Bible, Chairman Mao’s Quotations Vie for Lead on List of 10 Most Popular Books

Printer-friendly versionPDF version

The current issue of the Southern Review of Books discusses the best-selling books of all time. The Bible and Quotations from Chairman Mao top the list.

Atlanta, GA, October 06, 2010(PressReleasePoint) -- An online newsletter published in Atlanta has named what are probably the 10 most popular books of all time.

According to Southern Review of Books editor Noel Griese, the list revises a list first published in the Huffington Post.

The revised list is compiled from the original Huffpost list augmented by additions from Wikipedia, Russell Ash’s Top 10 of Everything, Publishers Weekly and direct contacts with some publishers.

Books listed below that did not appear in the original Huffington Post list are in boldface. For further information on the list, including a more comprehensive list of the 25 most popular books of all time, visit the Southern Review of Books at http://anvilpub.net/southern_review_of_books.htm.

The revised top-10 titles:
1. (Possible tie) The Bible. Multiple authors. There is no single version of the Bible. The books of the Jewish canon date to centuries before the Common Era, while those of the Christian canon were for the most part finalized in the fourth century CE. Total production, including all translations, is estimated at six billion.

1. (Possible tie) Quotations from Chairman Mao (The Little Red Book). Chinese, 1964. A collection of quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong put together by the People's Liberation Army. While most sources say the distribution was 800-900 million copies worldwide, one source says 6.5 billion copies were printed and shipped, which would put the publication in competition with worldwide Bible distribution.

3. The Qur’an. Arabic. This ancient Islamic religious text has had over 800 million copies produced.
4 to 5. (tie) Xinhua Dictionary (primary editor Wei Jiangong). This Chinese dictionary, first published in 1957, is said to have sold over 400 million copies.

4 to 5. (tie) Chairman Mao’s Poems, Mao Zedong. First published in China in 1966, 400 million copies in print.

6. Selected Articles of Mao Zedong, first published in China in 1966, 252.5 million copies

7. A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens. English, 1859, 200 million copies.

8 to 10. (tie) Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship, Robert Baden-Powell. This popular monoserial dating to 1908 has an estimated 150 million copies in print.

8 to 10. (tie) The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien. This cult classic by an Oxford professor was published in 1954-1955 and has sold 150 million copies worldwide. Wikipedia treats this trilogy as one book. Other lists treat it as three.

8 to 10. (tie) The Book of Mormon, multiple authors, translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. Religious text published in 1830, over 150 million copies worldwide.

Griese noted that data on book sales and distribution, particularly for older works, is notoriously inaccurate. For that reason, the list above is a best guess.
Press Release Distribution By PressReleasePoint