Is the bible the most printed book in the world

An employee checks the cover and the general quality of a book in the nanjing amity printworks. The most expensive books in the world readers digest. The bible has also been translated more times, and into more languages, than any other book. The bible is also the most shop lifted book in the world. Reading books on ipads in the united states in 2012. Unsurprisingly, the most popular book of all time has an interesting history. The bible is the worlds bestselling book, having sold more than five billion copies. Nanjing amity printing company is now the world s largest bible printer and by the end of may, 49. The answer is quite surprising at first, but not that unexpected when you think about it.

Fortynine copies or substantial portions of copies have survived. Born as johann gensfleisch john gooseflesh, he preferred to be known as johann gutenberg john beautiful. The worlds most widely distributed book watchtower online. According to guinness world records as of 1995, the bible is the bestselling book of all time, with. Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the bible is the world s bestselling and most widely distributed book. The king james bible is the most printed book in the history of the world. Chapman created the list by examining how many individual copies of the books had been printed and sold over the last 50 years. Many devout christians are quick to assert that the holy bible is the world s bestselling book, for all time. Similarly, many notable book series that sold very widely are poorly documented land of oz or consist of multiple subseries tom swift. Jan 31, 2008 which is probably true if it is the most printed. Since 1961, jehovahs witnesses have translated and published the complete new world translation of the holy scriptures in one volume. Another reason this book special it contains the divine name. Chronological history of the holy bible clausen books. According to wycliffe global alliance the bible as a whole is.

However, there are a couple of books that most experts agree are probably two of the most popular books of all time. This was the firstever edition of the good book to be produced using moveabletype print, with johannes gutenbergs printing press hence the name. 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. The most important book that we print is, of course, the bible. The bible is a wonderful book of wisdom and revelation. But he wouldnt have known then that this bible would be considered one of the most beautiful books ever printed. He found that the bible far outsold any other book, with a whopping 3. The 21 bestselling books of all time howstuffworks.

Researchers have collated the figures for the number of editions, translations and copies sold of the world s most popular books these are the most loved tomes. Oct 19, 2015 in fact, the very first book printed in english was a translation. The bible was written over a period of more than 1,500 years, on three continents asia, europe, and africa by more than 40 authors some authors wrote more than one book of the bible, who wrote in three different languages. The bible of the world is similar to a readers digest condensed book and it containes scriptures from.

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 bible still remains at the top as the most read book in the world. Most people who own a bible havent read anything in it at all. In fact, the very first book printed in english was a translation. The book is valued and revered for its high aesthetic and artistic. In 1942, the first complete bible rolled off our presses. The most widely printed book in history is the christian bible. Book readership in the united states from 2000 to 2012. In my version of the the list, the bible remained the top seller in the world, with sales figures ranging widely. Today the bible is the most printed book in the world and people of all faiths read books on any manner of subjects in every conservable language. They claim that because a great number of people purchased the bible, it, therefore, has lots of.

The holy texts of christianity and islam, respectively, these books have been printed billions of times. Then theres abraham lincoln, who stated in 1864, after receiving a bible from a group of africanamericans in baltimore, in regard to this. Last time it was like 33% christian the most popular but what is it now. Between 1815 to 1975, the bible saw a printing of 2. Some titles may have had more copies printed than some of these books, but a vast number of those books were not sold, so well assume that they did not get read. Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the bible is the worlds bestselling and most widely distributed book. Ikeas catalog is as popular as the bible and the koran. Additionally, these books have often been printed by a wide range of. Additionally, since the bible is sold worldwide, calculating exact numbers becomes tricky.

The world s most widely distributed book the bible is the most widely read book in history. The book alcoholics anonymous is not in the top ten 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 over the last 50 years. This page provides lists of bestselling individual books and book series to date and in any. What are the top 10 most printed books of all time. Nov 15, 20 chapman created the list by examining how many individual copies of the books had been printed and sold over the last 50 years. Most gutenberg bibles contained 1,286 pages bound in two volumes, yet almost no two are exactly alike. Today, the worlds most translated book is the bible. The bible tops the list of the most read books in the world. Any socalled 1611 king james version you buy today at the local christian bookstore is absolutely not the 1611. Gutenberg must have been pleased with his handiwork.

