Anyone who reads these 100 books will have acquired as much education as many universities could provide. 

From the ancient classics to the masterpieces of the twentieth century, the Great Books listed here are all the introduction you’ll ever need to the ideas, stories and discoveries that have shaped modern civilization.

In November 1947, the Committee on College Reading published the first edition of Good Reading, edited by J. Sherwood Weber. Since then, it has been revised and updated many times. It's now in its 35th edition.

The Library Journal says "This title should become a standby for  public and academic libraries. It recommends and briefly annotates  about 2500 books in over 100 periods, genres, and subjects;  selections and brief bibliographic essays were done by 30 experts,  mostly academics."

The publishers write, "From prehistoric art to computer science, from Homer and Plato to John Updike and Marshall McLuhan, Good Reading is the one essential volume to help you find your way through the immensely rich and infinitely varied world of books."

Apart from the briefs on about 2000 books and authors, the Committee on College Reading created a list of "100 Significant Books...that many people have found rewarding to know."  The Harvard Classics are included in this list.

This classic list, organized by period, starts with Ancient Times followed by the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The other three sections include the 17th & 18th Centuries, the 19th Century and the 20th Century.

Click here for the list of 100 Great Books