Skip to content

Three thousand years of reading, on one shelf.

The great books list, assembled from all nine of them: St. John's, Columbia, Chicago, Yale and the published canons behind them. 689 works, with a guide to each, the themes it turns on, and the edition worth buying.

Browse the shelf

Most assigned

The OdysseyHomer · c. 725 BCEOn 9 lists The AeneidVirgil · 29-19 BCEOn 9 lists ConfessionsAugustine · 397-400On 9 lists The PrinceNiccolò Machiavelli · 1513On 9 lists LeviathanThomas Hobbes · 1651On 9 lists Discourse on the Origin of InequalityJean-Jacques Rousseau · 1755On 9 lists The IliadHomer · c. 750 BCEOn 8 lists The HistoriesHerodotus · c. 430 BCEOn 8 lists ApologyPlato · c. 395 BCEOn 8 lists The RepublicPlato · c. 375 BCEOn 8 lists Meditations on First PhilosophyRené Descartes · 1641On 8 lists The Wealth of NationsAdam Smith · 1776On 8 lists

Start from your program

All programs →

Three thousand years

Or start from a question