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Top Selling Books of All-Time

Everyone wants to know what the top selling books of all-time are. Many know the number one book but will be somewhat surprised by the rest of the list.

1. Bible

This one is quite obvious. The Christian Bible is bought by both churches and its followers around the world. Although it wasn't the first mass produced book (that honor goes to what is likely a lost Greek work), it is one of the oldest still published books.

2. Quotations from Chairman Mao (The Little Red Book)

This is the single most sold and printed book during the 20th century (and it was only being published from 1964 to 1976). Its popularity is largely due to its unofficial requirement for every Chinese citizen to own, read, and carry during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Over 5 billion copies of The Little Red Book were printed.

3. Qur'an (Koran)

Like the Christian Bible, the Qur'an is owned by almost every follower of its religion. Islam has the second most followers (after Christianity) with an estimated 1.5 billion. It's not surprising that this book is the third most sold of all-time.

4. Xinhua Zidian

If you haven't heard of this book, don't worry. It is actually a Chinese character dictionary. Xinhua Zidian is bought mainly by students but also anyone who wishes to learn Chinese.

5. Chairman Mao's Poems

This is probably Mao's best work. Although he wasn't China's most talented poet, his poems are seen as well-written and of high quality. As you can imagine, with his influence and relatively well-written poetry, many people would want to own a copy of Mao's poems.

6. Selected Articles of Mao Zedong

As you might have noticed, anything Mao Zedong did was highly publicized in China and thought to have been (almost) required reading by all Chinese citizens.

7. A Tale of Two Cities

Now back to English! This is Charles Dicken's magnum opas. Fun fact: The original A Tale of Two Cities wasn't published as a single book. Like most of Dicken's novels, it was published in weekly installments over a course of thirty-one weeks. In total, over 200 million copies have been sold.

8. Scouting for Boys

Another book bought and read by followers of an organization. You might have guys the Boy Scouts, and you would be right. The author, Robert Baden-Powell, started the Scout movement in 1907 and shortly after published this book.

9. Lord of the Rings (originally intended as one volume)

Although this is seen as a book series, it was originally written as one book--it was divided into three books by the publisher. This "book" sold quite well during it's first run. And with the push from the recent movies, the books easily pushed into the top 10.

10. Book of Mormon

Can you say "organization"? Again, a book bought by its followers. This book is bought and read by the Ladder Day Saint movement and is published by its founder, Joseph Smith, Jr.

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And there you have it! The top selling books of all-time.

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