learning* *Foundation* *Campbell* *Smart* *Graphic* *Educated*


    'The Moral Sense of Man and the Lower Animals'_1
    excerpts from On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man—English
    *Foundation*

    John Dewey

    'The Virtues'; complete work published 1908
    *Foundation*


    'Habits and Will'; complete work published 1922
    *Foundation*

  15. Denis Diderot

  16. Le Neveu de Rameau ou la Satire Seconde_7
    German traslation, 1805; original, 1823—French
    *Classics* *Ward* *Adler* *Bloom* *Foundation* *Dirda* *Newman*

  17. Fyodor Dostoevsky

  18. Zapaski iz Podpol'â_6
    Notes From Underground
    1864—Russian

    *Bloom* *Recommended* *Foundation* *Zane* *Smart* *Newman*

    Euripides
  19. Mēdeia_17

  20. Medea
    431 B.C; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Michael Collier and Georgia Ann Machemer's English translation—Greek

    *Lubbock* *Classics* *Downs* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Bloom* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Norway* *Great* *Smart* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*

  21. Iphigeneia en Aulidi _4

  22. Iphigeneia in Aulis
    405 B C—Greek

    *Ward* *Adler* *Bloom* *Foundation*


    'Un Cœur Simple'_3
    part of Trois Contes, 1877—French
    *Bloom* *Foundation* *Recommended*


    Die Traumdeutung [excerpted]_1
    The Interpretation of Dreams
    'On Dreams'; complete work published 1899—German

    *Foundation*

  23. Edward Gibbon

  24. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_23
    originally published in six volumes: first, 1776; second-third, 1781; fourth-sixth, 1788—English
    *Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Durant* *Invitation* *Hundred* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Foundation* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Dirda* *Telegraph* *World* *Educated*


    Faust. Der Tragödie Erster Teil_3
    first of two volumes of Faust; published in part, 1790; in its entirey, 1808; revised 1829; second volume, Faust. Der Tragödie Zweiter Teil, 1832
    *Eliot* *Foundation* *Deposit*


    'Šinel''_3
    'The Overcoat'
    1842—Russian

    *Magill* *Recommended* *Foundation*


    The Federalist Papers_11
    originally published 1787-1788 in the Independent Journal, the New-York Packet, and the Daily Advertiser—English
    *Hundred* *Downs* *Read* *Van Doren* *Adler* *Good* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Kanigel* *Trinity* *Great*


    Historiē [excerpted]_1
    History
    'The Persian Wars'; Fifth Century B C—Greek

    *Foundation*

  25. Thomas Hobbes

  26. Leviathan or, The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil_16
    1651—English
    *Durant* *Classics* *Hundred* *Downs* *Read* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Bloom* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Great* *Telegraph* *Deposit*

  27. Homer

  28. Iliad_33
    ca. Ninth-Eighth centuries B.C; Cowan and Guinness ("Trinity") specifiy Richard Lattimore's English translation; Mallison ("Smart") notes Derek Jacobi's modern aural version—Greek
    *Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Classics* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *World* *Deposit* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*

    David Hume

    'Of Personal Identity'; complete work originally published in three volumes: first-second, 1739; third, 1740—English
    *Foundation*


    'Of Justice and Injustice'; complete work originally published in two volumes, 1741 and 1742—English
    *Foundation*

  29. Henry James

  30. The Beast in the Jungle_4
    originally published in The Better Sort, 1903—English
    *Powys* *Adler* *Foundation* *Dirda*

  31. Franz Kafka

  32. Die Verwandlung_14
    The Metamorphosis
    originally published 1915 in Die Weißen Blätter; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Stanley Corngold's English translation—German

    *Ward* *Van Doren* *Adler* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Norway* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Newman* *Graphic* *Deposit*

    Immanuel Kant

    Critique of Practical Reason
    'Conscience'; complete work published 1788

    *Foundation*


    Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals; Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals; Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Ethics
    'First Principles of Morals'; complete work published 1785; revised 1786—German

    *Foundation*


    Frygt og Baeven [excerpted]_1
    Fear and Trembling
    'The Knight of Faith'; complete work originally published under the pseudonym, Johannes de Silentio, 1843—Danish

    *Foundation*


    Second Treatise [second part of Two Treatises of Government: In the Former, the False Principles, and Foundation of Sir Robert Filmer, and His Followers, Are Detected and Overthrown. The Latter Is an Essay Concerning the True Original, Extent, and End of Civil Government]_8
    complete work originally anonymously published 1689—English
    *Read* *Van Doren* *Adler* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Great* *Reynolds* *Educated*

  33. Niccolò Machiavelli

  34. Il Principe_29
    The Prince
    1532—Italian

    *Eliot* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Great* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *World* *Deposit* *Educated*


    Dalalatul al-Hairin [excerpted]_1
    Moreh Nevukhim; The Guide for the Perplexed
    'On Evil'; written Twelfth Century; Hebrew version published 1204—Arabic

    *Foundation*


    Das Kapital, Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie [excerpted]_1
    'Alienated Labour'; complete work originally published in three volumes: 1867, 1885, and 1894—German
    *Foundation*

