Modern Library 100 Best Non-fiction (100 books)

The Board's List, not the parallel Readers' List: it consisted of 100 books nominated as the best nonfiction written in English since 1900. Only 16 of the 100 were published at that time by Modern Classics. The original list, and the Readers' List, may be seen here: http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibr...

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List Challenge
The average Goodreads member has read 4 out of 100 books on this list — how many have you read?

All Votes

1	The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. 4.18 avg rating — 87,153 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	In Cold Blood by Truman Capote 4.09 avg rating — 730,307 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson 4.40 avg rating — 33,977 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman 4.18 avg rating — 84,793 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	West with the Night by Beryl Markham 4.15 avg rating — 41,036 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey 3.75 avg rating — 2,654 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	The Strange Career of Jim Crow by C. Vann Woodward 4.14 avg rating — 3,213 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell 4.10 avg rating — 71,512 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves 3.93 avg rating — 15,584 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Ideas and Opinions by Albert Einstein 4.12 avg rating — 3,342 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	The Making of the English Working Class by E.P. Thompson 4.21 avg rating — 3,707 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro 4.53 avg rating — 29,168 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes 4.40 avg rating — 24,481 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams 3.63 avg rating — 4,952 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen 3.91 avg rating — 48,087 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe 4.23 avg rating — 55,669 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain 3.94 avg rating — 5,286 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	The Double Helix by James D. Watson 3.84 avg rating — 20,057 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	The Second World War: The Nobel Prize-Winning History of World War II by Winston S. Churchill 4.48 avg rating — 1,813 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough 4.25 avg rating — 18,613 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov 4.08 avg rating — 17,737 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	The Golden Bough by James George Frazer 4.02 avg rating — 8,709 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 13,118 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	Aspects of the Novel by E.M. Forster 3.80 avg rating — 4,960 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussell 4.13 avg rating — 6,168 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3,100 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	Silent Spring by Rachel Carson 4.06 avg rating — 54,992 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Theodore Roosevelt, #1) by Edmund Morris 4.22 avg rating — 60,937 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	James Joyce by Richard Ellmann 4.34 avg rating — 2,963 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould 4.06 avg rating — 9,316 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	The Strange Death of Liberal England by George Dangerfield 4.11 avg rating — 464 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	The American Language by H.L. Mencken 4.12 avg rating — 554 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote 4.53 avg rating — 8,087 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher by Richard P. Feynman 4.21 avg rating — 30,948 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Studies in Iconology: Humanistic Themes in the Art of the Renaissance by Erwin Panofsky 4.22 avg rating — 1,043 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher by Lewis Thomas 4.14 avg rating — 10,408 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin 4.36 avg rating — 24,306 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X 4.37 avg rating — 291,616 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do by Studs Terkel 4.24 avg rating — 5,842 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	The Frontier in American History by Frederick Jackson Turner 3.74 avg rating — 1,271 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their Revolution by Jonathan D. Spence 4.03 avg rating — 556 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels 3.94 avg rating — 20,005 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	Autobiographies: Memories and Reflections by W.B. Yeats 3.92 avg rating — 282 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington 4.11 avg rating — 36,135 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Science and Civilization in China by Joseph Needham 4.08 avg rating — 13 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf 4.22 avg rating — 261,332 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	Children of Crisis: Selections from the Pulitzer Prize-winning five-volume Children of Crisis series by Robert Coles 4.02 avg rating — 64 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	A Study of History, abridged by Arnold J. Toynbee 4.11 avg rating — 217 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	Selected Essays: 1917-1932 by T.S. Eliot 4.12 avg rating — 454 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department by Dean Acheson 4.04 avg rating — 414 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes 3.85 avg rating — 5,775 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	Patriotic Gore: Studies in the Literature of the American Civil War by Edmund Wilson 4.10 avg rating — 284 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner 4.28 avg rating — 11,916 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	Black Boy by Richard Wright 4.09 avg rating — 55,949 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	Jefferson And His Time by Dumas Malone 4.04 avg rating — 24 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron 3.99 avg rating — 31,595 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	The Proper Study of Mankind by Isaiah Berlin 4.26 avg rating — 736 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
58	The Nature and Destiny of Man, Vols 1-2 by Reinhold Niebuhr 4.13 avg rating — 379 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
