Posted here for your convenience is the fullest free eBook list of Mortimer Adler’s Great Books of the Western World.
What makes this list more useful than the eBooks @ Adelaide list, from which the bulk of this version comes, is that several of the holes have been filled in by Project Gutenberg, and others by the Internet Archive. Links not provided by eBooks @ Adelaide are italicized. Notably, some links do not lead to eBooks, some of these even to simple Web pages. If an eBook or PDF of the appropriate work becomes available, leave a comment so this list can be updated. However, due to copyright concerns, please do not link to free eBook versions of books still under copyright in the United States.
- Agamemnon / Aeschylus
- The Choephori / Aeschylus
- The Eumenides / Aeschylus
- The Persians / Aeschylus
- Prometheus Bound / Aeschylus
- The Seven against Thebes / Aeschylus
- The Suppliants / Aeschylus
- Ajax / Sophocles
- Electra / Sophocles
- The Oedipus Trilogy of Sophocles
(Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone) - Philoctetes / Sophocles
- The Trachiniae / Sophocles
- Rhesus / Euripides
- Medea / Euripides
- Hippolytus / Euripides
- Alcestis / Euripides
- The Heracleidae / Euripides
- The Suppliants / Euripides
- The Trojan Women / Euripides
- Ion / Euripides
- Helen / Euripides
- Andromache / Euripides
- Electra / Euripides
- The Bacchantes / Euripides
- Hecuba / Euripides
- Heracles / Euripides
- The Phoenissae / Euripides
- Orestes / Euripides
- Iphigenia in Tauris / Euripides
- Iphigenia at Aulis / Euripides
- The Cyclops / Euripides
Aristophanes (ca. 446 BC – 385 Bc)
- The Acharnians / Aristophanes
- The Knights / Aristophanes
- The Clouds / Aristophanes
- The Wasps / Aristophanes
- Peace / Aristophanes
- The Birds / Aristophanes
- The Frogs / Aristophanes
- Lysistrata / Aristophanes
- The Thesmophoriazusae /Aristophanes
- The Ecclesiazusae / Aristophanes
- Plutus / Aristophanes
- Charmides, or Temperance / Plato
- Lysis; or Friendship / Plato
- Laches, or Courage / Plato
- Protagoras / Plato
- Euthydemus / Plato
- Cratylus / Plato
- Phaedrus / Plato
- Ion / Plato
- The Symposium / Plato
- Meno / Plato
- Euthyphro / Plato
- Apology / Plato
- Crito / Plato
- Phaedo / Plato
- Gorgias / Plato
- The Republic / Plato
- Timaeus / Plato
- Critias / Plato
- Parmenides / Plato
- Theaetetus / Plato
- The Sophist / Plato
- The Statesman / Plato
- Philebus / Plato
- Laws / Plato
- The Seventh Letter / Plato
- The Categories / Aristotle
- On Interpretation / Aristotle
- Prior Analytics / Aristotle
- Posterior Analytics / Aristotle
- Topics / Aristotle
- On Sophistical Refutations / Aristotle
- Physics / Aristotle
- On Generation and Corruption / Aristotle
- Meteorology / Aristotle
- Metaphysics / Aristotle
- On the Soul / Aristotle
- On Dreams / Aristotle
- On Longevity and Shortness of Life / Aristotle
- On Memory and Reminiscence /Aristotle
- On Prophesying by Dreams / Aristotle
- On Sense and the Sensible /Aristotle
- On Sleep and Sleeplessness / Aristotle
- On the Heavens / Aristotle
- On Youth and Old Age, On Life and Death, On Breathing / Aristotle
- The History of Animals / Aristotle
- On the Parts of Animals / Aristotle
- On the Motion of Animals / Aristotle
- On the Gait of Animals / Aristotle
- On the Generation of Animals / Aristotle
- Nicomachean Ethics / Aristotle
- Politics / Aristotle
- The Athenian Constitution / Aristotle
- Rhetoric / Aristotle
- Poetics / Aristotle
- Works (approximation)
All works listed between On the Sphere and Cylinder and the Book of Lemmas may be found in The Works of Archimedes.
