What are the Top Selling Books of All Time?
Listing the top selling books of all times is a bit challenging. For example, some might list the top selling novels of all time, or include all types of writing as a book. Several reputable list makers, including Amazon, mark the two top selling books of all time as The Bible and as Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse Tung.
Most agree that both books belong on the list of top selling books. Neither book has data that can be precisely verified. It is estimated that the Bible has sold about six billion copies, and Chairman Mao’s book about a billion copies.
The American Spelling Book is listed as a top selling book in some lists. While one can still purchase this book, it is not currently a frequently purchased book. Some tie this book with the series The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. Other lists include these as children’s books. What can be said of these books is that they have each sold in excess of 100 million copies.
Other lists show the Harry Potter series as third of the top selling books with 400 million copies. The debate about whether a series constitutes a book in terms of listing the best selling books is still raging.
Book lists for the top-selling books have included the following books:
- The Bible
- Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse Tung
- The Harry Potter series
- The Lord of the Rings
- The Chronicles of Narnia series
- The Guinness Book of World Records
- The World Almanac
- The Da Vinci Code
- The McGuffey Readers
- American Spelling Book
- A Message to Garcia
- Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
- Valley of the Dolls
- In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?
Some of the top selling books are notably absent. For example, two publications by the Jehovah’s Witnesses have sold over 100 million copies, suggesting that they should be somewhere in the top ten. In addition, many believe that The Three Musketeers may belong in top selling books list but counting copies sold may be impossible. Gone with the Wind is not among the top selling books. It ranks about 15th or 20th depending upon the list. The Little Prince also may be among the top selling books, but this also is difficult to get an accurate count.
The Qur’an may also need to be included in the count of top selling books, and may have sold copies in the hundred millions. It has been printed since about 1000 CE, so many copies cannot obviously be counted. The top selling books list is thus imperfect and debatable. Without a time machine, it may be impossible to verify actual counts of books.
Written by Tricia Ellis-Christensen
