A Lifetime's Reading: Five Hundred Great Books to be Enjoyed over 50 Years

by Philip Ward

Offers a guide to five hundred of the world's greatest books available in English, including a variety of literary masterpieces representing a multitude of languages and cultures

Genres: Classics, Books About Books, Reference, Nonfiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1981

About the author

Philip Ward was a chartered librarian who was appointed as Director of the Unesco/Government of Indonesia Project for the Development of the National Library Service, Jakarta. He is the author of more than fifty books. A poet, dramatist, and reviewer for World Literature Today, Ward has a large working private library and in 1956 was founding Honorary Secretary of the Private Libraries Association. He has lived in Libya (for 8 1/2 years), Malta, England, and Egypt, as well as Indonesia.

Reviews

[Falynn - the TyGrammarSaurus Rex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of great books to be inspired by. Many of which I had never heard of. The author provides a brief synopsis and summary of each book, recommending the best versions and translations where appropriate, and also recommending supporting background reading or music from the same period and region to be explored.
The author has tried very hard to provide a range of books across time and the whole world, to try to remove some of our western European bias when we think about 'literature'.
Inevitably it is one person's approach and any reader will have their moments of 'why did he not include Mr So&so', but overall this feels like a very balanced selection and has certainly inspired me to try and expand my reading.
Having been written in the early 80s, very little is included that has been published after ww1, possibly because the author felt it was too soon to judge the lasting quality of more recent work, or possibly he just ran out of room with all of the classics included!
I would say that insufficient female authors are included, but that seems more to do with the historical repression of feminine art than the author's choices.
My own notable omissions include Somerset Maugham, specifically The Razor's Edge, anything by Mrs Gaskell (the only work of hers being mentioned is her life of the brontes), and Anthony Trollope, among others.
A fascinating resource to explore leading off into all sorts of strange places (I am currently reading a history of anarchy which I have reached via Joseph Conrad's novels thanks to this book) and to argue with when an author you love is missing (or an author you hate is all too present!).
If you love books and can find a copy of this one, buy it! It will almost certainly provide you with some new food for thought.
So far, this has been my favourite 'book about books' (with Christopher Booker's 7 basic plots a close second).

[Tony Gualtieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book for years. It was one of the first to bring in books from all over the world. It's importance to my life is inestimable.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

What i think is most interesting about the work is that he picks some real questionable obscurities along with the generally accepted classics

so it's kinda neat and extremely maddening that it's more his personal laundry list than a list of what might be the 'cream of the crop'

I think it's great when he throws in those Penguin Anthologies or Oxford books
but honestly half the titles you seriously have to be nuts to love them as much as Philip Ward does!

But for a book to appreciate Ward's off the wall tastes, it's weirdly wonderful, but i'll still grit my teeth.

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suggests reading ten, from these 500, per year and then in only 50 years you'd have them all read! I've read maybe 10-20 of them (in 1984 – quite a few I never even heard of) mostly in high school and college. The only one I read recently was Complete Sherlock Holmes which I read last year (1983).

[Alec · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing reference on the worlds greatest literature.

[Antonio Gallo · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Non dovremmo mai smettere di essere "lettori", semplici, puri lettori, non per imparare o per altri motivi, ma per il piacere di leggere. Dovremmo sapere come leggere e desiderare di leggere e ricevere, per nutrire noi stessi, come con un cibo delizioso, per crescere in saggezza, in maniera organica, non per fare uso di quello che leggiamo da un punto di vista sociale, come si fa in società, ma per diventare esseri umani che comprendono l'arte della lettura, per diventare capaci di empatia". (Charles Péguy)
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"We should never cease to be readers; pure readers, reading not to learn or for an ulterior motive, but for the joy of reading itself. We should know how to read and ardently desire and to receive, to nourish ourselves, as by delicious food, to grow in wisdom, organically, not to make use of what one reads socially, in polite society; to bocome human beings who understand the art of reading, that is to be come capable of empathy".

A bilingual project about fifty years of reading. Suppose I want to give my niece Chiara some advice about what to read for the next five decades to favour her inclination, what books should I advice her not to miss? In this era of digital knowledge, she will easily find almost everything online. I will follow Philip Ward's book and his indications. The reader of this experience will share my selection and will meet novelists, poets, essaysts, playrights, biographers, religious and philosophical teachers from China to India, from U.S.A. to Russia, from Europe to Asia, from north to south, fifty years of piloted reading, travelling in space and time. Don't miss next post!

Un progetto bilingue di lettura per cinquanta anni. Supponiamo di voler dare alla mia nipotina Chiara dei consigli su cosa leggere nei suoi prossimi cinquanta anni, per favorire il suo amore per la lettura, quali libri le consiglierò di non perdere? In questa nostra epoca di conoscenza digitale potrà facilmente reperire le letture online. Io seguirò le indicazioni che il bibliografo inglese Philip Ward ha trasmesso nel suo libro qui riprodotto. Il lettore condividerà questa esperienza di scrittura nella mia selezione e potrà incontrare romanzieri, poeti, saggisti, drammaturghi, biografi, filosofi e religiosi provenienti dalla Cina alla Russia, dall'Europa all'Asia, dal nord al sud come dall'Oriente all'Occidente, cinquanta anni di lettura guidata nel tempo e nello spazio. Non mancate di leggere il prossimo post!

[James Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Within the genre, books about books, this is the most comprehensive guide to world literature. Philip Ward has created a reading list to last for fifty years and it is filled with both classics and uncommon books by authors from every continent and era. The one thing all the books have in common is a quality of value for readers of all ages. The most fascinating aspect is the medley of authors that he creates for each year of reading. The overall effect it creates is one of a boon companion to my reading and a friend that will be with me for the rest of my life.