- On the Sphere and Cylinder
- Measurement of a Circle
- On Conoids and Spheroids
- On Spirals
- On the Equilibrium of Planes
- The Sand-Reckoner
- The Quadrature of the Parabola
- On Floating Bodies
- Book of Lemmas
- The Method Treating of Mechanical Problems
Apollonius of Perga, 262 BC–ca. 190 BC
Cornelius Tacitus, ca.56–ca.120 AD
Ptolemy
- The Almagest (approximation)
Nicolaus Copernicus, 1473–1543
- On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres (approximation, and not in ePub)
- Epitome of Copernican Astronomy (Books IV – V)
- The Harmonies of the World (Book V)
Geoffrey Chaucer, ca.1343–1400
Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469–1527
François Rabelais, 1494?–1553?
Michel de Montaigne, 1533–1592
William Shakespeare, 1564–1616
- The First Part of King Henry the Sixth / William Shakespeare
- The Second Part of King Henry the Sixth / William Shakespeare
- The third part of King Henry the Sixth / William Shakespeare
- The Life and Death of Richard the Third / William Shakespeare
- The Comedy of errors / William Shakespeare
- Titus Andronicus / William Shakespeare
- The Taming of the Shrew / William Shakespeare
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona / William Shakespeare
- Love’s Labour ‘s Lost / William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet / William Shakespeare
- The Life and Death of Richard the Second / William Shakespeare
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream / William Shakespeare
- The Life and Death of King John / William Shakespeare
- The Merchant of Venice / William Shakespeare
- The first part of King Henry the Fourth / William Shakespeare
- The second part of King Henry the Fourth / William Shakespeare
- Much Ado About Nothing / William Shakespeare
- The Life of King Henry the Fifth / William Shakespeare
- The Life and Death of Julius Ceasar / William Shakespeare
- As you like it / William Shakespeare
- Twelfth Night; or, what you will / William Shakespeare
- The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark / William Shakespeare
- The Merry Wives of Windsor / William Shakespeare
- The History of Troilus and Cressida / William Shakespeare
- All’s Well that Ends Well / William Shakespeare
- Measure for Measure / William Shakespeare
- Othello, the Moore of Venice / William Shakespeare
- King Lear / William Shakespeare
- Macbeth / William Shakespeare
- Antony and Cleopatra / William Shakespeare
- The Tragedy of Coriolanus / William Shakespeare
- The Life of Timon of Athens / William Shakespeare
- Pericles, Prince of Tyre / William Shakespeare
- Cymbeline / William Shakespeare
- The Winter’s Tale / William Shakespeare
- The Tempest / William Shakespeare
- The Life of King Henry the Eighth / William Shakespeare
- The Sonnets / William Shakespeare
- On the Loadstone and Magnetic Bodies
- On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals / William Harvey
- On the Circulation of Blood
- On the Generation of Animals
Miguel de Cervantes, 1547–1616
- The Advancement of Learning / Francis Bacon
- The New Organon / Francis Bacon
- The New Atlantis / Francis Bacon
- Rules for the Direction of the Mind
- Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Seeking the Truth in the Sciences / René Descartes
- Meditations on First Philosophy
- Objections Against the Meditations and Replies
- The Geometry
Benedict de Spinoza, 1632–1677
- The Provincial Letters / Blaise Pascal
- Pensées / Blaise Pascal
- Scientific and mathematical essays (approximation)
- A Letter Concerning Toleration / John Locke
- Second Treatise of Civil Government / John Locke
- An Essay Concerning Human Understanding / John Locke
Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu
Jean–Jacques Rousseau, 1712–1778
- Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men / Jean-Jacques Rosseau
- A Discourse on Political Economy
- The Social Contract / Jean-Jacques Rosseau
- The Critique of Pure Reason / Immanuel Kant
- Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals / Immanuel Kant
- The Critique of Practical Reason / Immanuel Kant
- Introduction to the Metaphysic of Morals / Immanuel Kant
- The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics / Immanuel Kant
- The Science of Right / Immanuel Kant
- The Critique of Judgement. Part I: Critique of Aesthetic Judgement / Immanuel Kant
American State Papers
- Declaration of Independence
- Articles of Confederation
- The Constitution of the United States of America
