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How Would You Choose a Book for All Mankind?

IF YOU, in spite of all the day-to-day things that you must do, could somehow manage to read one book a week, you would be able to read over 3,000 volumes in your lifetime. Remarkable as that may seem, it is no more than a drop in the bucket when you consider that each year more than ten times that many new publications are printed in the United States alone. And that does not even include the thousands of standard classics that every educated person is supposed to have read.

Clearly, when it comes to books, an observation made some 3,000 years ago is today as appropriate as ever: “To the making of many books there is no end, and much devotion to them is wearisome to the flesh.”​—Ecclesiastes 12:12.

But out of this proliferation of books, is there one that is so valuable and important that it stands out above all the rest as a book that everyone should read? Is there one that transcends national, cultural, and language barriers and qualifies to be called a book for all mankind?

The question of what we should read is of more than mere academic interest because it ultimately influences our way of thinking, our values, and our judgment. It has occupied the attention of educators, parents, and others​—past and present. Numerous surveys about what constitutes essential reading have been conducted, and the results have been most revealing.

The Experts’ Choice

In 1890 a book publisher took up the subject with many of the leading literary figures of the day. He asked them to name the books that they felt were most significant. The result? “The Bible, Shakespeare, and Homer were the overwhelming favorites of men of letters during the nineteenth century,” reports one reference work. “And,” it adds, “the honor roll would remain essentially unchanged today.”

More recent surveys have agreed with this. For example, in September 1982, Time magazine published the response of eight prominent professors, historians, and librarians to the question, “What five books should every educated person have read?” Though there was not full agreement among the experts, five of the eight​—a clear majority—​included the Bible in their recommendations. Regarding a similar survey, Psychology Today reports that “of the 165 books cited, the Bible got the most votes: 15. No other book came close.”

Particularly interesting are the findings of a poll conducted by The Korea Times to determine how the non-Christians of the nation view the Christian churches. “The poll report showed that Christians, compared to non-Christians, are more egoistic, more money-grabbing and less conscientious,” says the paper. However, the report goes on to say: “Regardless of their nonfaith, 70 percent of the pollees highly evaluate the greatness of the Bible.”

The Ultimate Choice

Many similar polls and surveys can be cited to show that time and again the Bible has been selected as the book that stands out far above all others. For various reasons, it has proved to be the ultimate choice among books, past and present, east and west.

More importantly, though, what is your personal view? If you live in a Western country, do you perhaps feel that the Bible is no longer up to date in our modern, scientific world and that it is of little value in dealing with today’s problems? If you live in an Eastern country, do you view the Bible as a Western book and thus of no real importance to you? Or does the Bible have a message that all people today need to hear? Does it come to grips with the problems that people everywhere face today? Is it really a book for all mankind?