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Graduate Level intermediate Books Authors Literature General Knowledge
Important Books and Authors: India, World & Holy Books for PSC Exams
60+ frequently asked books and their authors for Kerala PSC — Indian classics, world literature, autobiographies, holy books, and Nobel Prize winners in Literature.
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📋 At a glance
— 60+ frequently asked books and their authors for Kerala PSC — Indian classics, world literature, autobiographies, holy books, and Nobel Prize winners in Literature.
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Books and Authors is a recurring topic in Kerala PSC exams with 2-4 questions per paper. This note covers 60+ important works organised by category for efficient revision.
Indian Books and Authors
| Book | Author | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Arthashastra | Kautilya (Chanakya) | Treatise on statecraft, economics, military strategy (4th century BCE) |
| Discovery of India | Jawaharlal Nehru | Written in Ahmednagar Fort jail (1944) |
| My Experiments with Truth | Mahatma Gandhi | Autobiography; originally in Gujarati |
| Gitanjali | Rabindranath Tagore | Won Nobel Prize in Literature (1913) |
| Gora | Rabindranath Tagore | Novel on Indian identity and nationalism |
| Anandamath | Bankim Chandra Chatterjee | Contains “Vande Mataram” song |
| Godan | Munshi Premchand | Classic Hindi novel on peasant life |
| Malgudi Days | R.K. Narayan | Short stories set in fictional Malgudi |
| The Guide | R.K. Narayan | Won Sahitya Akademi Award (1960) |
| Wings of Fire | APJ Abdul Kalam | Autobiography of the Missile Man |
| India Wins Freedom | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad | Memoir on India’s independence |
| Glimpses of World History | Jawaharlal Nehru | Letters to Indira from prison |
| Satyarth Prakash | Swami Dayananda Saraswati | Founder of Arya Samaj; on Vedic dharma |
| Planned Economy for India | M. Visvesvaraya | Proposed industrialisation plan (1934) |
| Poverty and Un-British Rule in India | Dadabhai Naoroji | Drain of Wealth theory |
| The Indian Struggle | Subhas Chandra Bose | Political history 1920-1942 |
| Hind Swaraj | Mahatma Gandhi | Written in 1909; critique of Western civilisation |
| Indica | Megasthenes | Greek ambassador’s account of Mauryan India |
| Rajatarangini | Kalhana | History of Kashmir (12th century) |
| Vikramankadevacharita | Bilhana | Biography of Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI |
| Ashtadhyayi | Panini | Sanskrit grammar treatise |
| Abhijnana Shakuntalam | Kalidasa | Sanskrit drama; considered finest |
| Meghaduta | Kalidasa | Cloud Messenger poem |
| Raghuvamsa | Kalidasa | Epic poem on Raghu dynasty |
| Buddhacharita | Ashvaghosha | Biography of Buddha in Sanskrit verse |
| Mudrarakshasa | Vishakhadatta | Drama about Chandragupta Maurya’s rise |
| Ain-i-Akbari | Abul Fazl | Administrative report of Akbar’s empire |
| Akbarnama | Abul Fazl | Official history of Akbar’s reign |
| Tuzuk-i-Baburi (Baburnama) | Babur | Autobiography in Chagatai Turkish |
| Humayunnama | Gulbadan Begum | Biography of Humayun by his sister |
| Shah Jahan Nama | Inayat Khan | History of Shah Jahan’s reign |
| Kitab-ul-Hind | Alberuni | Account of India (11th century) |
| Tahqiq-i-Hind | Alberuni | Same work, alternate title |
World Literature — Important Books and Authors
| Book | Author | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Origin of Species | Charles Darwin | Theory of evolution by natural selection (1859) |
| Communist Manifesto | Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels | ”Workers of the world, unite!” (1848) |
| Das Kapital | Karl Marx | Critique of political economy |
| The Republic | Plato | Ideal state, philosopher kings |
| The Prince | Niccolo Machiavelli | Political power and statecraft |
| Wealth of Nations | Adam Smith | Father of modern economics (1776) |
| A Brief History of Time | Stephen Hawking | Black holes and cosmology |
| Principia Mathematica | Isaac Newton | Laws of motion and gravitation (1687) |
| The Social Contract | Jean-Jacques Rousseau | Popular sovereignty |
| Mein Kampf | Adolf Hitler | Autobiography and political ideology |
| I Have a Dream | Martin Luther King Jr. | Civil rights speech (1963) |
| Long Walk to Freedom | Nelson Mandela | Autobiography |
