A best guess of the top 25 bestselling books of all time in growth markets by guest contributor september 7, 2010 inspired by the huffington post s attempt to list the top 15 bestselling books of all time, we offer a humble revision, expanding the list to 25 total. One group claimed the bible as the worlds best selling book. After the bible, which book has sold the most copies. It is safe to say that the bible is the best selling book of all time, as it has been widely estimated to have sold over 5 billion copies. Just to remind some of the commentators, this is number of books sold in all time according to sources of wikipedia. Unsurprisingly, the most popular book of all time has an interesting history. Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the bible is the worlds bestselling and most widely distributed book. Most purchasedleast read the bible was once the most purchased book in the world.
With thousands of translations, over forty original authors, and a two millennium history, lets take a look at the trails, tribulations, changes, and status of the worlds most popular book. Many devout christians are quick to assert that the holy bible is the worlds best selling book, for all time. While its true that many neglect reading this book, and its probably because they dont want to hear the message of coming judgment, revelation is not the least read book. Best selling books of all time 100 books goodreads. Most read books in the world as of may 2012 published by statista research department, may 9, 2012. Is the bible still the best selling book of all time. Excluding non works such as the bible with an estimated 6 billion copies sold and the koran, the worlds alltime bestselling book is guinness world records. The book s phenomenal popularity may be because it was essentially an unofficial requirement for every chinese citizen to own, to read, and to carry it at all times during the latter half of maos rule, especially during.
This reading list shares the bestselling books of alltime and breaks down the top. Best selling books are ranked by number of copies sold, not my personal ratings. For the record, the excluded books have sold an estimated hundreds of millions of copies each several billion, in the bible s case and would have taken most of the top positions on the list. Researchers have collated the figures for the number of editions, translations and copies sold of the worlds most popular books these are the most. I feel that goodreads should sponsor its own list of best selling books of all time. If you dont count that harry potter books then you cant count the bible either, because they are counting it as all the versions, new and old, king james, picture, gideon etc. The 30 biggest selling books of all time might surprise. John bunyans the pilgrims progress begins our 100part list of the best novels written in english. For example, the most popular or top selling bible translations in 2016, according to the rose publishing, were the new international version and the king james version. Writer james chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of copies each book sold over the last 50 years.
With all those caveats in mind and not including ebook sales, here are the 21 bestselling books of all time, as far as we can tell. The last four books in the series consecutively set records as the fastestselling books of all time, where the final installment, harry potter and the deathly hallows, sold roughly fifteen million copies worldwide within twentyfour hours of its release. Not only is the bible the best seller of all time it continues to be the best seller every year even when compared to the astounding sales figures of a series like harry potter. According to guinness world records, the bible is the bestselling book of all time with over 5 billion copies sold and distributed. Yes, but it includes so many boasting and twisted teachings many verses cannot be divinely inspired because they are contradicting the basic wisdom taught by jesus and by the prophets. Is the bible still the bestselling book in the world. To make the bible the most printed book you have to add up all its flavors. The 30 biggest selling books of all time might surprise you the bible is widely believed to be the best selling book of all time but it has in fact been pitted for first place. According to guinness world records as of 1995, the bible is the bestselling book of all time, with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed. The third group considered it as the most printed and most distributed book. Maos little red book comes in at number two and then the surprises begin. The bible has sold billions of copies and is the best selling book of all time. If you would like to learn more about the bible and its author, jehovah god, i highly encourage you to visit. Most people will guess that book of revelation is the least read book in the bible.
Theres no doubt about it the bible is one of the worlds best selling books. Zondervan is both the worlds leading bible publisher and the publisher of the purpose driven life. Is bible the worlds bestselling or mostread or most. Another group upheld it as the worlds most read books. The bible, the history channels highly acclaimed miniseries, has once again broken records through its skyrocketing dvd sales, making it the top selling dvd miniseries ever in its first week of release. The most popular book of all time christian universities. Lew wallacean american lawyer, soldier, politician and authorset out to write a novel set during the life and ministry of jesus, but knew that readers would be skeptical if jesus were the main character. Shareranks is about ranking things that are top, most, greatest, or even worst in all categories. According to guinness world records, the bible is the bestselling book of all time, with over 5 billion copies sold and distributed. Also, it is worth noting that some religious and political books such as the bible, quran, and quotations from chairman mao are believed to. The book that started it all the 1880 novel benhur is one of one of the best selling books of all time. Writer james chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of copies each book sold. Read about the most popular books in history at howstuffworks.
List of most expensive books and manuscripts wikipedia. While religion dominates the first half of the list, the rest is. Caminiti, vice president and publisher of bibles at zondervan, to the christian post. As well as being the record of bunyans dream, a wellknown fictional device, it is also an. Its also been translated in its entirety into over 394. Its widespread use in the most populous nation in the world 1. The alltime most popular books in the world revealed. Yes, the bible is still the best seller in the world and it is the only book inspired by god 2peter 1.
Quotations from chairman mao authored by mao zedong. Rhe book has helped millions of people face tragedy, loss and catastrophe and emerge from it stronger, wiser, and more connected to god and their own families and friends. People are surprised when they hear that the bible is not only the best selling book of all time, but also the best selling book every year, said paul j. The bible is the most widely distributed and best selling book in the world. Also, it is worth noting that some religious and political books such as the bible, quran, and. With all those caveats in mind and not including ebook sales, here are the 21 bestselling books of all time. Could it be true that the bible is the bestselling book. Harper lees new novel go set a watchman, the followup to to kill a mockingbird, is set to become one of the fastest selling books of all time.
See how it compares to the top 100 best sellers of all time. Christian books still dominate alltime bestsellers lists. Chapman created the list by examining how many individual copies of the books had been printed and sold over the last 50 years. The bible tops the list of the most read books in the world. These are the 12 most popular books of all time indy100. Inspired by the huffington posts attempt to list the top 15 bestselling books of all time, we offer a humble revision, expanding the list to 25 total. Researcher james chapman has compiled this look at the top 10 most read books in the world. Numbers of books sold is a good thermometer to guide book readers. Guiness book of records keeps popping up as a frequent answer, but according to wiki their sales are down at 115 million copies, below a. The guinness book of world records estimates that more than 5 billion copies of the bible have been printed. It is not an accepted proof to refer to 2 timothy 3. Over 100 million bibles are sold or given away for free every year in the world, according to the economist. Excluding non works such as the bible with an estimated 6 billion copies sold and the koran, the worlds alltime bestselling book is guinness world records formerly the guinness book of records.
Today the bible is available in more languages that ever before. He found that the bible far outsold any other book, with a whopping 3. The bible is easily one of the bestselling books of all time, but exact sales numbers are hard. The numbers have been crunched and the list for the best selling books of all time has been revealed. A 2007 associated pressipsos poll conducted in the united states, which has almost universal literacy, suggests that 27% of adults do not read books at all.
In 1995, one version of the bible, the good news version that is ed by the bible societies, had sold nearly 18 million copies. In the 1980s and 90s it sold more copies than any book but the bible. The 21 bestselling books of all time howstuffworks. Between 1815 and 1975, it was estimated that there could have been 5 billion bibles printed.
Dickens borrows much of his work from thomas carlyles french revolution. What is the second best selling book of all time after the bible. On the other hand, it seems quite likely that most books being sold are not read. Is fifty shades of grey really the uks best selling book. A survey by the bible society concluded that around 2. What is the second best selling book of all time after. The 15 biggest bestsellers ever after the bible photos. This page includes a list of the 25 bestselling books of alltime as well as the 25 best selling book series of all time. This page provides lists of bestselling individual books and book series to date and in any.
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