BookRank

Best of the year

Best books of 1976

16 highest-rated books first published in 1976.

← 19751977 →

Why Roots: The Saga of an American Family is #1

Roots: The Saga of an American Family (Alex Haley) scores 8.4/10 from 104 ratings — level with The Selfish Gene at one decimal, and ahead on the exact score.

The score is a weighted average across 3 independent rating sources. A title with few ratings is pulled toward the category average, so a handful of enthusiastic reviews cannot outrank a book that thousands of readers have judged. Method →

  1. Roots: The Saga of an American Family
    Roots: The Saga of an American FamilyAlex Haley · 1976Filmed 1977 Historical fiction104 ratings
    8.48.4 / 10
  2. The Selfish Gene
    The Selfish GeneRichard Dawkins · 1976 Popular science483 ratings
    8.48.4 / 10
  3. Dragonsong
    DragonsongAnne McCaffrey · 1976 Fantasy219 ratings
    8.18.1 / 10
  4. The Hand of Oberon
    The Hand of OberonRoger Zelazny · 1976 Fantasy138 ratings
    8.08.0 / 10
  5. Gateway
    GatewayFrederik Pohl · 1976 Science fiction338 ratings
    7.97.9 / 10
  6. Children of Dune
    Children of DuneFrank Herbert · 1976Filmed 2003 Science fiction1.3K ratings
    7.87.8 / 10
  7. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
    Roll of Thunder, Hear My CryMildred D. Taylor · 1976 Young adult165 ratings
    7.87.8 / 10
  8. The Boys from Brazil
    The Boys from BrazilIra Levin · 1976Filmed 1978 Science fiction75 ratings
    7.77.7 / 10
  9. Raise the Titanic!
    Raise the Titanic!Clive Cussler · 1976 Adventure95 ratings
    7.77.7 / 10
  10. Patternmaster
    PatternmasterOctavia E. Butler · 1976 Science fiction58 ratings
    7.67.6 / 10
  11. A World Out of Time
    A World Out of TimeLarry Niven · 1976 Science fiction51 ratings
    7.67.6 / 10
  12. Slapstick
    SlapstickKurt Vonnegut · 1976 Science fiction143 ratings
    7.67.6 / 10
  13. Interview with the Vampire
    Interview with the VampireAnne Rice · 1976 Horror1.2K ratings
    7.67.6 / 10
  14. Sleeping Murder
    Sleeping MurderAgatha Christie · 1976Filmed 1987 Crime & mystery128 ratings
    7.67.6 / 10
  15. The Dark Side of the Sun
    The Dark Side of the SunTerry Pratchett · 1976 Science fiction52 ratings
    7.57.5 / 10
  16. Eaters of the Dead
    Eaters of the DeadMichael Crichton · 1976Filmed 1999 Fantasy177 ratings
    7.57.5 / 10

Other years