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay
- On Liberty / John Stuart Mill
- Representative Government / John Stuart Mill
- Utilitarianism / John Stuart Mill
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, 1743–1794
Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier
Michael Faraday
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, 1770–1831
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749–1832
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
Sigmund Freud (Consider downloading from here)
- The Origin and Development of Psycho-Analysis
- Selected Papers on Hysteria
- The Sexual Enlightenment of Children
- The Future Prospects of Psycho-Analytic Therapy
- Observations on “Wild” Psycho-Analysis
- The Interpretation of Dreams
- On Narcissism
- Instincts and Their Vicissitudes
- Repression
- The Unconscious
- A General Introduction to Psycho-Analysis
- Beyond the Pleasure Principle
- Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego
- The Ego and the Id
- Inhibitions, Symptoms, and Anxiety
- Thoughts for the Times on War and Death
- Civilization and Its Discontents
- New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis
Second edition
To the pre-20th century books the second edition added the following:
- John Calvin
-
- Institutes of the Christian Religion (Selections) (approximation, as full version)
- Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1466–1536
- Molière, 1622–1673 (Most plays are available at the Internet Archive)
-
- The School for Wives
- The Critique of the School for Wives
- Tartuffe ; or The Hypocrite / Molière
- Don Juan
- The Miser
- The Would-Be Gentleman
- The Would-Be Invalid
- Jean Racine
-
- Bérénice
- Phèdre
- Voltaire, 1694–1778
- Denis Diderot
- Søren Kierkegaard
-
- Fear and Trembling (approximation, and full version but not in ePub)
- Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844–1900
- Alexis de Tocqueville, 1805–1859
- Honore de Balzac, 1799–1850
- Jane Austen, 1775–1817
- George Eliot, 1819–1880
- Charles Dickens, 1812–1870
- Mark Twain, 1835–1910
- Henrik Ibsen, 1828–1906
The six volumes of 20th century material consisted of the following:
- William James, 1842–1910
- Henri Bergson
- John Dewey
- Alfred North Whitehead, 1861–1947
- Bertrand Russell
- Martin Heidegger
-
- What Is Metaphysics?
- Ludwig Wittgenstein
-
- Philosophical Investigations (better version needed)
- Karl Barth
-
- The Word of God and the Word of Man
- Henri Poincaré
- Max Planck
-
- Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers
- Alfred North Whitehead, 1861–1947
- Albert Einstein
- Arthur Eddington
-
- The Expanding Universe
- Niels Bohr
-
- Atomic Theory and the Description of Nature (selections)
- Discussion with Einstein on Epistemology
- G. H. Hardy
-
- A Mathematician’s Apology
- Werner Heisenberg
-
- Physics and Philosophy
- Erwin Schrödinger
- Theodosius Dobzhansky, 1900-1975
-
- Genetics and the Origin of Species (approximation)
- C. H. Waddington, 1905–1975
-
- The Nature of Life
- Thorstein Veblen, 1857–1929
- R. H. Tawney, 1880-1962
- John Maynard Keynes, 1883–1946
- Sir James George Frazer, 1854–1941
- Max Weber
-
- Essays in Sociology (selections)
- Johan Huizinga
- Claude Lévi-Strauss
-
- Structural Anthropology (selections)
- Henry James, 1843–1916
- George Bernard Shaw, 1856–1950
-
- Saint Joan
- Joseph Conrad, 1857–1924
- Anton Chekhov, 1860–1904
- Luigi Pirandello, 1867-1936
- Marcel Proust, 1871–1922
- Willa Cather, 1873–1947
- Thomas Mann, 1875-1955
- James Joyce, 1882–1941
- Virginia Woolf, 1882–1941
-
- To the Lighthouse
- Franz Kafka, 1883–1924
- D. H. Lawrence, 1885–1930
-
- The Prussian Officer
- T. S. Eliot
- Eugene O’Neill, 1888–1953
-
- Mourning Becomes Electra
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1896–1940
-
- The Great Gatsby
- William Faulkner, 1897-1962
- Bertolt Brecht, 1898-1956
-
- Mother Courage and Her Children
- Ernest Hemingway, 1899-1961
- George Orwell, 1903–1950
-
- Animal Farm
- Samuel Beckett, 1906-1989
-
- Waiting for Godot
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The link to Capital seems like a dead one. However, you can get an ebook version here:
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Yeah, I saw that in my original searches, but I tried to give preference to downloadable things. But if that’s what we have, that’s what we have.I rescind my earlier whine. That is a much superior link!
