The best nonfiction books of the 20th century according to the Modern Library (top 40)
The top 3 according to 49 votes from people: The Education of Henry Adams · The Varieties of Religious Experience · The Frontier in American History. (Updated Sep 16, 2020.)
In 1999 the editorial board of the Modern Library, Random House's classic imprint, chose the 100 best English-language nonfiction books published since 1900. These are the top 40, from The Education of Henry Adams to Science and Civilisation in China.
Automatically translated (original in Español). See the original
Top 40
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1
The Education of Henry Adams
Henry Adams. Autobiography published in 1918. No. 1 on the list.
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2
The Varieties of Religious Experience
William James. The 1902 Gifford Lectures. No. 2 on the list.
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3
The Frontier in American History
Frederick Jackson Turner. The frontier thesis. No. 12 on the list.
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4
The Elements of Style
William Strunk Jr. y E. B. White. The classic guide to English writing style. No. 21 on the list.
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5
Principia Ethica
G. E. Moore. Moral philosophy, 1903. No. 32 on the list.
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6
Silent Spring
Rachel Carson. The 1962 book that launched the modern environmental movement. No. 5 on the list.
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7
Selected Essays, 1917–1932
T. S. Eliot. Critical essays, 1932. No. 6 on the list.
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8
The Double Helix
James D. Watson. The account of the discovery of the structure of DNA, 1968. No. 7 on the list.
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9
The American Language
H. L. Mencken. Study of American English, 1919. No. 9 on the list.
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10
The Lives of a Cell
Lewis Thomas. Biology essays, National Book Award winner. No. 11 on the list.
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11
Black Boy
Richard Wright. Memoir of childhood in the segregated South. No. 13 on the list.
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12
Notes of a Native Son
James Baldwin. Essays, 1955. No. 19 on the list.
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13
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon
Rebecca West. Journey through Yugoslavia in 1937. No. 38 on the list.
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14
Science and Civilisation in China
Joseph Needham. Monumental multi-volume work. No. 40 on the list.
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15
A Room of One's Own
Virginia Woolf. Essay, 1929. No. 4 on the list.
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16
The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money
John Maynard Keynes. Economics, 1936. No. 10 on the list.
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17
The Nature and Destiny of Man
Reinhold Niebuhr. Theology, Gifford Lectures. No. 18 on the list.
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18
Principia Mathematica
Alfred North Whitehead y Bertrand Russell. Foundations of mathematics. No. 23 on the list.
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19
The Ants
Bert Hölldobler y Edward O. Wilson. Treatise on ants; Pulitzer Prize. No. 27 on the list.
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20
Art and Illusion
Ernst H. Gombrich. Psychology of pictorial representation. No. 29 on the list.
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21
On Growth and Form
D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson. Mathematical biology, 1917. No. 34 on the list.
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22
The Age of Jackson
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.. History; Pulitzer Prize. No. 36 on the list.
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23
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Richard Rhodes. History of the Manhattan Project; Pulitzer Prize. No. 37 on the list.
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24
Autobiographies
W. B. Yeats. Memoirs of the Irish poet. No. 39 on the list.
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25
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
Gertrude Stein. Memoir of avant-garde Paris. No. 20 on the list.
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26
The Mirror and the Lamp
M. H. Abrams. Romantic literary theory. No. 25 on the list.
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27
Aspects of the Novel
E. M. Forster. Lectures on the art of the novel. No. 14 on the list.
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28
The Civil War: A Narrative
Shelby Foote. Three-volume history of the American Civil War. No. 15 on the list.
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29
The Guns of August
Barbara W. Tuchman. The first month of World War I; Pulitzer Prize. No. 16 on the list.
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30
The Proper Study of Mankind
Isaiah Berlin. Anthology of essays. No. 17 on the list.
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31
An American Dilemma
Gunnar Myrdal. Study of race relations in the United States. No. 22 on the list.
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32
The Mismeasure of Man
Stephen Jay Gould. Critique of intelligence measurement. No. 24 on the list.
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33
The Art of the Soluble
Peter B. Medawar. Essays on the scientific method. No. 26 on the list.
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34
A Theory of Justice
John Rawls. Political philosophy, 1971. No. 28 on the list.
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35
The Making of the English Working Class
E. P. Thompson. Social history, 1963. No. 30 on the list.
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36
The Souls of Black Folk
W. E. B. Du Bois. Essays, 1903. No. 31 on the list.
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37
Philosophy and Civilization
John Dewey. Philosophical essays. No. 33 on the list.
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38
Ideas and Opinions
Albert Einstein. Collected writings. No. 35 on the list.
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39
Up from Slavery
Booker T. Washington. Autobiography, 1901. No. 3 on the list.
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40
Speak, Memory
Vladimir Nabokov. Memoir, 1951. No. 8 on the list.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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