Miscellaneous Great Books Sites

Great Books Lists

• The 100 Great Books List

  The 100 Great Books list posted here is not complete. There are many Great Books lists out there, some over 100 books, some under. While we have been reluctant to decide between books in order to narrow or expand the list(s), until we have read them all ourselves, the following incomplete list contains the ones we are sure should be on a 100 Great Books list. We have posted this list as a place to start, not necessarily as a place to end; since many of us did not have the benefit of being educated with the Great Books in our own childhoods and education. We have not attempted to divide up the list into grade levels in any way. The books are listed chronologically, to our knowledge.

• Access Foundation: Access the Great Books

  ACCESS FOUNDATION holds that time spent reading the Great Books is time well spent. Great Books lists are not meant to be exclusive of any tradition or culture, but rather form a foundation of knowledge on which to stand. Reading the great books eliminates a good deal of the "busyness" of modern life and encourages self-examination, increases reflection, and provokes intellectual curiosity.

• The Great Books

  A hypertext-annotated compilation of lists of major works recommended by St. John's College {Annapolis, Maryland}, Thomas Aquinas College {Santa Paula, California}, et alia. Several publishers, writers, and thinkers have drawn lists of the quintessential works of Western Civilization. This page presents several such lists along with links to the texts available on the Web.

• Great Books Lists

  This page is esssentially a list of lists concerning the Great Books. It includes references to links on the web and published works.

• Great Books of Western Civilization

  This page lists many of the great books of western civilization, and provides links to the texts on the internet.

• The Great Books of Western Civilization

  This site provides links that survey western civilization's political, religious, philosophical, and scientific thought. From the study of these works, one can increase his skills in disciplined thinking and effective writing, can heighten their moral and ethical reflectiveness, and can understand how the seminal ideas of the past have formed our twentieth and twenty-first century selves.

• Great Books of the Western World

  This list by Ken Roberts of Melbourne, Ontario, Canada of the original 1952 edition of the 54-volume set of Great Books of the Western World (in English translation) includes the following works. Authors are listed here in order of their birthdates (insofar as known). Many of these works are available on the Internet. The online version of a work may not be the same translation as that published in the Great Books set.

• The List

  The List is a compiliation of all the "great" books of human history. Great, of course, is a relative term. It means books which have influenced human thought, either in the time they were written or for all time. Part of the reason it is on the Web is because it is mutable.

• The Master Works of Western Civilzation

  Several publishers, writers, and thinkers have drawn lists of the quintessential works of Western Civilization. This page presents several such lists along with links to the texts available on the Web.

• The Western Canon

  The purpose of this site is to provide a single location where the Internet community can come and find links to the most important written works of western civilization.

Organizations

• The Association for Core Texts and Courses

  The Association for Core Texts and Courses brings together colleges and universities that promote the integrated and common study of world classics and other texts of major cultural significance. Members of ACTC advocate the growth of such programs in order to strengthen undergraduate education in the United States and Canada. ACTC challenges both aimless curricular choice and the current dominance of vocational, professional and specialized curricula. ACTC is committed to the education of free citizens, equipped to conduct their public and private lives informed by the best that has been thought and expressed in Western and other traditions.

• Center for the Study of The Great Ideas, Chicago, Illinois

  Founded by Mortimer J. Adler and Max Weismann, the Center is dedicated to help awaken citizens from their moral and intellectual slumbers and to understand why philosophy is everybody's business: the possibility of finding sound and practical answers to questions about the good life and the good society and philosophy's ability to answer the basic normative questions, What ought we seek in life? and How ought we to seek it?

  List of Great Books Colleges

• The Great Books Foundation, Chicago, Illinois

  The Great Books Foundation offers people of all ages an exciting way to read and discuss outstanding works of literature. A nonprofit educational organization with headquarters in Chicago, we publish reading series for children and adults and conduct training in the shared inquiry method throughout the United States and abroad.

Reading Groups

• The Great Books Connection: A Newsletter For the Great Books Councils, Groups and the Foundation

  Last October in Chicago, representatives of the Great Books Regions, Groups and the Foundation decided to start a nationwide Newsletter that will be distributed by electronic means. The content of our Newsletter should be anything that is of interest to the participants, for instance a yearly calendar of events, news and thoughts having impact on Great Books, experience of approaches to finding new members or to founding new groups, opportunities for training leaders.