59	Religion and the Rise of Capitalism by R.H. Tawney 3.80 avg rating — 322 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
59	The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein 3.54 avg rating — 13,458 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
61	The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow 3.96 avg rating — 12,686 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
61	Florence Nightingale by Cecil Woodham-Smith 3.92 avg rating — 368 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
63	The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects by Lewis Mumford 4.10 avg rating — 1,476 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
64	Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King Jr. 4.54 avg rating — 9,142 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
65	The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme by John Keegan 4.12 avg rating — 8,678 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
66	Vermeer by Lawrence Gowing 3.87 avg rating — 99 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
67	A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam by Neil Sheehan 4.24 avg rating — 12,570 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
68	This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff 3.97 avg rating — 30,571 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
69	A Mathematician's Apology by G.H. Hardy 3.91 avg rating — 7,751 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
70	Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard 4.08 avg rating — 29,866 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
71	Shadow and Act by Ralph Ellison 4.10 avg rating — 634 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
72	The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It by Richard Hofstadter 4.04 avg rating — 1,875 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
73	The Contours of American History by William Appleman Williams 4.23 avg rating — 121 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
74	The Promise of American Life by Herbert David Croly 3.55 avg rating — 113 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
75	The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm 3.80 avg rating — 5,850 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
76	The Taming Of Chance by Ian Hacking 3.89 avg rating — 259 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
77	Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott (Goodreads Author) 4.18 avg rating — 26,138 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
78	Melbourne by David Cecil 4.06 avg rating — 271 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
79	Samuel Johnson by Walter Jackson Bate 4.21 avg rating — 218 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
80	An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy Vol. 1 by Gunnar Myrdal 4.13 avg rating — 126 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
81	The Liberal Imagination: Essays on Literature and Society by Lionel Trilling really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 485 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
82	In the American Grain by William Carlos Williams 3.94 avg rating — 883 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
83	The Sweet Science by A.J. Liebling 4.10 avg rating — 1,547 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
84	The Open Society and Its Enemies - Volume One: The Spell of Plato by Karl Popper 4.16 avg rating — 2,880 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
85	The Art of Memory by Frances A. Yates 4.16 avg rating — 1,600 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
86	A Preface to Morals by Walter Lippmann 3.99 avg rating — 106 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
87	The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S. Kuhn 4.03 avg rating — 29,970 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
88	The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community by William H. McNeill 4.12 avg rating — 593 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
89	Principia Mathematica to '56 by Alfred North Whitehead 3.98 avg rating — 213 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
90	The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition by M.H. Abrams 4.14 avg rating — 871 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
91	The Art of the Soluble: Creativity and Originality in Science by Peter Medawar 3.65 avg rating — 40 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
92	The Ants by Bert Hölldobler 4.60 avg rating — 840 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
93	A Theory of Justice by John Rawls 3.95 avg rating — 13,599 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
94	Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation by E.H. Gombrich 4.04 avg rating — 6,127 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
95	The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois 4.31 avg rating — 44,950 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
96	Principia Ethica by G.E. Moore 3.79 avg rating — 1,004 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
97	Philosophy and Civilization by John Dewey 3.72 avg rating — 18 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
98	On Growth and Form by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson 4.14 avg rating — 887 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
99	The Age of Jackson by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. 3.98 avg rating — 2,243 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
100	Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey through Yugoslavia by Rebecca West 4.21 avg rating — 2,685 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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People Who Voted On This List (26)

Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3386 books
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MissJessie 4799 books
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Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) 546 books
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Tracey 615 books
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Thom 6022 books
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Amy 1681 books
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Comments Showing 1-26 of 26 (26 new)

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message 1: by Susanna - Censored by GoodReads (last edited Apr 14, 2010 10:40AM) (new)

Apr 14, 2010 10:39AM

"Board's Best" or "Readers' List"? There are two lists.

