The Compleat Angler

It's difficult to even compare works as widely read as Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings to the Bible. After all, the book has been around for almost 1500 years. And while Guinness has calculated that at least 5 billion copies have been made, we will never know exactly how many times it has been printed because records like that simply do not exist. Thus, the Bible is undoubtedly the most read book in human history. Surprisingly, The Complete Angler is riding the Bible's coattails.

It was a fishing manual and a sort of thesis on nature and man's role in it, first published in 1653 and last amended in 1676. Only the Bible, Pilgrim's Progress, and a few plays by Shakespeare have seen more English language editions than it did and continues to receive. 80,000 copies were sold in the 1886 reprint alone. In the 18th century, ten editions were released, and in the 19th, an astounding 117.

Published: 1653

Illustrated by :Arthur Rackham