The Economist
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The most influential books of all time
Posted
December 29, 2025
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as posted by the channelWhat books have changed the world? So many books are published each year but few stand the test of time. Journalists from across The Economist discuss which books they think have most shaped society.
Click the link to listen to the whole podcast episode, where we discuss even more books
Here's the full list:
The Bible
The Koran
“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
“The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins
“On the Origin of Species” by Charles Darwin
“Il Saggiatore” by Galileo Galilei
“Two New Sciences” by Galileo Galilei
“Capital in the Twenty-First Century” by Thomas Piketty
“Amusing Ourselves to Death” by Neil Postman
The novels of Philip Pullman
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
“The Satanic Verses” by Salman Rushdie
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
“A Suitable Boy” by Vikram Seth
“Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien
“A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf
Books that imagine that history took a different course
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Guests & Subjects Covered
Suzanne Collins OnCharles Darwin Il SaggiatoreGalileo Galilei CapitalTwenty-First CenturyThomas Piketty Amusing OurselvesNeil Postman TheSalman Rushdie FrankensteinVikram Seth Lord
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