  35. Herman Melville

  36. Billy Budd, Foretopman_9
    Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)
    1924—English

    *Read* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Campbell* *Newman*

    John Stuart Mill
  37. On Liberty_16

  38. 1859—English
    *Eliot* *Classics* *Downs* *Read* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Great* *Taylor* *World*

  39. Utilitarianism_5

  40. originally published serially 1861 in Fraser's Magazine—English
    *Classics* *Read* *Ward* *Adler* *Foundation*

  41. Molière

  42. Le Misanthrope ou l'Atrabilaire Amoureux_13
    The Misanthrope
    1666—French

    *Durant* *Classics* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Trinity* *Great* *Newman*


    Les Essais [excerpted]_1
    'Of Experience', Book III, Chapter 13; complete work published in three volumes: 1580, 1588, and 1595—French
    *Foundation*


    De l'Esprit des Lois [excerpted]_1
    The Spirt of Laws
    'Principles of Government'; complete work originally anonymously published 1748

    *Foundation*

  43. Friedrich Nietzsche

  44. Also Sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen_15
    Thus Spake Zarathustra
    originally published in four volumes, 1883-85—German

    *Powys* *Durant* *Hundred* *France* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Magill* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Great* *World* *Graphic*

    Plato
  45. Politeia_24

  46. The Republic
    early Fourth Century B.C—Greek

    *Classics* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Learning* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Great* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *Reynolds* *World* *Deposit* *Educated*

  47. Symposium_10

  48. early Fourth Century B C—Greek
    *Invitation* *Classics* *Downs* *Read* *Van Doren* *Adler* *Good* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Graphic*

  49. Crito_13

  50. early Fourth Century B C—Greek
    *Lubbock* *Eliot* *Classics* *Rexroth* *Downs* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Campbell* *O'Hear*

  51. Apologia Socratis_16

  52. The Apology
    early Fourth Century B C—Greek

    *Lubbock* *Eliot* *Durant* *Classics* *Rexroth* *Downs* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Campbell* *Great* *O'Hear*

  53. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

  54. Du Contrat Social ou Principes du Droit Politique_17
    The Social Contract
    1762—French

    *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *Downs* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Adler* *Good* *Foundation* *Trinity* *Dirda* *Great* *GlobeMail* *Telegraph* *Newman* *Educated*


    Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung [excerpted]_1
    The World as Will and Idea
    'The Indestructibility of Our Inner Nature'; complete work originally published in two volumes, 1819 and 1844—German

    *Foundation*

    William Shakespeare
  55. Hamlet_27

  56. 1602—English
    *Eliot* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *Downs* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *Guardian* *O'Hear* *Zane* *Taylor* *Harvard* *World* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*

  57. Othello_14

  58. ca. 1604—English
    *Durant* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Campbell* *Norway* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*

  59. King Lear_21

  60. 1606—English
    *Eliot* *Durant* *Classics* *Hundred* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *World* *Newman* *Graphic*

  61. Antony and Cleopatra_13

  62. ca. 1606-08—English
    *Invitation* *Classics* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Zane* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*

  63. The Tempest_20

  64. 1611—English
    *Eliot* *Durant* *Classics* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*

  65. George Bernard Shaw

  66. Caesar and Cleopatra_3
    1901—English
    *Read* *Fadiman* *Foundation*


    Philosophie des Geldes [excerpted] _1
    'Individual Freedom'; complete work, 1900—German
    *Foundation*

  67. Adam Smith

  68. An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations_15
    1776; revised through third edition, 1784—English
    *Eliot* *Durant* *Classics* *Downs* *Read* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Foundation* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Great* *GlobeMail* *Taylor*

    Sophocles
  69. Antigone_22
    ca. 441 B C—Greek

  70. *Lubbock* *Eliot* *Durant* *Classics* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Campbell* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *World* *Newman*

  71. Oidipous Tyrannos_25

  72. Oedipus Rex; Oedipus the King
    ca. 429 B.C; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald's English translation—Greek

    *Lubbock* *Eliot* *Durant* *Classics* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *World* *Newman* *Educated*

  73. Jonathan Swift

  74. Travels Into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and Then a Captain of Several Ships_29
    Gulliver's Travels
    1726; revised 1735—English

    *Lubbock* *Durant* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Telegraph* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*


    'Civil Disobedience'_7
    originally published 1849 in Aesthetic Papers—English
    *Classics* *Downs* *Read* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith*

  75. Thucydides

  76. History of the Peloponnesian War_23
    early Fifth Century B.C—Greek
    *Lubbock* *Durant* *Classics* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Utne* *Great* *Telegraph* *World* *Educated*


    De la Démocratie en Amérique [excerpted]_1
    Democracy in America
    'The Power of the Majority'; complete work originally published in two volumes, 1835 and 1840—French

    *Foundation*

  77. Leo Tolstoy

  78. Smert' Ivana Il'icha_5
    The Death of Ivan Ilyich
    1886—Russian

    *Van Doren* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Foundation* *Norway*

  79. Max Weber

  80. Die Protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus_3
    The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
    1905—German

    *Foundation* *Great* *Educated*