List of best-selling books
List of best-selling individual books -- Between 20 million and 30 million copies
Table:
Book
Author(s)
Original language
First published
Approximate sales

The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
English
2008
29 million in U.S.[73]

The Young Guard (Молодая гвардия)
Alexander Alexandrovich Fadeyev
Russian
1945
26 million copies in USSR[58]

Who Moved My Cheese?
Spencer Johnson
English
1998
26 million[74]

Paul et Virginie
Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre
French
1788
25 million[75]

Lust for Life
Irving Stone
English
1934
25 million[76]

The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame
English
1908
25 million[77]

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Stephen R. Covey
English
1989
25 million[78]

Virgin Soil Upturned (Поднятая целина)
Mikhail Sholokhov
Russian
1935
24 million copies in USSR[58]

The Celestine Prophecy
James Redfield
English
1993
23 million[79]

The Fault in Our Stars
John Green
English
2012
23 million[80]

The Shack
William P. Young
English
2007
22 million[81]

Uncle Styopa (Дядя Степа)
Sergey Mikhalkov
Russian
1936
21 million copies in USSR[58]

The Godfather
Mario Puzo
English
1969
21 million[82]

Love Story

Erich Segal

English

1970

21 million[83]

Catching Fire
Suzanne Collins
English
2009
21 million in U.S.[73]

Mockingjay
Suzanne Collins
English
2010
20 million in U.S.[73]

Autobiography of a Yogi
Paramahansa Yogananda
Hindi
1946
20 million <https://www.anandala.org/autobiography-of-a-yogi/>

Gone Girl

Gillian Flynn

English

2012

20 million[84]

The Girl on the Train

Paula Hawkins

English

2015

20 million[85]

All Quiet on the Western Front (Im Westen nichts Neues)

Erich Maria Remarque

German

1929

20 million[86]

Based on the following table along with the relevant paragraphs listed at the end.

