The Short Answer
Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren’s reading list is a set of 137 numbered recommendations in Appendix A of the revised 1972 edition of How to Read a Book. Great Books of the Western World is a specific multi-volume anthology published by Encyclopaedia Britannica. They overlap substantially, but they are not the same list, the same set of works, or the same kind of project.
The distinction matters because “Adler’s list” is often used loosely online. The Appendix A list does not contain exactly 137 individual books. Many numbered entries identify an author and several recommended works, while others name a text or body of writings. The Britannica collection, by contrast, contains editions and translations selected for inclusion in a physical set.
Readers can use either project independently. They can also use the Britannica volumes as one source of texts while following the complete Mortimer Adler reading list.
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What Is the Mortimer Adler Reading List?
Appendix A of the 1972 revision of How to Read a Book presents “A Recommended Reading List.” The book was written by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren, so it is more accurate to recognize both authors even though the list is commonly associated with Adler alone.
The recommendations are arranged broadly through historical time, beginning with ancient works and extending into the twentieth century. The list crosses literature, philosophy, religion, history, political thought, mathematics, natural science, economics, psychology, and social theory.
Its numbered structure can be misleading. An entry such as an author followed by several titles may generate several separate reading projects. Broad labels such as “works” or “dialogues” require the reader to decide which texts and editions to use. Completing a numbered recommendation can therefore mean something different from completing one bound volume.
The list’s purpose is pedagogical. It appears in a book about developing reading skill and accompanies the authors’ discussions of inspectional, analytical, and syntopical reading. It tells readers what kinds of demanding works might reward those skills, but it does not supply the works themselves.
What Is Great Books of the Western World?
Great Books of the Western World is an Encyclopaedia Britannica publishing project associated with Robert Maynard Hutchins and Mortimer Adler. The first edition appeared in 1952 as a 54-volume set. It combined literary, philosophical, theological, historical, political, mathematical, and scientific works selected to represent major strands of Western thought.
The first edition opened with Hutchins’s The Great Conversation. Two further volumes contained the Syntopicon, an elaborate topical index organized around 102 “Great Ideas.” The remaining volumes contained the selected primary texts, generally arranged according to the historical period of their authors.
A second edition appeared in 1990. It expanded the collection from 54 to 60 volumes, revised portions of the earlier set, and added substantial twentieth-century material. The second edition is commonly described as containing 517 works by 130 authors. Because the editions differ, statements about “the” Britannica set should specify whether they refer to 1952 or 1990.
The collection is an anthology rather than a checklist. It determines which version of a work appears, which translation is used, whether multiple authors share a volume, and how supporting tools are organized. Owning the set gives a reader many texts in one format, but it does not guarantee that every work recommended in Appendix A is included.
The Most Important Differences
A recommendation list versus a published anthology
Appendix A points outward to books the reader must locate. The Britannica set supplies a defined library of selected texts. One is flexible about publishers and translations; the other embodies editorial decisions in a particular edition.
137 entries versus 54 or 60 volumes
The numbers measure different things. Appendix A has 137 numbered recommendations, not exactly 137 books. The Britannica editions have 54 or 60 physical volumes, but many volumes contain several works and sometimes several authors. Comparing 137 with 54 or 60 does not reveal which project contains “more books.”
Different dates and editorial moments
The first Britannica edition appeared in 1952. The revised How to Read a Book list appeared twenty years later, allowing the recommendation list to reflect a later horizon. The second Britannica edition arrived in 1990 and substantially enlarged twentieth-century representation. The projects therefore cannot be treated as if they were produced simultaneously from one frozen master list.
Different twentieth-century coverage
The 1952 collection’s twentieth-century representation was extremely limited. Appendix A extends much farther into modern thought, while the 1990 edition added six volumes devoted to twentieth-century works. Even then, the selected authors and works do not simply reproduce the Appendix A recommendations.