Given the Henry Adams, I will assume the Board List.

reply | flag

message 2: by Thom (last edited Apr 15, 2010 10:49AM) (new)

Apr 15, 2010 05:05AM

If it is or was Mod. Library and is non-fiction, I suggest it's fair game.

reply | flag

message 3: by Thom (new)

Apr 15, 2010 05:10AM

By way of irrelevance: If the Tea Party people want to read books that support their policies, they would delight in the first 20 from THE READER'S LIST.

reply | flag

message 4: by Thom (new)

Apr 15, 2010 05:13AM

I mean to say, THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS
AYN RAND OBJECTIVISM AYN RAND (AGAIN) MORE GUNS, LESS CRIME, PSYCHIATRY:THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL, CLASSICAL INDIVIDUALISM , FREE TO CHOOSE, MILTON FRIEDMAN, ROSE FRIEDMAN, THE ROAD TO SERFDOM, F. A. HAYEK, THE ROOSEVELT MYTH, THE TRUE BELIEVER

Sounds "Fair and Balanced", doesn't it ?

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message 5: by Susanna - Censored by GoodReads (last edited Apr 15, 2010 10:01AM) (new)

Apr 15, 2010 09:55AM

I find that Readers' List most amusing.

Elegant Universe is a great book, but I didn't think it was on the list.

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message 6: by Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) (last edited Apr 15, 2010 11:24AM) (new)

Apr 15, 2010 11:21AM

I can't find it there, either.

"Eat, Pray, Love" is neither on the Editors' nor on the Readers' list, either, is it?

That said, yes, the Readers' list IS certainly, err, noteworthy as it stands. Hubbard's "Dianetics" ranked as no. 2?!?!

Btw, I removed as a double the Spanish entry for "In Cold Blood," since the book was already added in its English incarnation.

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message 7: by Susanna - Censored by GoodReads (new)

Apr 15, 2010 01:22PM

Eat Pray Love couldn't be on the list - it was not published at the time the list was made.

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message 8: by Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) (last edited Apr 16, 2010 02:08AM) (new)

Apr 16, 2010 01:48AM

Removed, for being neither on the Modern Library Editors' nor on the Readers' list:

* Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
* Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft
* Night
* Eating Animals
* Man's Search for Meaning
* The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
* We Took to the Woods
* A River Runs Through It and Other Stories

To those who added these books, please note that -- as always -- deletion is NOT a statement with regard to the contents of any of these books. They just don't fall within the criteria for this particular list, which is intended to be limited to the books montioned on the lists compiled by the editors and readers of the Modern Library, as published at http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibr... .

If you are looking for a list dedicated to great nonfiction books in general, or nonfiction related to a particular topic, there are plenty of other lists already. Just enter "Nonfiction" into the "search lists" or "tags" search fields on the main listopia page, and make your choice from the results -- or create a list of your own if the topic you're looking for doesn't seem to be represented yet! :)

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message 9: by Susanna - Censored by GoodReads (new)

Apr 16, 2010 12:24PM

Thanks, I was thinking I should do that, and you beat me to it! (Thanks because I just did battle with page 1 of the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list. My god.)

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message 10: by Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) (new)

Apr 17, 2010 05:48AM

Oh, God. That one looks like a neverending task indeed (even worse than the "seriously underrated books" list that Lobstergirl and I have lately been pruning). If you need -- or want -- any help with it, do let me know!

reply | flag

message 11: by Susanna - Censored by GoodReads (new)

Apr 17, 2010 11:07AM

I think I guess I'd better proceed with the Sisyphean task alone, as I know what I've "cleaned" so far. It's easier now that I've been told about Control-F.

Thanks for the offer, though!

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message 12: by Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) (new)

Apr 17, 2010 11:13AM

No problem. :)

"Control-F"?!

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message 13: by Susanna - Censored by GoodReads (new)

Apr 17, 2010 11:40AM

Yeah, it makes searching the list's webpage of 1001 books a lot easier.