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The Hunger Games is a 2008 dystopian novel by the American writer Suzanne Collins . It is written in the voice of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen , who lives in the future , post-apocalyptic nation of Panem in North America . The Capitol , a highly advanced metropolis , exercises political control over the rest of the nation . The Hunger Games is an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12-18 from each of the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle royale to the death . The book received critical acclaim from major reviewers and authors . It was praised for its plot and character development . In writing The Hunger Games , Collins drew upon Greek mythology , Roman gladiatorial games , and contemporary reality television for thematic content . The novel won many awards , including the California Young Reader Medal , and was named one of Publishers Weekly 's Best Books of the Year in 2008 . The Hunger Games was first published in hardcover on September 14 , 2008 , by Scholastic , featuring a cover designed by Tim O'Brien . It has since been released in paperback and also as an audiobook and ebook . After an initial print of 200,000 , the book had sold 800,000 copies by February 2010 . Since its release , The Hunger Games has been translated into 26 languages , and publishing rights have been sold in 38 territories .
Suzanne Collins ( born August 10 , 1962 ) is an American television writer and author . She is known as the author of The New York Times best-selling series The Underland Chronicles and The Hunger Games trilogy .
The Young Guard ( Russian : Молодая гвардия ) is a 1946 Russian-language young adult historical novel ( rewritten in 1951 ) by Soviet writer Alexander Fadeyev . The novel describes the operations of the Young Guard , an anti-German resistance organization operating in 1942-1943 in and around the city of Krasnodon in the eastern Ukraine . Many of the Young Guard were executed by the Germans . Most of the main characters of the novel - Oleg Koshevoy , Juliana Gromova , Lyubov Shevtsova , Ivan Zemnukhov , Sergei Tyulenin , etc . - were actually existing people , although aspects of their characters , actions , and dialogues were invented or creatively embellished by the novelist , and there are also fictional characters in the novel . The Young Guard was the second most popular work of children 's literature in the Soviet Union for the period 1918-1986 , with total sales over 276 editions of 26,143,000 copies .
Alexander Alexandrovich Fadeyev ( Russian : Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Фаде́ев ; 24 December [ O.S . 11 December ] 1901 - 13 May 1956 ) was a Soviet writer , one of the co-founders of the Union of Soviet Writers and its chairman from 1946 to 1954 .
Who Moved My Cheese ? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life , published on September 8 , 1998 , is a motivational business fable . The text describes change in one 's work and life , and four typical reactions to those changes by two mice and two Littlepeople , during their hunt for cheese . A New York Times business bestseller upon release , Who Moved My Cheese ? remained on the list for almost five years and spent over 200 weeks on Publishers Weekly 's hardcover nonfiction list . It has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide in 37 languages and remains one of the best-selling business books .
Patrick Spencer Johnson ( November 24 , 1938 - July 3 , 2017 ) was an American physician and author , known for the ValueTales series of children 's books , and for his 1998 self-help book Who Moved My Cheese ? , which recurred on the New York Times Bestseller list , on the Publishers Weekly Hardcover nonfiction list . Johnson was chairman of Spencer Johnson Partners . Johnson also wrote the book Yes or No : The Guide to Better Decisions ( 1992 ) . He co-authored the One Minute Manager series of books with management writer Ken Blanchard , though each author has added their own books to the series . Johnson 's last book , Out of the Maze , is a sequel to Who Moved My Cheese that references Johnson 's struggle with cancer ( which ultimately ended with his death in 2017 ) and was published posthumously in 2018 . Johnson 's books have been translated into twenty-six languages .
Paul et Virginie ( or Paul and Virginia ) is a novel by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre , first published in 1788 . The novel 's title characters are friends since birth who fall in love . The story is set on the island of Mauritius under French rule , then named Île de France . Written on the eve of the French Revolution , the novel is recognized as Bernardin 's finest work . [ citation needed ] It records the fate of a child of nature corrupted by the artificial sentimentality of the French upper classes in the late eighteenth century . Bernardin de Saint-Pierre lived on the island for a time and based part of the novel on a shipwreck he witnessed there .
Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre ( also called Bernardin de St. Pierre ) ( 19 January 1737 Le Havre - 21 January 1814 Éragny , Val-d'Oise ) was a French writer and botanist . He is best known for his 1788 novel Paul et Virginie , now largely forgotten , but in the 19th century a very popular children 's book .
