The biggest book in the world. The most interesting book in the world. The best book in the world

Is it possible to imagine mankind without a book, although it lived without it most of its existence? Perhaps not, as you can not imagine the history of everything without secret knowledge, preserved in writing. And the claims that the book in the modern world has lost its significance and can soon go into oblivion, are justified in part. One can not argue with the fact that the information has now acquired a digital format, and books are moving gradually into the virtual world, as in the looking-glass. And yet they live, are written and published, bought and sold, and even become the subject of all sorts of ratings. For example, as the most unusual books in the world.

The best book for everyone is different

Strange sounds: "What is the best book in the world?" The question is at least rhetorical, because it is possible to give such an assessment only on the basis of the subjective opinions of millions of people. And for everyone, this indicator is purely his own. In addition, each time their heroes and their books. And therefore it is better to approach the issue with a few other measures - to measure the quality of the creation not by the content and love of readers, but by the frequency of reprints and the total circulation.

And if so, do not deserve the title of "The best book in the world" eternal writings - the Bible, the Koran? It is known that, for example, the circulation of the Bible over the millennia of its existence amounted to 6 trillion. It is clear that this is only an approximate figure, because everything started with hand-written lists.

900 billion - such is the circulation of the Grand Kormchego's quotation - Mao Tse Dong. Of course, there are a lot of people in the world who will put this book at the head of the rating "The most-most-most book in the world."

And from contemporary works, all the records of popularity are beating the notorious "Lord of the Rings" JRR Tolkien. Here the circulation exceeds 100 billion copies.

There are many different ratings in which an attempt is made to determine which is the best book in the world - TOP-10, TOP-100 ... And among the most extensive descriptions it is always nice to see that the people of the reading still consider eternal creations the leaders - "Master and Margarita "by M. Bulgakov," One Hundred Years of Solitude "by G. G. Marquez," The Count of Monte Cristo "by A. Dumas.

About the most subjective

Who will come up with the question of what are the most interesting books in the world? But here comes, and polls on this topic are always read with interest, because there is no more subjective notion than taste. There can not be two people who would answer this question in the same way. So, according to one of the numerous surveys, the title of the most interesting book was awarded to the newest bestseller of the British writer E.L. James, the trilogy "Fifty shades of gray," "Fifty shades darker," and "Fifty shades of freedom." Of course, in the year of the first part, in 2012, in just three months 15 million copies were sold! And yet the real connoisseurs of literature did not impress the book, moreover, it was recognized as cheap pornography. This is the word about tastes.

So, the most interesting books in the world. Will the reader allow the author of the article to offer his (strictly subjective) rating?

In childhood, the most interesting were tales and stories about animals. Then the favorite book was "Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe. Next - "The Count of Monte Cristo" Dumas and the "Cathedral of the Notre Dame" by Victor Hugo. And "The clever hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" - how was it not to love him? And who knew then that this book is only inferior to the Bible in terms of circulation?

In the senior classes of the school, for the joy of the teacher of literature, a comprehensive love for Dostoevsky's books-The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment-began.

Years of students presented new names and new discoveries. William Faulkner, "Noise and Fury" - this was a shock to the world. Then the novels of the century were opened (they were those): "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita". In a new way, Mikhail Sholokhov's "Quiet Flows the Don" was read and re-read. And quite unexpectedly, the philosophical works of Friedrich Nietzsche were forever seized, and many things fell into place. The novel "So Spoke Zarathustra" - and today a handbook.

Modern literature continues to surprise no less. From favorite books - each letter written by Fazil Iskander (who did not read it, he can consider himself to be deprived), all the works of Haruka (not Ryu) Murakami. And in the train or on the plane - a light ironic reading of Daria Dontsova. Such books are also needed, for example, "Notes of an Insane Optimist."

This list is endless. For every reading person is infinite. And for the unreader he did not begin.

Sales decide everything

Circulations by default assume popularity, and so, and sellingness of creation. And yet it is not out of place to be curious: what is the best-selling book in the world? Saints are beyond competition - they do not even need ratings. Today it is known that the Bible surpasses all editions on the planet: the daily circulation is 32876. Another thing is that the scripture is not for sale - it should be, in theory, distributed free of charge to all believers.

And what about secular publications? Ironically, in the Guinness Book of Records, the first place for selling should be occupied by ... the Guinness Book of Records! It is translated into 52 languages of the world, and its sales have long passed the mark of 450 million copies.

Next comes, albeit with great discontinuity, a book from English classics - a historical novel by Charles Dickens "A Tale of Two Cities". Since its publication in the middle of the XIX century, according to approximate data, at least 200 million copies have been sold. Dickens is not a historiographer, and his only historical work on the French Revolution has made a furor in many countries around the world. Only not in the USSR. The fact is that the too realistic image of the revolutionary process did not correspond to the communist ideology, and the book simply blocked the way to the broad reader.

