My List Of The 25 Landmarks Of World Literature

[goldstategop]

1. Iliad
2. Odyssey
3. Bible
4. Dialogues Of Plato
5. Ethics Aristotle
6. Politics Aristotle
7. Voyage Of Argo Apolonius Of Rhodes
8. Metamorphoses Ovid
9. Aeneid Virgil
10. City Of God Augustine
11. Summa Theologica Thomas
12. Divine Comedy Dante
13. Decameron Boccacio
14. Essays Montaigne
15. Don Quixote Cervantes
16. Complete Works Shakespeare
17. Pensees Pascal
18. Wealth Of Nations Smith
19. Federalist Hamilton
20. Communist Manifesto Marx and Engels
21. Les Miserables Hugo
22. War And Peace Tolstoy
23. Ulysses Joyce
24. In Search Of Lost Time Proust
25. Lord Of The Rings Tolkien

[eclecticEel]

Putting the entire Bible and the Complete Works of Shakespeare rather than some particular work are both somewhat cheating. And even if you don’t like it, any list of most influential books has to include the Koran.

[central_va]

Wealth of Nations? As applied to today’s economy it should be called “Destruction of Nations” or “Marx’s Dream”.

[jjotto]

The title is a bit misleading. In his comment, the OP says “that have shaped Western thought”.

Confucius’ Annalects, the Koran, and the Bhagavad Gita have influence far beyond many of the works mentioned, but minimal in Western Civ.

[Flaming Conservative]

You’re welcome.

[BuffaloJack]

I think I would have added.
26) The once and Future King
27) Orlando Furioso
28) The Journey to the West

[MosesKnows]

My List ...

Exactly, your list.

My list would have some of the titles on your list and some that are not on your list. That would be my list.

I find no fault with your list other that it is too short. I think fifty to a hundred would be a minimum.

[stylin19a]

can’t get to your list without “Dick and Jane”

[7thson]

Please!

[latina4dubya]

You and your sons received a fine education in the liberal arts!

that was the goal! :)

[mware]

No Juvenal?

[grwcfl537]

My parents bought Great Books of the Western World in the 50’s, so I had read them by the time I finished high school. Since then I read most of the rest on your list. Good collection.

[nickcarraway]

It is a great book, and very funny, at times. Melville had some other great books, not read as much. Of course, when Melville denied, he was not noted as a great author.

[nickcarraway]

I would rate Borges as a much better South American writer than Marquez, and also Cortázar.

[minnesota_bound]

Missing Isaac Asimov, H.G. Wells, Larry Niven, Andre Norton, Clifford D. Simak, John Campbell, Cyril M. Kornbluth, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, many others.

[exDemMom]

The Art of War ~Sun Tsu

I keep that displayed on a shelf at work. Once in a while, I take it down and thumb through its pages. I was lucky several years ago and found it in the bargain bin, hardcover, about $1.50.

[nickcarraway]

I arranged them in chronological order.

Parts of the Bible were written long before Homer.

[sargon]

#3, #16, #19 & #25 are the only ones I've read—in whole or in part—and I consider myself well-read!

LOTR will always be a favorite, and underrated, I believe, in orthodox circles. IMHO it's the greatest piece of literature from the 20th century.

I have read Catch-22, which someone mentioned as being "great", and also Beowulf; I'm not completely illiterate...

[taxesareforever]

Thanks for the explanation. Accepted.