Lust for Life ( 1934 ) is a biographical novel written by Irving Stone based on the life of the famous Dutch painter , Vincent van Gogh , and his hardships . It was adapted into a 1956 film of the same name starring Kirk Douglas , which was nominated for four Academy Awards , winning one . It is Stone 's first major publication and is largely based on the collection of letters between Vincent van Gogh and his younger brother , art dealer Theo van Gogh . They lay the foundation for most of what is known about the thoughts and beliefs of the artist . Stone conducted a large amount of on-field research as is mentioned in the afterword . Lust for Life is famous for the way it describes the origins of many of the artist 's famous paintings including The Potato Eaters , Sunflowers and others . Stone wanted to explain Van Gogh 's difficult life and how he began , flourished , and died as a painter . People close to Van Gogh 's life , like Paul Gauguin , are also characters in the novel . The book is separated into nine smaller 'books ' , titled based on the places he lived : London ( Prologue ) , the Borinage , Etten , The Hague , Paris , Arles , St. Remy , and Auvers .
Irving Stone ( born Tennenbaum , July 14 , 1903 , San Francisco , California - August 26 , 1989 , Los Angeles ) was an American writer , chiefly known for his biographical novels of noted artists , politicians and intellectuals ; among the best known are Lust for Life ( 1934 ) , about the life of Vincent van Gogh , and The Agony and the Ecstasy ( 1961 ) , about Michelangelo .
The Wind in the Willows is a children 's novel by Scottish novelist Kenneth Grahame , first published in 1908 . Alternatingly slow-moving and fast-paced , it focuses on four anthropomorphised animals : Mole , Rat ( a European water vole ) , Toad , and Badger . They live in a pastoral version of Edwardian England . The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism , adventure , morality , and camaraderie , and celebrated for its evocation of the nature of the Thames Valley . In 1908 , Grahame retired from his position as secretary of the Bank of England . He moved back to Berkshire , where he had lived as a child , and spent his time by the River Thames , doing much as the animal characters in his book do - to quote , simply messing about in boats - and expanding the bedtime stories he had earlier told his son Alastair into a manuscript for the book . The novel was in its 31st printing when playwright A . A. Milne adapted part of it for the stage as Toad of Toad Hall in 1929 . In 1949 , the first film adaptation was produced by Walt Disney as one of two segments in the package film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad . In 2003 , The Wind in the Willows was listed at # 16 in the BBC 's survey The Big Read . More than a century after its original publication , it was adapted again for the stage , as a 2016 musical by Julian Fellowes .
Kenneth Grahame ( /ˈɡreɪ.əm/ GRAY-əm ; 8 March 1859 - 6 July 1932 ) was a British writer , most famous for The Wind in the Willows ( 1908 ) , one of the classics of children 's literature . He also wrote The Reluctant Dragon . Both books were later adapted for stage and film , of which A . A. Milne 's Toad of Toad Hall was the first . The Disney films The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad and The Reluctant Dragon are other adaptations .
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , first published in 1989 , is a business and self-help book written by Stephen Covey . Covey presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls true north principles based on a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless . Covey defines effectiveness as the balance of obtaining desirable results with caring for that which produces those results . He illustrates this by referring to the fable of the goose that laid the golden eggs . He further claims that effectiveness can be expressed in terms of the P/PC ratio , where P refers to getting desired results and PC is caring for that which produces the results . Covey 's best-known book has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide since its first publication . The audio version became the first non-fiction audio-book in U.S. publishing history to sell more than one million copies . Covey argues against what he calls the personality ethic , that he sees as prevalent in many modern self-help books . He promotes what he labels the character ethic : aligning one 's values with so-called universal and timeless principles . In doing this , Covey is deliberately and mindfully separating principles and values . He sees principles as external natural laws , while values remain internal and subjective . Our values govern our behavior , while principles ultimately determine the consequences .
Stephen Richards Covey ( October 24 , 1932 - July 16 , 2012 ) was an American educator , author , businessman , and keynote speaker . His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People . His other books include First Things First , Principle-Centered Leadership , The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families , The 8th Habit , and The Leader In Me - How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness , One Child at a Time . In 1996 , Time magazine named him one of the 25 most influential people . He was a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University at the time of his death .
Virgin Soil Upturned ( Russian : Поднятая целина ) is a 1959 Soviet drama film directed by Aleksandr Ivanov .
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov ( Russian : Михаи́л Алекса́ндрович Шо́лохов , IPA : [ ˈʂoləxəf ] ; 24 May [ O.S . 11 May ] 1905 - 21 February 1984 ) was a Soviet/Russian novelist and winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature . He is known for writing about life and fate of Don Cossacks during the Russian Revolution , the civil war and the period of collectivization , primarily in his most famous novel , And Quiet Flows the Don .
The Celestine Prophecy : An Adventure is a 1993 novel by James Redfield that discusses various psychological and spiritual ideas rooted in multiple ancient Eastern traditions and New Age spirituality . The main character undertakes a journey to find and understand a series of nine spiritual insights in an ancient manuscript in Peru . The book is a first-person narrative of the narrator 's spiritual awakening as he goes through a transitional period of his life .
