The book is named after Thomas Coke, the Earl of Leicester, who purchased it in 1717. It was later acquired by Armand Hammer, the American businessman and art collector, who sold it to Bill Gates.
Other expensive books include a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, which was sold for $5.39 million in 1987, and a first edition of James Audubon's Birds of America, which was sold for $11.5 million in 2010. However, neither of these books come close to the Codex Leicester in terms of price.
Determining the most read book of all time is difficult because there is no accurate way to measure the exact number of times a book has been read throughout history. However, the Bible is widely considered to be the most read book in the world, with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed worldwide.
The Bible is a collection of religious texts and scriptures that are sacred to Christians, Jews, and Muslims. It contains two main sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is a collection of religious writings that date back to ancient times and tell the story of the Jewish people, while the New Testament is focused on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
The Bible has been translated into over 2,000 languages and dialects, making it accessible to people all around the world. It has influenced art, literature, and culture in countless ways throughout history, and continues to be a source of inspiration and guidance for millions of people today.
The oldest known book is the "Epic of Gilgamesh," a collection of Sumerian poems and myths that were written down on clay tablets in cuneiform script. The stories in the epic date back to as early as the 3rd millennium BCE, although the tablets that have been found are from the 7th century BCE.
The "Epic of Gilgamesh" tells the story of a king named Gilgamesh, who goes on a quest for eternal life after the death of his friend Enkidu. The story includes themes of mortality, friendship, and the relationship between gods and humans.
Other ancient books include the Egyptian Book of the Dead, a collection of spells and prayers for the afterlife that dates back to around 1550 BCE, and the Chinese Book of Documents, a collection of speeches and historical records that dates back to the 5th century BCE.