Further, the global selling best seller rating is as follows:

• John Ronald Ruel Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings.
• Cao Xueqin, "Dream in the Red Chamber".
• Agatha Christie, "Ten Little Indians."

In the list of bestsellers and such masterpieces as "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery and the "Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown.

The most famous books - what are they?

The popularity of the book is not always measured by sales. Rather, the indicator is different: if the work has survived the century, translated into many languages and remained as relevant as after the first edition - this is fame.

And again in the undisputed leaders sacred books - the Bible, the Koran, the Torah. These are the most read, most quoted, most revered publications. In a word, each of them is the most-most-the-most book in the world. However, it makes no sense to talk about what is beyond competition.

Enthusiasts attempted to find out which is the most famous book in the world. But since there can be no definitive answer by definition, it was decided to make a rating of one hundred most famous. Many will be surprised by the fact that he is headed by Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" - the most textbook work in Russian literature. In second place - the novel "1984" George Orwell. On the third - "Ulysses" by James Joyce. Then follows "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov and "Noise and Fury" by William Faulkner. The hundredth book of Winston Churchill "World War II" closes.

Size matters for a record book

In the British National Library during the exhibition the world's largest book, entered in the Guinness Book of Records, is exhibited. This book is 180 cm in height. Actually, this is not even a book, but a collection of printed wall maps in the amount of 37 pieces and dimensions of 1.9x1.75 m. The publication was prepared in 1660 for King Charles II.

What is the biggest book in the world? These pages do not only show maps. On them - the most complete set of knowledge about the world, which existed at that time. Of course, to the extent of the understanding of the compilers of these priceless maps. So in any case, a unique publication should have been included in the Guinness book, if not in gigantic proportions, then in information richness, for example, as the most intelligent book in the world.

This record is disputed by another book published in 1976 in Denver (USA). It is called - "Superbook". Its dimensions are 3.07 m in height, 2.74 m in width. The number of pages is not that impressive - 300. But the book weighs 252.6 kg.

And here is 2004. The record "The world's largest book" is shamed. So it's more pleasant that it happened in Russia. "The biggest book for kids", published in the publishing house "Ying", the more unique that it consists of ... of four pages! On these pages there are 12 poems. But the book weighs 492 kilograms, stands at 6 meters, and the width is 3 meters.

Of course, the book for kids was not made on a conventional printing press. First they made a wooden slipway, then glued the pages using special technology. At the exhibition of a children's book in Moscow, this miracle was carried on a construction panel!

The little book

For the title "The Smallest Book in the World", several unique publications are claimed at once. Until now, the palm of superiority was kept by the Russian Lefty, Sergey Konenko from Omsk. In 1996 he printed a thirty-page book measuring 0.9 * 0.9 mm, in which Chekhov's story "Chameleon" fit. But now there was a real threat to his record. In Japan there is a publishing house "Toppan", specializing in publishing original books for 40 years, since 1964. Here is published a 22-page miniature book with dimensions of 0.7 * 0.7 mm. It is called "Flowers of the Four Seasons" ("Shiki no Kusabana"), and it presents illustrations of Japan's most beautiful flowers in monochrome. To see them or read the text even in glasses is not possible. The Japanese have found a way out: those who wish can buy it for $ 300 on a more accessible scale and with a magnifying glass in addition. And for those who would like to imagine what the smallest book in the world really is in reality, the inventors distributed her photographs next to the eye of the needle. The scale is impressive.

By seniority

This is just the case when old age decorates. Especially if it's a book. In the rating of the oldest publications, as in any other, there is no unanimity. Contrary to expectations, the oldest book in the world is not the Bible. The Holy Scripture appeared in printed form only in the 15th century.

The very first printed edition has an age of five thousand years. These are clay tablets with letters. True, it is difficult to call them a book, like the ancient Egyptian papyri. Every nation has its oldest book and its material for writing. Thus, ancient Chinese people used bamboo long before the invention of paper to preserve written information.

Another example. The Museum of History in Bulgaria holds the Golden Book of the Etruscans. It was found by archaeologists during excavations of ancient tombs and presented to the museum. The examination showed that it is genuine, and its age is not less than two and a half years. The book is really golden: its leaves are made of thin gold plates, fastened like a notebook. It has drawings and engraved text in Etruscan. By the way, he still could not decipher. Whether to consider this rarity as a book is also a question: after all, this is not a printed publication in the traditional sense.