Edition and translation choice
Following Appendix A lets readers choose modern translations, annotated editions, inexpensive paperbacks, or public-domain texts. The Britannica volumes offer consistency and convenience, but some readers find certain older translations or the dense page design less accessible. The best textual source depends on whether the priority is uniformity, scholarship, readability, cost, or comparison.
Where the Two Projects Overlap
The shared core is considerable. Homer, the Greek dramatists, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Adam Smith, Darwin, Marx, and Freud are among the major figures that connect the two undertakings.
The overlap reflects a common educational ambition: giving non-specialist readers direct access to works that shaped major arguments about human beings and the world. Both projects resist the idea that adults should encounter classics only through textbooks or expert summaries.
Overlap does not mean identical coverage. One project may recommend a wider range of an author’s writings, while the anthology prints a specific selection. Some Appendix A writers do not appear in a particular Britannica edition, and some selections in the Britannica set do not correspond neatly to a numbered Appendix A entry.
The Role of the Syntopicon
The Syntopicon is one of the clearest reasons a reader might seek the Britannica set. It is not merely a conventional index of names and titles. It organizes references around 102 recurring ideas and provides a map for comparing passages across authors.
A reader investigating justice, liberty, education, love, war, democracy, or truth can use the Syntopicon to identify relevant locations throughout the collection. This supports the practice Adler and Van Doren call syntopical reading: studying several works in relation to a common question.
The map still requires judgment. Its categories reflect the editors’ interpretation of the tradition, and a passage located under one idea may belong to several conversations. Readers should use the index to generate routes through the books, not as a substitute for reading them.
Which One Should You Use?
Use Appendix A when you want flexibility
The recommendation list is better suited to readers who want to select their own editions, read digitally or through a library, substitute more accessible translations, and track progress author by author. It also gives the project an explicit chronological spine extending through the twentieth century.
Use the Britannica set when you want an integrated library
The set is attractive when readers value a uniform collection, want the Syntopicon, or prefer having many core texts available without acquiring them separately. Used sets can also be economical relative to buying dozens of individual scholarly editions, although condition, edition, print size, and missing volumes matter.
Use neither as an inflexible command
Both projects are editorial constructions, not neutral inventories of every book worth reading. A reader can add neglected authors, non-Western traditions, modern scholarship, and works connected to personal questions. Expansion is compatible with serious engagement with the inherited canon.
How to Use Them Together
- Use Appendix A as the master tracker. Record progress by numbered recommendation and by individual work.
- Check the Britannica contents. Determine whether the recommended work appears in your edition of the set.
- Evaluate the included translation. Compare a sample with a modern alternative when readability is a concern.
- Use the Syntopicon for thematic connections. Let recurring questions create smaller reading projects inside the chronological list.
- Acquire separate editions when useful. Better annotations, introductions, maps, line numbers, or translations can justify reading outside the set.
This approach treats the collection as a resource rather than a boundary. It also matches the distinction among inspectional, analytical, and syntopical reading described in Adler’s four levels of reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there exactly 137 books on Mortimer Adler’s list?
No. There are 137 numbered recommendations. Many include several works, so the number of individual books or texts is considerably larger and depends partly on how broad entries are interpreted.
Does the Britannica set contain every work on Appendix A?
No. It contains a substantial shared core, but neither the 1952 nor the 1990 edition is a physical reproduction of the 1972 list.
Which edition of Great Books of the Western World is better?
The 1952 edition preserves the original structure and Hutchins’s opening volume. The 1990 edition expands twentieth-century coverage and updates portions of the set. The better choice depends on availability, price, translations, and the reader’s interests.
Do I need to own the Britannica set to follow Adler’s list?
No. The works can be obtained through libraries, individual editions, ebooks, and public-domain collections. Owning the set is a convenience, not a requirement.
Should I read the Britannica volumes in numerical order?
Not necessarily. Their broad historical arrangement makes numerical order possible, but beginners may benefit from a shorter entry sequence or a thematic path through the Syntopicon.
Mortimer Adler's Reading List 
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