| The Diary of a Young Girl | Anne Frank | Holocaust diary |
| War and Peace | Leo Tolstoy | Epic novel set during Napoleonic wars |
| Hamlet / Romeo and Juliet | William Shakespeare | Greatest English playwright |
| Paradise Lost | John Milton | Epic poem on the Fall of Man |
| The Old Man and the Sea | Ernest Hemingway | Won Pulitzer (1953) and Nobel (1954) |
| Les Miserables | Victor Hugo | French novel on justice and redemption |
| The Interpretation of Dreams | Sigmund Freud | Foundation of psychoanalysis (1899) |
| Silent Spring | Rachel Carson | Launched environmental movement (1962) |
| On Liberty | John Stuart Mill | Classic defence of individual freedom |
Holy Books and Religious Texts
| Holy Book | Religion | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Vedas (Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva) | Hinduism | Oldest scriptures; Rig Veda is the oldest |
| Upanishads | Hinduism | Philosophical texts; 108 in number |
| Bhagavad Gita | Hinduism | Part of Mahabharata; Krishna’s teachings to Arjuna |
| Ramayana | Hinduism | By Valmiki; 24,000 verses |
| Mahabharata | Hinduism | By Vyasa; longest epic poem |
| Quran | Islam | Revealed to Prophet Muhammad |
| Bible | Christianity | Old Testament and New Testament |
| Guru Granth Sahib | Sikhism | Compiled by Guru Arjan Dev (1604) |
| Tripitaka | Buddhism | Three baskets: Vinaya, Sutta, Abhidhamma |
| Dhammapada | Buddhism | Collection of Buddha’s sayings |
| Agamas | Jainism | Teachings of Mahavira |
| Zend Avesta | Zoroastrianism | Teachings of Zarathustra |
| Torah | Judaism | First five books (Pentateuch) |
| Tao Te Ching | Taoism | By Lao Tzu |
Famous Autobiographies
| Title | Author |
|---|---|
| My Experiments with Truth | Mahatma Gandhi |
| Wings of Fire | APJ Abdul Kalam |
| Long Walk to Freedom | Nelson Mandela |
| Mein Kampf | Adolf Hitler |
| Baburnama | Babur |
| The Story of My Life | Helen Keller |
| An Autobiography (Toward Freedom) | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| My Life | Bill Clinton |
| I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | Maya Angelou |
| My Music, My Life | Ravi Shankar |
| Autobiography of a Yogi | Paramahansa Yogananda |
| Playing It My Way | Sachin Tendulkar |
Nobel Prize in Literature — Key Winners
| Year | Winner | Country | Notable Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 | Rabindranath Tagore | India | Gitanjali |
| 1953 | Winston Churchill | UK | Historical and biographical writings |
| 1954 | Ernest Hemingway | USA | The Old Man and the Sea |
| 1962 | John Steinbeck | USA | The Grapes of Wrath |
| 1969 | Samuel Beckett | Ireland | Waiting for Godot |
| 1982 | Gabriel Garcia Marquez | Colombia | One Hundred Years of Solitude |
| 2016 | Bob Dylan | USA | Song lyrics as literature |
Note: Rabindranath Tagore is the only Indian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1913).
Books Associated with Indian National Movement
| Book | Author | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Anandamath | Bankim Chandra | Source of “Vande Mataram” |
| Hind Swaraj | Gandhi | Self-rule manifesto |
| Poverty and Un-British Rule | Dadabhai Naoroji | Economic drain theory |
| The Indian War of Independence | V.D. Savarkar | On 1857 revolt |
| Why I Am an Atheist | Bhagat Singh | Prison essay (1930) |
| Unhappy India | Lala Lajpat Rai | Reply to Katherine Mayo’s “Mother India” |
Quick Revision — 20 Most Asked Book-Author Questions
- Arthashastra: Kautilya (Chanakya)
- Discovery of India: Jawaharlal Nehru
- My Experiments with Truth: Mahatma Gandhi
- Gitanjali: Rabindranath Tagore
- Origin of Species: Charles Darwin
- Communist Manifesto: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
- Wealth of Nations: Adam Smith
- Wings of Fire: APJ Abdul Kalam
- Anandamath (Vande Mataram): Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
- Ain-i-Akbari: Abul Fazl
- Indica: Megasthenes
- Rajatarangini: Kalhana
- Baburnama: Babur
- The Prince: Machiavelli
- Mein Kampf: Adolf Hitler
- Das Kapital: Karl Marx
- Republic: Plato
- Hind Swaraj: Mahatma Gandhi
- Abhijnana Shakuntalam: Kalidasa
- Long Walk to Freedom: Nelson Mandela
Compiled from Kerala PSC previous year questions (2015-2025). Books and Authors appear in LDC, Graduate Level, and Degree Level Preliminary exams.
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