In this case, the seniority should be given to another book - a collection of sermons by the ancient Korean Buddhist monks "Cikchi". It was printed with a movable font in the walls of the Hindox monastery in the XIV century.

All this was before the era of printing. With the invention of the printing press a new era began. What was the first real book? In the middle of the 15th century, the German inventor Gutenberg published the first Bible. Not more than three dozen copies of the edition survived in the world. Today it is not only one of the most ancient, but also the most expensive book. In 1987, at the auction "Christie" she was bought for $ 5 million.

Of course, this is just a sample of knowledge, but not the final answer to the question. Times change, findings are multiplying, and research methods are becoming more and more perfect. Hence, we can assume that the oldest book in the world has not yet been found.

The beauty of the book is essential?

The question of which is the largest book in the world, can cause curiosity. But another question - about the most beautiful publication - is perceived with some perplexity. Although why not, if there is a rating "The most terrible book in the world"? And yet is it possible to rank books on the brightness of the binding, pictures, inlays? It turns out, you can. And even there is such a rating - "The most beautiful book in the world". It is headed by a folio dedicated to the great Michelangelo. On the pages of thin gold plates - his biography, his works, as well as the works of his teachers and other ministers of the muses, who especially favored the artist. Impressive and the size of the book - 24 kg, not counting the massive wooden case in which this rare edition is kept. It is really rare - it was released in a collection of 99 copies, and its value is 135 thousand dollars. For a true collector, this is perhaps not only beautiful, but also the best book in the world.

The beauty of design with this edition is competing books, designed by the book illustrator and designer from Canada, Marian Bantjes. The artist herself considers each issued edition a manifesto of beauty.

Thick is a compliment

But the thickness among the books is not equal to the code of norms and rules, according to which unemployment benefits are assigned. The idea of its creation belongs to the Danish insurance fund "Min A-Casse". 23,675 pages in a single cover - these are the sizes of this folio. The question is why it was necessary to publish such a cumbersome edition, if not to establish a record in the nomination "The Fatest Book in the World"? It turns out that the authors of the idea just wanted to show the whole world how the insurance system in Europe is bureaucratized. For comparison, they give such figures: 50 years ago, the entire volume of legislation for receiving unemployment benefits was placed on 421 pages. There is a difference.

The longest book in the world is the one you read for a long time?

This, of course, is an attempt to joke. In fact, if the book is "long," it can not be read in any way, postponed and started again. The conversation is not about such "masterpieces". Really voluminous works claiming the title of "The longest book in the world" in nature exist. Moreover, they are measured both in length in the physical sense and in terms of the volume of the printed text. In the first case, the record holder is a giant scroll containing only eleven fairy tales, but having a length of 1856 meters. This is the collective work of the inhabitants of the Italian town of Castello.

But the longest book, consisting of 27 volumes and numbering more than two million words, was written by the French writer Jules Romain. And the novel "People of Goodwill" was written in record long terms - from 1932 to 1946. The index of pages can hardly fit in 50 pages!

By the wicked irony of fate, this long and in its way the largest book in the world was not appreciated. A novel about the crisis for France and the whole world from the early twentieth century, according to critics, contained many distortions of historical truth. And there were no discounts on the author's right to artistic fiction and, even more so, to the unprecedented volumes of Roman's creation.

Everyone has his own horror story

Fearfully? Do not read. A simple question is a simple answer. But there are real fans of horror. You can even guess that such a majority - a small psychological shake is useful, as an extreme sport.

Another thing is that when asked about the most terrible book in the world, everyone has their own answer. A lot of chances for the first place in this rating from the books of Stephen King: "It", "Flying in the Night", "Children of the Corn" - can not be continued, because this author simply specializes in the genre of horror stories. And the screen versions often correspond to a printed analogue of the level of ejected adrenaline.

Many of our compatriots, especially adults, will call the most terrible book the immortal creation of N.V. Gogol "Viy". A few decades ago, his screen version was the only horror film in the country. Many were forced to shrink from fear the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle - "The Dog of the Baskervilles", "The Motley Ribbon". Edgar Poe's books impressed the imagination with their gloominess, remembering at least the "Fall of the House of Asher". From the same galaxy of authors - Oscar Wilde with his amazing "Portrait of Dorian Gray".

It should be noted that the authors of the 18-19 centuries were not fond of horror in the modern sense, but rather, mysticism. The unknown always scares. Today's horror stories are much more transparent - blood, knives, piranhas, mutants. Sharks in the most extreme case. They are not scary, but they do not always want to read and watch.

The wonderful world of books has presented and continues to present incredible surprises to book lovers. Perhaps soon the readers will become participants in a new survey, for example, about which is the most intelligent book in the world, or will think about the most favorite, most useful or, on the contrary, unnecessary edition.