The 25 best books of the 1980s
The 25 highest-ranked books first published in the 1980s in our ranking of 2,819, scored on how much readers love them, their prize, best-list and bestseller record, and current buzz. We rank 202 books of the 1980s in all. How we rank
- 1Ender's Game94.2Must-Read Score
Ender's Game
It won both the Hugo and the Nebula, science fiction's two biggest awards, and it's one of the most widely read science fiction novels ever written.
- 2
The Making of the Atomic Bomb91.1Must-Read ScoreThe Making of the Atomic Bomb
It's widely considered one of the greatest works of narrative history ever written, winning the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and the NBCC Award.
- 3
The Color Purple90.9Must-Read ScoreThe Color Purple
It starts in pain and ends in joy, and the journey between is one of the most moving in American fiction.
- 4
A Brief History of Time89.6Must-Read ScoreA Brief History of Time
It's one of the best-selling science books ever because Hawking makes mind-expanding ideas feel within reach, with wit and wonder.
- 5
Lonesome Dove89.6Must-Read ScoreLonesome Dove
It's the great American Western, and much more: a sweeping, funny, heartbreaking novel about friendship, love and the end of the frontier.
- 6Maus89.6Must-Read Score
Maus
It's the only graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize (a special citation in 1992), and it's on TIME's list of the 100 best nonfiction books.
- 7
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era88.6Must-Read ScoreBattle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
It won the Pulitzer Prize and has been the standard one-volume history for decades because it's both authoritative and genuinely gripping.
- 8
The Handmaid’s Tale88.6Must-Read ScoreThe Handmaid’s Tale
It was a Booker finalist and is one of the most influential dystopian novels ever written, picked for both the BBC's Big Read and the PBS Great American Read.
- 9
Cosmos87.7Must-Read ScoreCosmos
Sagan makes science feel like wonder, and his prose can make you see the night sky differently for the rest of your life.
- 10
Hyperion87.0Must-Read ScoreHyperion
It won the Hugo Award and is one of the most acclaimed science fiction novels ever.
- 11
Parting the Waters : America in the King Years 1954-6386.6Must-Read ScoreParting the Waters : America in the King Years 1954-63
It's widely considered the greatest history of the civil rights movement ever written, and it won the Pulitzer Prize.
- 12
A Bright Shining Lie86.5Must-Read ScoreA Bright Shining Lie
It's widely considered the greatest book about the Vietnam War, winning both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
- 13
The Pillars of the Earth86.1Must-Read ScoreThe Pillars of the Earth
It's one of the best-selling novels of all time, picked for both the BBC's Big Read and the PBS Great American Read.
- 14The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill84.3Must-Read Score
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill
It's on TIME's list of the 100 best nonfiction books ever written, and it reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
- 15Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water84.3Must-Read Score
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water
It's on the Modern Library's list of the best nonfiction ever written and was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.
- 16
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic84.2Must-Read ScoreAnd the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and remains the classic account of the early AIDS crisis.
- 17
Schindler's List84.2Must-Read ScoreSchindler's List
It's an extraordinary true story of an unlikely rescuer, told with great moral seriousness, and it won the Booker Prize.
- 18
Watchmen84.1Must-Read ScoreWatchmen
It's the graphic novel that changed comics forever, a dark, brilliantly constructed story about power and who watches the watchers, and the only graphic novel on TIME's list of the 100 best novels.
- 19
It83.7Must-Read ScoreIt
It spent weeks at #1 on the New York Times list and is one of Stephen King's most famous books.
- 20
The Book of Disquiet82.4Must-Read ScoreThe Book of Disquiet
It's on the Bokklubben World Library of the greatest books, and Pessoa is Portugal's greatest modern writer.
- 21
Arctic Dreams82.4Must-Read ScoreArctic Dreams
It won the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award.
- 22
The Path to Power81.9Must-Read ScoreThe Path to Power
Caro is often called the greatest living biographer, and this is the start of his masterpiece: a gripping study of ambition and power.
- 23
The Name of the Rose81.1Must-Read ScoreThe Name of the Rose
It's one of the best-selling novels of all time, about 50 million copies, was a #1 New York Times bestseller and was an Edgar finalist.
- 24
Beloved80.9Must-Read ScoreBeloved
It won the Pulitzer Prize and was voted the best American novel of the previous twenty-five years in a 2006 New York Times survey of writers.
- 25
The Soul of a New Machine80.9Must-Read ScoreThe Soul of a New Machine
It won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.