Buzz
Even as e-books are often predicted to end the era of traditional publishing, our passion for physical books remains unshaken. For centuries, books have sparked our creativity, resulting in countless record-breaking achievements. From the most massive to the most minuscule or the priciest, here’s a curated collection of extraordinary books:
1. THE WORLD'S MOST VALUABLE BOOK
Philippe Kurlapski via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain
According to Forbes
Bill Gates holds the record for purchasing the most expensive book ever sold. In 1994, he spent a staggering $30.8 million (equivalent to approximately $49.4 million today) on Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester. This meticulously hand-drawn manuscript, created by the Renaissance genius between 1506 and 1510, is one of just 20 surviving notebooks by da Vinci. The Codex features sketches, notes, and groundbreaking ideas, all written in his unique right-to-left “mirror script."
2. THE WORLD'S MOST PRICED BOOK
NYC Wanderer (Kevin Eng) via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0
The Gutenberg Bible is arguably the most valuable book globally. It was the first book printed (c.1455) using movable type, a revolutionary innovation that transformed the publishing industry (previously, books were painstakingly handwritten or printed using woodblocks, a process that took months). Only 180 copies were initially printed, with 49 surviving today, and just 21 of those are complete. Most Gutenberg Bibles are held by museums, libraries, or institutions, but their rarity and significance mean that if one were auctioned, it could command tens of millions of dollars.
3. THE FIRST BOOK EVER PRINTED IN THE U.S.
The Whole Booke of Psalmes Faithfully Translated into English Metre
Commonly referred to as the Bay Psalm Book, this was the first book printed in what is now the United States. Pilgrims in Massachusetts produced around 1,700 copies in the 17th century, but only 11 are known to survive today. In 2013, it set a record as the most expensive book sold at auction, fetching a staggering $14,165,000.
4. THE WORLD'S LARGEST BOOK
Wagaung via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0
The largest book in the world isn’t a traditional book but a collection of massive stone tablets encircling the Kuthodaw Pagoda in Mandalay, Myanmar. Over 700 marble slabs, each standing over 5 feet tall and feet wide, narrate the tipitaka, the foundational text of Theravāda Buddhism. Created around 1860, the tablets were originally adorned with golden ink and precious gems, but much of this treasure was plundered by British soldiers during their invasion in the 1880s.
The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes a more conventional book as the largest—a 2012 publication about the Prophet Muhammad, produced in Dubai, measuring an astounding 16.40 ft x 26.44 ft.
5. THE WORLD'S LONGEST BOOK
Madeleine de Scudery via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain
By word count, the longest traditionally published book is widely considered to be Artamène, ou le Grand Cyrus (Artamene or Cyrus the Great), a 17th-century romantic novel by Madeleine de Scudery. Spanning 10 volumes, it boasts over 10,000 pages and contains 2.1 million words (for comparison, the famously lengthy War and Peace has approximately 560,000 words).
6. THE WORLD'S SMALLEST BOOK
Simon Fraser University via Flickr // CC BY 2.0
The tiniest book in the world is so minuscule that it requires an electron microscope to read. Teeny Ted from Turnip Town, authored by Malcolm Douglas Chaplin, was printed on pure crystalline silicon by his brother, Robert, at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. This 30-page microbook measures just 70 micrometres by 100 micrometres, small enough to rest on the width of a single human hair.
7. THE BEST-SELLING FICTION BOOK IN HISTORY
Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, released in 1859, holds the title of the best-selling novel ever, with over 200 million copies sold globally. In more recent times, E. L. James’s Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy has surpassed 100 million copies sold, while J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has achieved over 450 million copies in worldwide sales.
8. THE BEST-SELLING BOOK IN HISTORY
Anonymous (photo by Adrian Pingston) via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain
The Bible is undoubtedly the best-selling book of all time, with estimates suggesting it has sold more than 5 billion copies. It has been fully translated into over 394 languages (with at least one book of the Bible available in 2123 languages) and has been distributed globally since the dawn of the printing press.