• Great Books for the Intellect, Humboldt County, California

  Modeled after the Great Books Discussion Groups, the Redwood Couch Orchids are in their third year of grueling immersion in the classics. Participants meet to discuss the month's selection at one of their homes, more or less in rotation, on the first Thursday of the month at 7:30 PM.

• Great Books Seminar at the Danville Public Library, Danville, Illinois

  The GREAT BOOKS course offered this fall will be centered on the civilization of ancient Athens. The course will explore the relationships between pragmatism and morality in politics and society, and the conflicts which arise between individuals and the culture in which they live. The Department of Continuing Education of the Danville Area Community College and the Danville Public Library have joined together to bring this seminar to you.

• Killdevilhill.Com Great Books Reading Club

  THE GREAT BOOKS READING GROUP: Ahoy there. The best teachers of the Great Books are the texts themselves, but at the same time, the Great Books gain their fullest splendor when read within a living context. The Kill Devil Hill Great Books Club consists of a fleet of literary vessels which voyage forth once a month in the reading of a Great Book. Aboard each literary vessel shall be a Disussion Deck upon which a contemporary community shall develop which is devoted to completing the book in tandem.

  READING SCHEDULE & HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Each ship leaves on the first of every month, and each voyage is twenty-eight days in duration. The reading schedule is given below, along with links to the three ship's Discussion Decks. If you have the time, feel free to sail simultaneously aboard all three ships. Upon the Discussion Deck you can share your reflections on the cool scenery of the day's chapter with the other crew members. Each Deck provides a twenty-four hour forum, so as to accomodate saliors from all parts of this watery globe.

• New England Great Books Council

  The New England Great Books Council represents local groups from the 6-state New England region of North America, USA. In addition to being a resource for local groups, this council sponsors a variety of events throughout the year, open to all adults who have an interest in literature and a willingness to share ideas through discussions of great books.

• Reading and Discussion Group

  The people that are sponsoring this web site participate in a classics reading and discussion group at Concordia University in Irvine, California. The group was begun with the same goals as that of a liberal arts education, to increase knowledge and improve critical thinking and writing skills.

• San Francisco Bay Area Great Books Council

• The Top 100 Books Club

  A site dedicated to reading the one hundred greatest books of all time. Reading one book per quarter for the next twenty-five years.

Reading Programs

• Great Books Reading List 1

  This "reading list 1" provides links to online editions, if available, of the readings which were included in the "first year reading list" of the Great Books of the Western World.

• Great Books Reading List 2

  This "reading list 2" provides links to online editions, if available, of the readings which were included in the "second year reading list" of the Great Books of the Western World.

Related Stuff

• BookSpot feature - The Great Books

  They're the books you were supposed to read in college, but didn't. The great philophers and authors. The Bible. Plato's Republic. Dante's Inferno. Maybe you read them, but faintly remember the plot line, much less the nuggets of wisdom they held.

• The Discovery Channel School: Great Books Theme Page, Spring 1998

  This page offers a variety of information to help explain and explore the Great Books theme, including an overview, a complete list of programs, interesting theme-related classroom activities, useful links, an invitation to join our Forum on this theme, and related products from their catalog.

• Great Books and Authors

• Great Books Events

  This page and its attachments are designed to provide easily accessible information about Great Books events. This new way of spreading Great Books information has been started in September 1995. Any Council or group connected with the Great Books Foundation may apply for publication of their events here.

• Great Books Quiz

  Brock University's Great Books Quiz is an online quiz touching literature, politics, history, philosophy. Many graphics, pictures of great writers, samplings of great texts. Incorporates great ideas and great works of art, with a little humor. Good fun for bright general readers.

• The Great Books Search

  [Ed. comments--Only remotely related to the "great books" as I define them, I still think this is an interesting site to view. Their description follows. . . .] For the first time in history, it is possible to find out what people's favorite books are all over the world, regardless of the language or country the book was written in, the gender or era of the author, or even the size of the press run. Everyone in the world with an email address is eligible to vote for up to 100 titles during the year. Duplicate votes will be cancelled by the database. If you have more than one email address, please choose one of them for all your votes. Each week, the top 100 books will be posted at this site. The Great Books Search is a project of Murray State University of Murray KY.

