List of largest single-volume books by page count
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This page provides lists of the largest/thickest single-volume books to date both published and unpublished. This list does not include works that span over more than one volume, such as À la recherche du temps perdu, which is regarded as the longest novel ever written.[1]
Records indicate that Guinness World Records began taking in "thickest book" nominations in 2009, where The Complete Miss Marple held the title with 4,032 pages.[2] In 2013, Danish dictionary Verdens Største Ordbog won the title for "Thickest Unpublished Book," with a page count of 89,471.[3]
According to Guinness World Records, as of 2023, World-2023 ESN Publications and London Organisation of Skills Development Ltd is the thickest book ever to have been physically produced, with a page count of 100,100.[4] Guinness also credits Shree Haricharitramrut Sagar as being the longest book to ever be published with a page count of 10,080.[5][6]
Single-volume length
Books with more than 1,000 pages are rare due to impracticality. Ilan Manouach's Onepiece, a book of more than 20,000 pages, was labeled functionally as a "sculpture" because of the difficulty one would experience when trying to turn its many pages.[7] Many novels with a total page count that reaches into the thousands are split into different volumes. Novels that use this method are often regarded as a singular entity in conversations pertaining to "the largest novels ever written." For example, In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust and Artamène by Madeleine de Scudéry (and/or) Georges de Scudéry, both titles which span over several volumes, are regarded by some sources as the longest novels ever written.[8]
Single-volume books with page counts exceeding 2,000 pages exist for a plethora of different reasons. Books that fall under this category include anthologies, dictionaries, and legal records. Single-volume books with exceedingly high page counts are often produced through a deliberate effort. This may be done in order to break a record, raise awareness,[4][9][10] or commemorate an event.[11] Books of this magnitude are usually produced by large teams of people in order to be made. The thickest single-volume book in the world, World-2023 ESN Publications and London Organisation of Skills Development Ltd, with a page count of 100,100 containing 7,862 articles, required a team of 292 participants.[12]
Key
Published
Unpublished
Unknown publication status
List of largest books by page count
| Book | Author(s) | Page total | Dimensions cm (in) (d x h x w) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World-2023 ESN Publications and London Organisation of Skills Development Ltd | 100,100[4] | 580 (228.48) (depth)[4] | The book is an anthology of articles collected from universities across India and the United Kingdom. The diverse subject matter is meant to demonstrate various feats of mankind. These include engineering, medicine, arts, and science.[13] | |
| Verdens Største Ordbog | 89,471[3] | 462 (181.92) (depth)[3] | A compilation of 46 dictionaries available on Ordbogen.com.[3] | |
| Pátria Amada | Vinicios Leoncio | 41,000[14] | 210 (82.68) (depth)[citation needed] | Out of frustration over Brazil's tax laws, Brazilian tax lawyer Vinicios Leoncio spent 23 years compiling all of its legislation into a single book. It was written in 22 Arial font on pieces of paper.[9] |
| Onepiece | Ilan Manouach (compiler) Eiichiro Oda (contents) | 21,540[15] | 80 x 12 x 11 (31.20 x 6.96 x 4.56)[15] | A compilation of 102 volumes of the One Piece manga series.[6] |
| Poetry City Marathon | Dave Morice | 10,119[16] | 61 x 23 x 22 (24 x 11.04 x 8.52)[17] | A poetry book conceived in honor of Iowa City being named "City of Literature" by the UNESCO.[11] |
| Shree Haricharitramrut Sagar | Sadguru Shri Aadharanand Swami | 10,080[5] | 50 x 22 x 14 (19.56 x 8.64 x 5.64)[18] | A biography of Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan.[18] |
| Century Dictionary (1914) | 8,500[19] | 24 x 27 x 32 (12.24 x 10.56 x 9.48)[citation needed] | A dictionary of the English language. | |
| Kavyodadhi’ / Kavyodadhi Mahagranth[20] | Vallabhdas Jerambhai Dabariya | 5,915[21] | A collection of 12,345 Gujarati poems.[21] | |
| Wikipedia | Rob Matthews | 5,000[22] | A printed version of 2,559 featured Wikipedia articles from 2009.[23] | |
| The Complete Miss Marple | Agatha Christie | 4,032[24] | The complete Miss Marple series–12 novels and 20 short stories–compiled into a single volume.[24] | |
| Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office Volume CXXVII. March – April 1907. | 3,820[25] | 17 x 21 x 28 (6.96 x 8.04 x 11.04)[25] | The 127th volume in a collection documenting United States patents.[25] A photo shared by an associate of the Thomas Edison National Historical Park indicates that other volumes in this collection may be of a similar length.[25] Only volume CXXVII's official page count has been disclosed. | |
| Webster's New International Dictionary (second edition) | 3,210[26] | 14 x 23 x 30 (5.52 x 9.24 x 12)[citation needed] | A dictionary of the English language. Editors claim for there to be more than 600,000 entries.[citation needed] | |
| Webster's Third New International Dictionary | 2,816[27] | 8 x 24 x 32 (3.24 x 9.48 x 12.84)[citation needed] | A dictionary of the English language. This rendition includes 476,000 entries.[citation needed] | |
| Death Note All-In-One Edition | Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata | 2,400[28] | 11 x 18 x 8 (4.68 x 7.08 x 3.36)[citation needed] | A collection of all 12 volumes of the Death Note manga series.[28] |
| Shonen Jummaga Special Commemorative Edition | 2,264[29] | 13 (5.16) (depth)[29] | A collection of 44 different manga series compiled by Weekly Shōnen Jump and Weekly Shōnen Magazine.[29] | |
| Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary | 2,129[30] | 12 x 22 x 29 (4.80 x 8.76 x 11.28)[citation needed] | A dictionary of the English language. |
Unknown placement
| Book | Author(s) | Dimensions cm (in) (d x h x w) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reference Catalogue of Current Literatures (vol. I-III) | 26 (10.20) (depth) | UK Publishers catalogues for the year 1913. The third volume measured in at around 10 inches thick.[31] | |
| London Gazette (Apr. - June, 1919) | 24 (9.48) (depth) | According to the National Library of Scotland, this is the largest book in their collection.[citation needed] |