Just weeded out 27 books, from going over 20 places! My god.

reply | flag

message 14: by Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) (new)

Apr 17, 2010 11:47AM

Wow. Congratulations -- that really is a lot!

(Errr ... still don't understand how "control-F" actually works?)

reply | flag

message 15: by Susanna - Censored by GoodReads (last edited Apr 17, 2010 11:54AM) (new)

Apr 17, 2010 11:53AM

Apparently you hit Control-F, and it lets you search the page for text. Which makes searching a long list of titles a lot easier.

I limit myself to about 20 places at a time or so, on weeding that list, or I get a headache!

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message 16: by Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) (new)

Apr 17, 2010 12:02PM

Yes, I can well believe that!!

Oh, now I see -- I've actually been doing that, too when going over the "Modern Library" list (though I opened the browser search window via the "edit" function on the menu!) :) Good to know there's even a shortcut ...

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message 17: by [deleted user] (new)

Jun 09, 2010 05:08PM

Thom wrote: "I mean to say, THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS
AYN RAND OBJECTIVISM AYN RAND (AGAIN) MORE GUNS, LESS CRIME, PSYCHIATRY:THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL, CLASSICAL INDIVIDUALISM , FREE TO CHOOSE, MILTON FRIEDMAN, R..."

Thom, are you saying that the above books you mention are a GOOD read? I don't think I follow. Please explain

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message 18: by Jason (new)

Mar 06, 2011 01:46PM

ok, some stars here but hardly an international list. Too few classic histories and no travel?

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message 19: by A.J. (new)

Mar 06, 2011 02:09PM

Jason wrote: "ok, some stars here but hardly an international list. Too few classic histories and no travel?"

Jason, I'm almost certain the this list and it's fiction counterpart is limited to works originally written in the English language in the 20th century.

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message 20: by Susanna - Censored by GoodReads (new)

Mar 06, 2011 02:31PM

Certainly limited to 20th Century. Probably to English-language works as well.

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message 21: by Jason (new)

Mar 06, 2011 02:58PM

Susanna wrote: "Certainly limited to 20th Century. Probably to English-language works as well."

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message 22: by Jason (new)

Mar 06, 2011 02:59PM

And published by Modern Library, now I come to think of it; so hardly representing the top anything but that.

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message 23: by Susanna - Censored by GoodReads (new)

Mar 06, 2011 03:13PM

Well, that's what it's a list of, so yeah.

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message 24: by Paul (last edited Jan 30, 2017 11:53AM) (new)

Jan 30, 2017 11:42AM

This list doesn't seem to have attracted much attention recently. Just to correct a few misconceptions: the original list was the Board's List, not the parallel Readers' List; it consisted of 100 books nominated as the best nonfiction written in English since 1900; and only 16 of the 100 were published at that time by Modern Classics.

If the list now appears to have fewer than 100 titles, this is because some of the books are at present ranked equally here. This is now unlikely to change, as the list has been frozen. The original list order may be seen at the link in the description, above.

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message 25: by Luke (new)

May 26, 2018 02:39PM

Paul wrote: "This list doesn't seem to have attracted much attention recently. Just to correct a few misconceptions: the original list was the Board's List, not the parallel Readers' List; it consisted of 100 b..."

There really are only 95 entries. If you CTRL F and search "g —", which collates the average rating section of each list entry, you'll note that there are only 95 results (96 if including this post) when there should be 100.

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message 26: by Carolin (new)

Feb 27, 2024 07:47AM

Apparently I have to much free time, so I went through the whole list and compared it to the original board's list.
I added the missing five entries:

SCIENCE AND CIVILIZATION IN CHINA by Joseph Needham
CHILDREN OF CRISIS by Robert Coles
A STUDY OF HISTORY by Arnold J. Toynbee
PRESENT AT THE CREATION by Dean Acheson
PATRIOTIC GORE by Edmund Wilson

and also exchanged Jefferson the Virginian for Jefferson and his time
The list should be correct now :)

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