This article discusses the worlds bestselling books. Johann gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1450s, and the first book to ever be printed was a latin language bible, printed in mainz, germany. Thus the oldest book in the world must surely be the gutenberg bible oldest printed book in the west, from c. It marked the start of the gutenberg revolution and the age of printed books in the west. Writer james chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of. 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.

This page provides lists of bestselling individual books and book series to date and in any language. The koran is not only the most widely read book in the islamic world but also the most widely recited koran means recitation. Is bible the worlds bestselling or mostread or most. The most popular book of all time christian universities. Quotations from chairman mao zedong, mao zedong, 900 million. In 1947, a copy of the bay psalm book there are 11 known to exist broke world records for most expensive printed book sold when a copy of it sold at auction for. Dec 28, 2012 the most read book in the world is the bible. The bible, however, is by far the most exceptional of them all. It was the most important book to him and the most desired book at the time. Banning the most dangerous book in the world cnsnews. The word bible comes from the greek word biblia meaning books. The bible, which ranks as the world s most read book, has sold 3.

The third group considered it as the most printed and most distributed book. The worlds most widely distributed book the bible is the most widely read book in history. The third highest selling print is quotations from chairman mao tse. Hinduism, buddhism, confucianism, taoism, zoroastrianism. And this is why, as bible gateway general manager rachel barach told christianity today, the bible has been criticized, challenged, and banned by individuals, groups, and governments through centuries of persecution.

The bible has sold billions of copies and is the best selling book of all time. Equally incorrect are websites whose claims are based on the premise that a book is a printed object. The alltime most popular books in the world revealed. However, many more copies have been given away for free, meaning the actual number of bibles in circulation is unknown. The holy quran came out on top with over 3 billion prints, followed by the king james bible with over 2. The 10 most read books in the world infographic business. Year after year millions of copies are sold or given away. They are thought to be among the worlds most valuable books, although no complete copy has been sold since 1978. A survey by the bible society concluded that around 2. There are more and more people becoming christians all over the world.

According to guinness world records as of 1995, the bible is the bestselling book of all time. History of the bible timeline from creation to today. These are the 12 most popular books of all time indy100. It is one of the most costeffective ways to extend life and fulfills my bigger. The bible is the holy scripture of the christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the earth from its earliest creation to the spread of christianity in the first century a. Best selling refers to the estimated number of copies sold of each book, rather than the number of books printed or currently. 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. The bible has sold billions of copies and is the best selling book of all. The gutenberg bible, also known as the 42line bible, was the first book printed to use massproduced movable metal type in europe a popular printing method of the 19th century.

Though bibles are not free, gods truth is always available for free. By 20, we had produced more than 184 million copies of this bible in 121 languages. With 203 million copies distributed to design lovers around the globe, ikeas yearly catalog sits beside the bible, the quran, and the harry potter series as one of the most popular books in the. Apr 20, 2020 the first dated printed book is the diamon sutra. Apr 26, 2016 to them, the bible is the worlds most dangerous book. The gutenberg bible is probably the most valuable book or type of book in the world.

Not truthedit ok and whats your point imean so what and. The bibleunique book, distributed more than any other. Since then, billions upon billions of books on every subject imaginable have been printed. I was maybe hopping for a better metric then the number of book sold if it exists. More copies have been distributed of the bible than of any other book. Researcher james chapman has compiled this look at the top 10 mostread books in the world. The old testament was written primarily in hebrew with some aramaic. Stockbyte getty images 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. The worlds most widely distributed book watchtower. The bible today is the bestselling, and most widely distributed book in the entire world, in the entire history of the world. The bible is easily one of the bestselling books of all time, but exact sales numbers are hard to nail down. William caxton, who introduced the printing press to england, printed the recuyell of the historyes of troye in 1473, which he had translated from the french original of raoul lefevre.