• Great Books WebRing List of Sites

• InteliQuest Learning Systems: The Knowledge Company

  From birth we have an inborn desire to learn, to explore and to discover. This desire lasts throughout our lifetime. The problem is that as intelligent adults we don't have the time to learn the things we would like to know or should know. We don't have the time, for example, to read the great books of world literature...to study the lives of great people...to appreciate and understand the history and dynamics of classical music. The gap between what we want to know versus what we do know causes in many of us feelings of inadequacy that need to be resolved. InteliQuest Learning Systems is dedicated to bridging this gap by developing learning systems that allow busy people to develop, in a short period of time, a mastery of this type of knowledge. It is the mission of InteliQuest Learning Systems to bring the power of knowledge to all those who desire to acquire it -- to ignite the passion and obsession for learning that brings joy, vitality and purpose to life.

• Terrence Berres's Virtual Study

  The Reading Rat lists authors and titles (what to read) and for each title lists recommendations of it (who says so), links to electronic versions (where to find it) and resources for study (what of it).

• Western Canon University

  At www.westerncanon.com you'll find the world's largest collection of Lecture Halls and Live Recitation Chats devoted to the Greats. Books, like life, gain their fullest glory as a shared experience, and the founders hope that the lecture halls of Western Canon University will foster the world's greatest conversation. Many of the over one hundred and fifty authors at westerncanon.com possessed diametrically opposing views, and the prudent student shall seek to acquaint their minds with all philosophies, while arguing for the good and refuting the bad. So welcome to Western Canon University, where the professors are the Great Books of the Western Heritage, the lecture halls extend throughout the watery globe, and the daily homework assignment is to live one's life in the context of the Greats. All students will be expected to adhere to gentlemanly standards of conduct while ruggedly pursuing the Truth with a sense of honor equalled by a sense of humor.

Tutorials

• Escondido Tutorial Service's Great Books Tutorial (Requires a registration fee)

  The Great Books Tutorial has been designed to develop Christian minds that will understand and discern the influences that have shaped our culture. Western history is a tremendously rich saga. Studying the great books gives us the opportunity to see first hand the ideas that have directed our cultural history. The reading of the great books culminates a good classical education as it requires all the skills that classical education aims to develop in a child.

  The Great Books Tutorial is offered through the Internet. The tutorial meets for two hours a week and we discuss the readings listed in the curriculum guide. I will act as tutor and guide the discussion so that the necessary fundamentals are understood from each work. It is expected that the students will have done their readings with enough care that they are ready to articulate and discuss their understanding of the texts.

• Schola Classical Tutorials's Great Books Tutorial (Requires a registration fee)

  If you could take only ten books to a deserted island on which you were to be marooned for the rest of your life, what would they be? As Mortimer Adler says, this is no game--we are all in precisely that position. We are simply unable to read all the books there are; therefore, we had better choose well. Some books exercise our minds by their rigor and move our spirits by their beauty with every reading, some books help us communicate with our culture because they have been a common element in education for centuries, some books aid our understanding of the physical world by a clear exposition of careful observations by powerful minds, but only a very few books do any of these things well. And as C. S. Lewis says, old books give us a radically different perspective on life and our assumptions, and no modern books can do this at all, no matter how good they are.

  As Christians, we understand that ours is an historical faith, one that originated, developed, and grew in certain times at certain places. To study and understand the long stream of history and thought, and to comprehend our place in that stream, is to increase our appreciation of our cultural inheritance, our ability to use wisely and build faithfully upon that inheritance, and our ability to understand and respond to God's work in history.

  The conclusion we may draw from all of this is that the old books are best, and the best of the old books are the best of all. That is why we read the Great Books.

  The first year covers the great works of the ancient Greeks, the second year those of the ancient Romans, the third year those of the medieval and renaissance periods, and the fourth year those of the last three centuries. The students will be expected to read the assignments carefully, to participate fully in discussions, to write essays based on the reading, and to have the required editions of the books.

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