This article discusses the worlds bestselling books. Jul 15, 2015 its not exactly a ripping yarn, but the koran is the most popular book of all time. Similarly, many notable book series that sold very widely are poorly documented or consist of multiple subseries. The quotations from chairman mao tsetung, also known as the little red book, has produced a wide array of sales and distribution figures with estimates ranging from 800 million to over 6. However, many more copies have been given away for free, meaning the actual number of bibles in circulation is unknown. Jun 24, 2012 the bible sells best because it is living, powerful and universally desired. The most popular book of all time christian universities. Many devout christians are quick to assert that the holy bible is the worlds bestselling book, for all time.
Jan 28, 2016 the gutenberg bible is probably the most valuable book or type of book in the world. Worldwide, the bible is no worse than the second most read book. The 21 bestselling books of all time howstuffworks. The best selling books in the world famous books on sale in. The third group considered it as the mostprinted and mostdistributed book. No matter which guide you use, though, there are problems making precise calculations.
Though bibles are not free, gods truth is always available for free. List of most expensive books and manuscripts wikipedia. Jul 10, 2019 the bible 100 million copies are sold each year. The most popular book of all time christian universities online. Its complexity can boggle great minds, and yet its simplicity can be understood by children. In the 1980s and 90s it sold more copies than any book but the bible. The religious text has been translated into 50 different languages, has nearly 400. Between 1815 and 1975, it was estimated that there could have been 5 billion bibles printed. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Chapman created the list by examining how many individual copies of the books had been printed and sold over the last 50 years.
If the question considers the us only, the bible clearly is the most read book. These are some of the worlds most expensive books ceoworld. Jun 28, 2016 other than the bible, which is the far and away the bestselling christian book of all time with sales in the billions, here is my list for your consideration. The book of psalms easily wins, probably because it is both the longest book in the bible 150 chapters and it covers every human emotion and every circumstance in life. For literary mysteries, the thread tackles your book questions, big and small. Some claim that the bible is the worlds most shoplifted book. It is also the most widely and given some of the liberties taken, wildly translated book of all time, too. 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 he found. Scholars can debate endlessly over which book is the best of all time, but finding out which ones have enjoyed the most commercial success should be a more concrete endeavor. 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. Whether the quran is more widely read is difficult to determine because of the lack of statistical information.
After the bible, which book has sold the most copies. Its the most widely read, most fiercely debated, and most often quoted book in history. In order to create our list of the top bible translations in 2018, we checked resources such as the christian book expo, thoughtco, calvary chapel eastside church and bible sources for the most. Unsurprisingly, the most popular book of all time has an interesting history. There is, of course, no way to tally sales from the 1600s, so although some sources suggest that this has sold 500 million copies, theres no way anyone could know for certain. It is the oldest book on this list, so its had a long time to accrue sales.
Discover the best christian bibles in best sellers. It addresses inward, private thoughts and feelings, as well as outward, publicly expressed words and actions. Is the bible still the bestselling book in the world. Feb 17, 2017 the anser is the book when bad things happen to good people written by harold kushner. The bible has sold billions of copies and is the best selling book of all time. The bible is easily one of the bestselling books of all time, but exact sales numbers are hard to nail down. Bible most owned, least read book in history columbus. The huffington post article actually named 16 books that have sold the most copies worldwide, noting that the bible is the top seller in the world. Add to that, for a few hundred years your family was nothing if they didnt have their ow. Writer james chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of copies. Additionally, since the bible is sold worldwide, calculating exact numbers becomes tricky.
Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the bible is the worlds bestselling and most widely distributed book. The bible, which ranks as the worlds most read book, has sold 3. For example, how do you measure the popularity of a book. The bible is the most influential book in american history and contemporary american life. 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. A survey by the bible society concluded that around 2. Its not exactly a ripping yarn, but the koran is the most popular book of all time. The familiar observation that the bible is the bestselling book of all time obscures a more startling fact. Brett buckner is an independent correspondent and can be. The bible has been translated into 349 languages, and a survey conducted by the bible society concluded that between 1815 and 1975, around 2. Oct 10, 2016 sure, the bestselling book of alltime is, of course, the bible. The book with most sales in 2018 across all formats on, and in amazon books stores was a sciencefiction novel ready player one.
The bible tops the list of the most read books in the world researcher james chapman has compiled this look at the top 10 mostread books in the world. The bible is often said to be the worlds best sold book but search the best seller lists and you wont find it anywhere, top to bottom. Could it be true that the bible is the bestselling book. May 25, 2017 more than 2,100 languages have at least one book of the bible in that language. The imitation of christ by thomas a kempis 1418 sales unknown, but widely regarded as the bestselling christian title after the bible. Is the most popular book of all time the one that has been read the most often or the one that has sold the most copies. The bible is the worlds bestselling book, having sold more than five billion copies. Did you know that the bible is one of the most shoplifted books of all time. Many copies of the holy bible have been freely given away during missionary work. With all those caveats in mind and not including e book sales, here are the 21 bestselling books of all time, as far as we can tell.
Is bible the worlds bestselling or mostread or most. Why the king james bible of 1611 remains the most popular. The bible receives its alltime best seller title mainly by cheating. Hi all, here is my opinion based on facts and partly on assumptions. The most popular book of all time is the koran, not jk. The bible tops the list of the most read books in the world. I hope the below estimations show that the quran is in fact the most read book. Oct 17, 2012 one group claimed the bible as the worlds bestselling book.
The bible sells best because it is living, powerful and universally desired. Nov 15, 20 researcher james chapman has compiled this look at the top 10 most read books in the world. In 1995, one version of the bible, the good news version that is ed by the bible societies, had sold nearly 18 million copies. Another group upheld it as the worlds mostread books. 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. Originally printed in 1794, the first book of urizen is one of the major pieces and some say the most important in blakes series of prophetic works. Apr 16, 2019 as late as 2014, a major study on the bible in american life found that 55 percent of bible readers said they reached most often for the king james version, compared with only 19 percent who. The second bestselling book of all time crisis magazine. First, harry potter sold 450 million copies as a series, not as a single book. For a long time, it was one of the very few printed books available for purchase. The bible is the most widely distributed and bestselling book in the world. 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. This debut book by ernest cline was released in 2011 and soon became a worldwide publishing phenomenon. Excluding the bible, business insider did a great chart on this as of 2012 thats unfortunately not quite right, but well get to that in a moment.