James Redfield is an American author , lecturer , screenwriter and film producer . He is notable for his novel The Celestine Prophecy .
The Fault in Our Stars is a novel by John Green . It is his fourth solo novel , and sixth novel overall . It was published on January 12 , 2012 . The title is inspired by Act 1 , Scene 2 of Shakespeare 's play Julius Caesar , in which the nobleman Cassius says to Brutus : The fault , dear Brutus , is not in our stars , / But in ourselves , that we are underlings . The story is narrated by Hazel Grace Lancaster , a 16-year-old girl with thyroid cancer that has affected her lungs . Hazel is forced by her parents to attend a support group where she subsequently meets and falls in love with 17-year-old Augustus Waters , an ex-basketball player and amputee . A feature film adaptation of the novel directed by Josh Boone and starring Shailene Woodley , Ansel Elgort , and Nat Wolff was released on June 6 , 2014 . Both the book and its film adaptation were met with strong critical and commercial success .
John Michael Green ( born August 24 , 1977 ) is an American author and YouTube content creator . He won the 2006 Printz Award for his debut novel , Looking for Alaska , and his fourth solo novel , The Fault in Our Stars , debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list in January 2012 . The 2014 film adaptation opened at number one at the box office . In 2014 , Green was included in Time magazine 's list of The 100 Most Influential People in the World . Another film based on a Green novel , Paper Towns , was released on July 24 , 2015 . Aside from being a novelist , Green is also well known for his YouTube ventures . In 2007 , he launched the Vlogbrothers channel with his brother , Hank Green . Since then , John and Hank have launched events such as Project for Awesome and VidCon and created a total of 11 online series , including Crash Course , an educational channel teaching Literature , History , and Science , later joined by fourteen other courses as of 2018 .
The Shack is a novel by Canadian author William P. Young that was published in 2007 . The novel was self-published but became a USA Today bestseller , having sold 1 million copies as of June 8 , 2008 . It was the No . 1 paperback trade fiction seller on The New York Times Best Seller list from June 2008 to early 2010 , in a publishing partnership with Hachette Book Group USA 's FaithWords imprint ( Hodder & Stoughton in the UK ) . In 2009 it was awarded the Diamond Award for sales of over 10 million copies by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association . The title of the book is a metaphor for the house you build out of your own pain , as Young explained in a telephone interview . He also told radio host talk show Drew Marshall that The Shack is a metaphor for the places you get stuck , you get hurt , you get damaged.the thing where shame or hurt is centered .
William Paul Young , referred to generally as Wm . Paul Young or simply Paul Young , ( born May 11 , 1955 ) is a Canadian author . He wrote the novels The Shack , Cross Roads and Eve .
Uncle Styopa ( Russian : Дядя Стёпа , IPA : [ ˈdʲædʲə ˈstʲɵpɐ ] ) , also known as Dyadya Stepa , is a series of poems written by Russian children 's poet Sergey Mikhalkov . They were written in trochaic tetrameter . The poems featured a brave and noble militsioner ( a policeman ) who was unusual due to his extreme height . The name of the protagonist of the series was Stepan Stepanov ( Russian : Степан Степанов ) , or Styopa , which is a diminutive of the Russian given name Stepan . He performed various acts of good will , such as rescuing people , preventing train crashes , helping firefighters , stopping a school bully or working as a police officer for the Soviet Militsiya . Styopa is a wise , brave , generous , noble , fun-loving character . He fights against injustice and serves as an inspiration to the pioneers . It was largely due to this set of poems , among others written during the 1930s in the Soviet Union , that Mikhalkov achieved fame and garnered admiration from the Soviet population . His popularity was phenomenal . Uncle Styopa 's face was almost instantly associated with the face of the author . Sergey Mikhalkov himself looked like a tall athlete , and the first illustrators of the poem pictured Uncle Styopa with Mikhalkov 's face . More than 250 million copies of the poems have been sold .
Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov ( Russian : Серге́й Влади́мирович Михалко́в ; 13 March [ O.S . 28 February ] 1913 − 27 August 2009 ) was a Soviet and Russian author of children 's books and satirical fables who had the opportunity to write the lyrics of his country 's national anthem on three different occasions , spanning almost 60 years .
The Godfather is a crime novel by American author Mario Puzo . Originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam 's Sons , the novel details the story of a fictional Mafia family in New York City ( and Long Beach , New York ) , headed by Vito Corleone . Puzo 's dedication for The Godfather is For Anthony Cleri . The epigraph for The Godfather is Behind every great fortune there is a crime . - Balzac . The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955 and provides the back story of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood . The first in a series of novels , The Godfather is noteworthy for introducing Italian words like consigliere , caporegime , Cosa Nostra , and omertà to an English-speaking audience . It inspired a 1972 film of the same name . Two film sequels , including new contributions by Puzo himself , were made in 1974 and 1990 . The first two films are widely held in high esteem as examples of the cinematic arts .
