The following alphabetical list contain classics that have changed the world in some small or large part. Whilst the list is depressing because we realize we cannot have time to read them all, it is exciting to realize that of the millions of books that have been written over the last 3000 years, only the following are read time and again by each generation, and there is no reason to think that will ever change. If you read 5 percent of the books on this page you are doing very well!

I have compared this list with others on the web and most are listed elsewhere in other great books sites, there is not much disagreement amongst 'great' books. 'Favorite' books are were the arguments begin. Unfortunately some really great writing is available in science, such as the stunning brilliance of Heisenberg, Schrödinger, Archimedes etc. I have not included these, as they are a difficult read unless you are in the field of science.

I am missing some great Arabic literature (Thousand and One Nights), Scandinavian Sagas, the source for many great works (Amleth = Hamlet for example) are ignored for no other reason than I don't know anything about them. Finally, perhaps there is too much bias towards American politics.

Some works here I personally dislike, such as anything by Ibsen, Kant and quite a few more, however I realize that is a weakness on my part and not in the literature. Some of the authors I personally dislike such as Pirandello, Others I dislike the author and their works, such as Nietzsche. Others are personal favorites such as Conrad, whose work is made greater because he did not write in his native Polish, but in English.

There are gaps in Black literature; Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom's Cabin) Frederick Douglass (Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave), Olaudah Equiano's (The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African), and my favorite, Joel Chandler Harris, who, although white, was through the help of a style taken from Chaucer and Aesop, able to record the black slave stories and their triumphant victories over their slave masters.

Come to that where is Aesop, perhaps I will redo this table.

Also I have tried to represent that other country of great writers, Russia (alongside Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Africa, Greece, Rome).   Dostoevsky is there, but Gogol is missing.

For great modern authors (and there are some), I will try and create a separate page.

Please forward any comments on this list to crchild@att.net

Books in Blue are my recommendations as books that should be read sometime in a lifetime, but it is subjective so please don't blame me if you disagree, just email me. You will note I have been rather flippant in recommending Finnegans Wake, this is meant to be the most difficult book in the world to read. I agree. If you understand this you should be writing books rather than reading them!