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There are many great books from around the world that should be included with the pages of gut Great Books, but at least these pages give us a reference and starting point on the important aspects of learning from different cultures, subjects, and people.
I cannot say enough about it since I am in my retirement years and cannot afford purchasing the complete set. Yes, even people my age like and need to learn. This resource provides a consolidated starting point; thank you.
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The Syntopicon can be found here: https://archive.org/details/greatideasvolii030337mbp
I use GBWW as the principal resource for an aesthetics course that I teach at Chattanooga High, Center for Creative Arts. Having just retired, I was considering whether to purchase the set, volume by volume, at my local used book store. Finding this resource on line may now make that mote. Bravo!
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Great collection….
Thanks a lot…
I found here many books which I want to read…
Thank you Soo much again….
Years ago I purchased a cd collection of similar title. They gave me a whole new perspective. Now, thanks to your ‘behind the scenes’ work in pulling this list together, I can read – and actually FEEL – the power of the authors. Thank you
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Here’s a link to:
Nicolaus Copernicus, 1473–1543
https://archive.org/details/on-the-revolutions-of-celestial-spheres/page/n18
I would like to thank you for all of your great effort and time that you’ve put into this beautiful list of Classics of..In which it’s clear that you’ve been driven by the love for Sophos, in the actual meaning of the term Philosophy.
Blessings to you and your family.
From heart to heart,
A lover of wisdom.
Here’s a link to:
Johannes Kepler, 1571–1630 – Harmonies of the world.
Here’s a link to:
Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu – The Spirit of the Laws
Here’s a link to:
Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu – The Spirit of the Laws.
Here’s a link to:
Alfred North Whitehead, 1861–1947 – An Introduction to Mathematics
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/41568/41568-pdf.pdf?session_id=050a59f170f2ce0d5c97318aa40d0a7b72ab8a23
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Links of Hippocrates works: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/h/hippocrates/
Content:
On Airs, Waters, And Places
Aphorisms
On The Articulations
Of The Epidemics
On Fistulae
On Fractures
On Injuries Of The Head
On Hemorrhoids
The Law
On Ancient Medicine
The Oath
The Book Of Prognostics
Instruments Of Reduction
On Regimen In Acute Diseases
On The Sacred Disease
On The Surgery
On Ulcers
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Almost all of the links are DEAD. Why?
Does anyone have an archive of this? Most of the links no longer work.
You will have to dig on the Internet. All of these works can be found for free on the web. It’s unfortunate that they killed these links. Being in the public domain, I do not understand why they did this.
They are purging everything related to western civilization. It is called “The Great Reset”, look it up.
I very much enjoy perusing your site. I have a few choice comments and opinions. For example, the Gateway to the Great Books is such an important set and you seem to have overlooked some if not all of it’s wealth of information. Specifically, I would suggest you include a link to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Anyway, I believe you have the information you would need to contact me and I would appreciate if if you did that.
TIA