Mario Gianluigi Puzo ( /ˈpuːzoʊ/ ; October 15 , 1920 - July 2 , 1999 ) was an American author , screenwriter and journalist . He is known for his crime novels about the Italian-American mafia , most notably The Godfather ( 1969 ) , which he later co-adapted into a three-part film saga directed by Francis Ford Coppola . He received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the first film in 1972 and Part II in 1974 . Puzo also wrote the original screenplay for the 1978 Superman film . His final novel , The Family , was released posthumously in 2001 .
Love Story is a 1970 romance novel by American writer Erich Segal . The book 's origins lay in a screenplay that Segal wrote , and that was subsequently approved for production by Paramount Pictures . Paramount requested that Segal adapt the story into novel form as a preview of sorts for the film . The novel was released on February 14 , 1970 , Valentine 's Day . Portions of the story originally appeared in The Ladies ' Home Journal . [ clarification needed ] Love Story became the top-selling work of fiction for all of 1970 in the United States , and was translated into more than 20 languages . The novel stayed for 41 weeks in The New York Times Best Seller list , reaching the top spot . A sequel , Oliver 's Story , was published in 1977 . A film adaptation was released on December 16 , 1970 .
Erich Wolf Segal ( June 16 , 1937 - January 17 , 2010 ) was an American author , screenwriter , educator and classicist . He was best known for writing the bestselling novel Love Story ( 1970 ) and the hit motion picture of the same name .
Catching Fire is a 2009 science fiction young adult novel by the American novelist Suzanne Collins , the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy . As the sequel to the 2008 bestseller The Hunger Games , it continues the story of Katniss Everdeen and the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem . Following the events of the previous novel , a rebellion against the oppressive Capitol has begun , and Katniss and fellow tribute Peeta Mellark are forced to return to the arena in a special edition of the Hunger Games . The book was first published on September 1 , 2009 , by Scholastic , in hardcover , and was later released in ebook and audiobook format . Catching Fire received mostly positive reviews , with reviewers praising Collins ' prose , the book 's ending , and the development of Katniss 's character . According to critics , major themes of the novel include survival , authoritarianism , rebellion and interdependence versus independence . The book has sold more than 19 million copies in the U.S. alone . A film adaptation , The Hunger Games : Catching Fire , was released on November 22 , 2013 .
Mockingjay is a 2010 science fiction novel by American author Suzanne Collins . It is the last installment of The Hunger Games , following 2008 's The Hunger Games and 2009 's Catching Fire . The book continues the story of Katniss Everdeen , who agrees to unify the districts of Panem in a rebellion against the tyrannical Capitol . The hardcover and audiobook editions of Mockingjay were published by Scholastic on August 24 , 2010 , six days after the ebook edition went on sale . The book sold 450,000 copies in the first week of release , exceeding the publisher 's expectations . It received a generally positive reaction from critics . The book has been adapted into a two-part movie , with the first part released on November 21 , 2014 and the second part released on November 20 , 2015 .
Autobiography of a Yogi is an autobiography of Paramahansa Yogananda ( January 5 , 1893-March 7 , 1952 ) first published in 1946 . Paramahansa Yogananda was born as Mukunda Lal Ghosh in Gorakhpur , India , into a Bengali Hindu family . Autobiography of a Yogi introduces the reader to the life of Paramahansa Yogananda and his encounters with spiritual figures of both the Eastern and the Western world . The book begins with his childhood family life , to finding his guru , to becoming a monk and establishing his teachings of Kriya Yoga meditation . The book continues in 1920 when Yogananda accepts an invitation to speak in a religious congress in Boston , Massachusetts , USA . He then travels across America lecturing and establishing his teachings in Los Angeles , California . In 1935 , he returns to India for a yearlong visit . When he returns to America , he continues to establish his teachings , including writing this book . The book is an introduction to the methods of attaining God-realization and to the spiritual wisdom of the East , which had only been available to a few in 1946 . The author claims that the writing of the book was prophesied long ago by the nineteenth-century master Lahiri Mahasaya ( Paramguru of Yogananda ) also known as the Yogiraj and Kashi baba . Before becoming a yogi , Lahiri Mahasaya 's actual name was Shyama Charan Lahiri . It has been in print for seventy years and translated into over fifty languages by Self-Realization Fellowship .
Paramahansa Yogananda ( born Mukunda Lal Ghosh ; January 5 , 1893 - March 7 , 1952 ) was an Indian monk , yogi and guru who lived his last 32 years in America . He introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowship ( SRF ) / Yogoda Satsanga Society ( YSS ) of India . A chief disciple of the Bengali yoga guru Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri , he was sent by his lineage to spread the teachings of yoga to the West , to prove the unity between Eastern and Western religions and to preach a balance between Western material growth and Indian spirituality . His long-standing influence in the American yoga movement , and especially the yoga culture of Los Angeles , led him to be considered by yoga experts as the Father of Yoga in the West . Yogananda was the first major Indian teacher to settle in America , and the first prominent Indian to be hosted in the White House ( by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927 ) ; his early acclaim led to him being dubbed the 20th century 's first superstar