A Short History of the World in 50 Books

The book has a unique status as an emblem of human culture and civilization. It is a vessel for sharing stories, dispersing knowledge, examining the nature of our extraordinary species and imagining what lies beyond our known world. Books ultimately provide an invaluable and comprehensive record of what it means to be human.

This volume takes a curated list of fifty of the most influential books of all time, putting each into its historical context. From ancient game-changers like the Epic of Gilgamesh, through sacred texts and works of philosophical rumination by the likes of Confucius and Plato, via scientific treatises, historic ‘firsts’ (like the first printed book) and cultural works of enduring impact (think Shakespeare, Cervantes and Joseph Heller), these are volumes that are at once both products of their societies and vital texts in molding those same civilizations.

It would take a lifetime and more to read and absorb all of them. But this volume allows you to become ridiculously well read in just a fraction of the time. This isn’t a celebration of the canon, it’s about the books that have changed how we think and live – and which have changed the course of history.

Daniel Smith is a non-fiction author and editor who has written across a range of subjects, including politics, economics and social history. He is the author of The Little Book of Big Ideas: 150 Concepts and Breakthroughs that Transformed History and the 'How to Think Like ...' series for Michael O'Mara Books, which has been published in 20 languages and sold over 450,000 copies worldwide. He is also a long-time contributor to The Statesman's Yearbook, the geo-political guide to the world that celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2013. He lives in London with his wife and two children.

Part I: The Ancient World

The Epic of Gilgamesh • Author unknown ........................... 17
Tao Te Ching • Laozi ............................................................... 22
Iliad • Homer .......................................................................... 26
Aesop’s Fables • Aesop .............................................................. 32
The Torah • Moses .................................................................. 37
The Art of War • Sun Tzu ....................................................... 40
Analects • Confucius ............................................................... 45
The Republic • Plato ................................................................ 50
History of Animals • Aristotle ................................................. 56
The Elements • Euclid ............................................................. 61
Bhagavad Gita • Vyasa ........................................................... 65
On the Subject of Cooking • Marcus Gavius Apicius ........... 71
Geographia • Claudius Ptolemy ............................................. 75

Part II: The Middle Ages

The Qur’an • Associates of the Prophet Muhammad ......... 83
Book of Kells • Jerome of Stridon
and unidentified monks ......................................................... 87
The Pillow Book • Sei Shonagon ............................................ 92
The Tale of Genji • Murasaki Shikibu ................................... 98
Magna Carta • Stephen Langton ........................................ 103
The Divine Comedy • Dante Alighieri ................................ 108
Jikji • Baegun ........................................................................ 113
Revelations of Divine Love • Julian of Norwich ................. 118
The Gutenberg Bible • Various / Johannes Gutenberg .... 123
Madrid Codex • Unknown ................................................. 128

Part III: The Early Modern Age

The Four Classic Novels • Various ........................................ 135
The Prince • Niccolò Machiavelli ........................................ 140
The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote
of La Mancha • Miguel de Cervantes ............................. 145
The Complete Works • William Shakespeare ................... 150
Dialogue Concerning the Two
Chief World Systems • Galileo Galilei ............................. 155
Principia • Isaac Newton ..................................................... 160
On the Social Contract; or, Principles of
Political Right • Jean-Jacques Rousseau ......................... 164
A Dictionary of the English Language • Samuel Johnson .. 169
Common Sense • Thomas Paine ........................................... 175
The Wealth of Nations • Adam Smith .................................. 180

Part IV: The Nineteenth Century

Faust • Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ................................ 187
‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’ • Edgar Allan Poe ...... 191
On Liberty • John Stuart Mill .............................................. 196
On the Origin of Species • Charles Darwin ......................... 201
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl • Harriet Jacobs .......... 207
Das Kapital • Karl Marx ...................................................... 212
War and Peace • Leo Tolstoy ................................................ 216
The Interpretation of Dreams • Sigmund Freud .................. 220

Part V: 1900 Onwards

General Theory of Relativity • Albert Einstein .................... 229
The Diary of a Young Girl • Anne Frank ............................. 234
Nineteen Eighty-Four • George Orwell ............................... 239
The Second Sex • Simone de Beauvoir ................................. 245
Catch-22 • Joseph Heller ..................................................... 250
Silent Spring • Rachel Carson .............................................. 255
Why We Can’t Wait • Martin Luther King Jr ..................... 261
A Brief History of Time • Stephen Hawking ...................... 266
Long Walk to Freedom • Nelson Mandela ........................... 271