Great Books of the Western World is a series of books originally published in the United States in 1952, by Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., to present the great books in a 54-volume set.
The original editors had three criteria for including a book in the series drawn from Western Civilization: the book must have been relevant to contemporary matters, and not only important in its historical context; it must be rewarding to re-read repeatedly with respect to liberal education; and it must be a part of "the great conversation about the great ideas", relevant to at least 25 of the 102 "Great Ideas" as identified by the editor of the series's comprehensive index, what they dubbed the "Syntopicon", to which they belonged.
Books available: