Books with Rankings

2018

The Classical Music Book

An accessible, visual guide to the world's greatest classical composers and their works, using DK's signature infographic style.

1958

Things Fall Apart

The most influential work of modern African literature. It depicted the clash between traditional Igbo culture and British colonialism from an African perspective challenging Western stereotypes and paving the way for a global explosion of post-colonial literature.A foundational African novel depicting Igbo society before and during colonial disruption, centred on Okonkwo’s struggle with tradition, masculinity, and change.A foundational work of post-colonial literature. It depicts the clash between traditional Igbo culture and the arrival of British missionaries, humanizing the African experience and challenging colonial narratives.

1972

Watership Down

An epic adventure following a group of rabbits as they escape the destruction of their warren and search for a safe new home.

1979

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

A cosmic comedy of absurdity, bureaucracy, and improbable adventures after Earth’s destruction.

2022

African and Caribbean People in Britain

A monumental, comprehensive history tracking the profound, centuries-long presence, struggles, achievements, and structural impacts of Black populations on British society.

2006

Half of a Yellow Sun

A powerful, heartbreaking epic following five characters swept up in the political chaos, horrors, and personal sacrifices of the Nigerian-Biafran War.

2013

Americanah

A Nigerian woman navigates race, migration, and self‑reinvention in America and London, offering a sharp, intimate portrait of identity in a globalised world.

2009

Open

One of the most honest sports biographies ever written. Agassi reveals his secret hatred for tennis, his struggles with fame, and his eventual redemption, offering a raw look at the psychological toll of elite competition.

1868

Little Women

The March sisters navigate love, ambition, hardship, and family bonds in this enduring coming‑of‑age classic.

2003

Brick Lane

A moving story following a Bangladeshi woman in an arranged marriage in London as she navigates cultural identity and unexpected love.

1320

The Divine Comedy

A monumental narrative poem that maps the soul’s journey through Hell Purgatory and Paradise. It synthesized medieval theology into a vivid literary landscape established the Tuscan dialect as the standard Italian language and shaped the Western imagination's vision of the afterlife.

2023

Everything We Do is Music

An exploration of how music intersects with our daily lives, emotions, and the way we experience the world around us.

1954

Lucky Jim

A hapless academic navigates professional disasters and social awkwardness in this sharp campus comedy.,92

1984

Money

A satirical dive into consumerism, excess, and self‑destruction through the eyes of a chaotic ad director.,88

1979

Flowers in the Attic

Four siblings are hidden away in an attic by their mother and grandmother, leading to a dark and harrowing tale of family secrets, cruelty, and survival.

1979

Kane and Abel

An epic saga following two men born on opposite sides of the Atlantic on the same day, whose lives become entwined through business, rivalry, and world events.

-350

Works (Organon, Ethics, etc.)

Aristotle’s writings organized human knowledge into distinct disciplines like logic biology physics and ethics. His empirical approach and system of syllogism dominated Western and Islamic thought for over 1500 years forming the intellectual infrastructure upon which modern science and philosophy were eventually built.

1995

Behind the Scenes at the Museum

A witty and eccentric family history told through the eyes of a woman born during the 1951 Festival of Britain, uncovering secrets across generations.

1985

The Handmaid's Tale

A chilling, globally acclaimed dystopian masterpiece tracing a handmaid's quiet rebellion and fight for survival within a terrifying, highly oppressive patriarchal theocracy.

1992

The Patrick Melrose Novels

A harrowing yet darkly humorous cycle of five novels tracing a man’s journey from a traumatic childhood through addiction to ultimate recovery.

1980

The Clan of the Cave Bear

Set in the Ice Age, a Cro-Magnon girl is orphaned and taken in by a group of Neanderthals, exploring the clash between two different human species.

397

Praised Be Be

The Confessions is often called the first Western autobiography. It is a deeply personal, spiritual biography of a man’s journey from a life of sin to a life of faith, influencing theology and psychology for centuries.

-161

Meditations

The private journals of a Roman Emperor offering a profound exploration of Stoic philosophy. It emphasizes self-discipline duty and resilience in the face of adversity. It remains one of the most beloved guides for personal ethics and maintaining mental equanimity in a chaotic world.

1811

Sense and Sensibility

The enduring romance classic contrasting the emotional behaviors of two sisters as they navigate financial displacement and societal rules in Regency England.

1813

Pride and Prejudice

A witty, timeless romantic comedy of manners detailing the turbulent relationship between the spirited Elizabeth Bennet and the wealthy, arrogant Fitzwilliam Darcy in regency England.

1817

Persuasion

An elegant, deeply moving story of mature love and regret, tracking Anne Elliot as she encounters the naval captain she was persuaded to reject years prior.

1814

Mansfield Park

A brilliant, morally complex comedy of manners following the quiet, watchful Fanny Price as she navigates her wealthy relatives' grand estate and complicated social intrigues.

1815

Emma

A sparkling, delightful romantic comedy tracking a clever, wealthy, and fiercely independent young woman who misjudges her matchmaking abilities and nearly wrecks her own chances at happiness.

1970

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

A philosophical novella about a seagull who is bored with the daily squabbles over food and becomes obsessed with the art and joy of flight.

1620

Novum Organum

Bacon proposed a new system of logic based on induction and experimentation rather than traditional syllogism. This work provided the philosophical foundation for the modern scientific method advocating for the systematic observation of nature to gain knowledge and improve the human condition.

1956

Giovanni's Room

A deeply moving, intense, and tragic masterpiece exploring identity, shame, and repressed desire through an American man's passionate affair with an Italian bartender in Paris.

1953

Go Tell It on the Mountain

A powerful, intense semi-autobiographical masterpiece following a 14-year-old boy's spiritual awakening and complex relationship with his abusive stepfather in 1930s Harlem.

1973

Crash

A provocative, transgressive novel exploring the dark intersection of car crashes, technology, and sexual fetishism in contemporary urban life.

2021

The Art of Active Listening

A focused communication guide offering actionable strategies to master deep, empathetic listening skills to improve workplace collaboration and personal intimacy.

1984

The Wasp Factory

A disturbing and dark psychological novel about a teenager living on a remote Scottish island who performs bizarre rituals and reflects on a violent childhood.

2000

Wordsworth: A Life (Barker)

Definitive biography.

1991

Regeneration Trilogy

A powerful blend of history and fiction exploring the trauma of WWI through the experiences of soldiers and psychiatrist W.H.R. Rivers at Craiglockhart Hospital.

2002

A Life in Letters (Juliet Barker)

Biographical letters.

2011

The Sense of an Ending

A concise, meditative novel about memory, aging, and a man forced to re-examine his past and the unreliable nature of his own history.

1911

Peter Pan

The boy who never grows up leads the Darling children to Neverland, exploring imagination, freedom, and the bittersweet nature of childhood.