Patrick henrywho famously said, give me liberty, or give me death. This reading list shares the bestselling books of alltime and breaks down the top. With around 180 original copies made, only 48 have survived and just 31 remain in perfect condition. Since the invention of the printing press in mid1400s, the holy bible has been the most printed book in all of world history, at an estimated 6 billion copies. No, the bible is not the most read book in the world, and is not the most printed book in the world. According to the march 2007 edition of time, the bible has done more to shape literature, history, entertainment, and culture than any book. The bible has been a massive influence on literature and history, especially in the western world, where the gutenberg bible was the first book printed using movable type. Sep 07, 2010 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.

Michael inman, the new york public librarys curator for rare books, explains the power of gutenbergs bible. Also, does anyone have an update of the percentage of the religions in the world. It was the first book published in british north america, just twenty years after the landing of the mayflower. And in a 2005 update he estimated that ikea had actually overtaken the bible.

However the most prized of these books are still those offering spiritual guidance. The bible is the most widely printed and published book in the world. In march 1455, the future pope pius ii wrote that he had seen pages from the gutenberg bible displayed in frankfurt to promote the edition. The 10 most expensive books in the world flavorwire. The bible is the most widely circulated and printed book in history.

The gutenberg bible also known as the 42line bible, the mazarin bible or the b42 was among the earliest major books printed using massproduced movable metal type in europe. May 09, 2012 number of books read in the past 12 months in the u. As it is mentioned in the comments, many produced bibles were probably never read. First printing of the most printed book in the world a leaf from the very first press run of the original king james bible.

Most scholars agree that the greatest works of world literature were. Thousands of books are written, published and distributed every day. It is said to be the most printed book in the history of the world, with more than one billion copies in print. Since its virtually impossible to count the number of people who have read any published book, the claim must be analysed on purely. Similarly, many notable book series that sold very widely are poorly documented or consist of multiple subseries. The third highest selling print is quotations from chairman mao tsetung, a book. Dec 20, 2008 the bible is the most printed book, right. The most popular book of all time christian universities online. 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 world s most popular book. The bible was and still remains the most published and commonly owned book in the world. The 2010 edition of the catalogue is the worlds third most printed publication next to the bible and harry potter but martin roth wrote an article in 2002 where he was pretty sure that ikea was close to beating the bible in regard of worldwide distribution.

The first major book to come off his press was a bible. The book is considered one of the most influential pieces of spanish. It is an outstanding resource for anybody studying comparative religion, as a primer for studying one of the religions included or as a general reference book for your library. It is the source of the christian religion and contains what christians need to know about god, jesus, salvation, the christian life, and more. Printed in 1650, the bay psalm book was printed 20 years after settlers landed at plymouth rock and is the first book printed to have been printed in british north america. Although most ancient books have disappeared from memory, the bible continues to be printed more than any other book and is available in more than 2,000 languages. Because of the wealth of resources devoted to the project, it was the most faithful and scholarly translation to date.

Top 10 most read books in the world based on number of books printed and sold over the last 50 years. Some titles may have had more copies printed than some of these books, but a vast number of those books were. These are some of the worlds most expensive books ceoworld. Apr 16, 2019 published in 1611, the king james bible spread quickly throughout europe. The alltime most popular books in the world revealed stylist. Also, it is worth noting that some religious and political books such as the bible, quran. Gutenbergs bibles were surprisingly beautiful, as each leaf gutenberg printed was later colorfully handilluminated. As you can see from the graphic below created by designer jared fanning, the bible leads the countdown by a large margin, with nearly 4 billion copies printed and sold globally in the last five decades. Since the invention of the printing press in mid1400s, the holy bible has been the most printed. Some claim that the bible is the worlds most shoplifted book. Did you know that the bible is one of the most shoplifted books of all time. Harper lees new novel go set a watchman, the followup to to kill a mockingbird, is set to become one of the fastestselling books of all time. Surprisingly, the book of mormon has only been printed 150 million times. What is the most published book in the world answers.