guru , by the Los Angeles Times . Arriving in Boston in 1920 , he embarked on a successful transcontinental speaking tour before settling in Los Angeles in 1925 . For the next two and a half decades , he gained local fame as well as expanded his influence worldwide : he created a monastic order , went on teaching-tours , bought properties for his organization in various California locales , and initiated thousands into Kriya Yoga . By 1952 , SRF had over 100 centers in both India and the US ; today , they have groups in nearly every major American city . His plain living and high thinking principles attracted people from all backgrounds among his followers . He published his book Autobiography of a Yogi in 1946 to critical and commercial acclaim ; since its first publishing , it has sold over four million copies , with HarperSan Francisco listing it as one of the 100 best spiritual books of the 20th Century . Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs had ordered 500 copies of the book for his own memorial , for each guest to be given a copy . The book has been regularly reprinted and is known as the book that changed the lives of millions .
Gone Girl is a thriller novel in the mystery and crime genres , by the American writer Gillian Flynn . It was published by Crown Publishing Group in June 2012 . The novel became quite popular and soon made the New York Times Best Seller list . The sense of suspense in the novel comes from whether or not Nick Dunne is involved in the disappearance of his wife Amy . In several interviews , Flynn has said that she was inspired to write the novel by the disappearance of Californian Laci Peterson in late 2002 . Portraying her principal characters as out-of-work writers , she made use of her own experience being laid off from her job as a writer for Entertainment Weekly . Critics in the United States positively received and reviewed the novel . Reviewers praised the novel 's use of unreliable narration , plot twists , and suspense . A film adaptation was released on October 3 , 2014 , directed by David Fincher , but written by Flynn herself , with Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike starring in lead roles . The film was met with both commercial success and widespread critical acclaim .
Gillian Schieber Flynn ( /ˈɡɪliən/ ; born February 24 , 1971 ) is an American writer . Flynn has published three novels , Sharp Objects , Dark Places , and Gone Girl , all three of which have been adapted for film or television . Flynn wrote the adaptations for the 2014 Gone Girl film and the HBO limited series Sharp Objects . She was formerly a television critic for Entertainment Weekly .
The Girl on the Train is a 2015 psychological thriller novel by British author Paula Hawkins that gives narratives from three different women about relationship troubles and binge drinking . The novel debuted in the number one spot on The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2015 list ( print and e-book ) dated 1 February 2015 , and remained in the top position for 13 consecutive weeks , until April 2015 . In January 2016 it became the # 1 best-seller again for two weeks . Many reviews referred to the book as the next Gone Girl , referring to a popular 2012 psychological mystery with similar themes that used unreliable narrators . By early March , less than two months after its release , the novel had sold over one million copies , and an additional half million by April . It occupied the # 1 spot of the UK hardback book chart for 20 weeks , the longest any book has ever held the top spot . By early August , the book had sold more than three million copies in the U.S. alone , and , by October 2016 , an estimated 15 million copies worldwide . The audiobook edition , released by Books on Tape , was narrated by Clare Corbett , Louise Brealey and India Fisher . It won the 2016 Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year . The film rights were acquired before the book was even published , in 2014 , by DreamWorks Pictures for Marc Platt Productions . The American film adaptation , starring Emily Blunt and directed by Tate Taylor , was released on 7 October 2016 .
Paula Hawkins ( born 26 August 1972 ) is a Zimbabwe-born British author , best known for her best-selling psychological thriller novel The Girl on the Train ( 2015 ) , which deals with themes of domestic violence , alcohol , and drug abuse . The novel was adapted into a film starring Emily Blunt in 2016 . Hawkins ' second thriller novel , Into the Water , was released in 2017 .
All Quiet on the Western Front ( German : Im Westen nichts Neues , lit . 'Nothing New In the West ' ) is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque , a German veteran of World War I . The book describes the German soldiers ' extreme physical and mental stress during the war , and the detachment from civilian life felt by many of these soldiers upon returning home from the front . The novel was first published in November and December 1928 in the German newspaper Vossische Zeitung and in book form in late January 1929 . The book and its sequel , The Road Back ( 1930 ) , were among the books banned and burned in Nazi Germany . All Quiet on the Western Front sold 2.5 million copies in 22 languages in its first 18 months in print . In 1930 , the book was adapted as an Academy-Award-winning film of the same name , directed by Lewis Milestone . It was adapted again in 1979 by Delbert Mann , this time as a television film starring Richard Thomas and Ernest Borgnine .
Erich Maria Remarque ( born Erich Paul Remark ; 22 June 1898 - 25 September 1970 ) was a 20th-century German novelist . His landmark novel All Quiet on the Western Front ( 1928 ) , about the German military experience of World War I , was an international best-seller which created a new literary genre , and was subsequently made into the cinema film All Quiet on the Western Front ( 1930 ) .