Friday, February 4, 2011

Indonesian Book on Obama Sets Record for Thickest Book

Timed to coincide with President Barack Obama’s visit to Indonesia, on November 9th, 2010, was a book launch for what has become the world’s thickest book, “Obama and Pluralism.”

The book is a whopping 5,247 pages, and a record-breaking 34 cm (13.4 inches) thick. It compiles the works of almost 40 people, written over five days and took less than one year to publish.

The author of “Obama dan pluralisme,” the book’s Indonesian name, is Damien Dematra. This is his seventh book about the American President. Dematra is a highly accomplished and prolific novelist, screenwriter, director, producer, photographer, and painter. He has written 62 novels in both English and Indonesian, 57 scripts for film and TV, and produced 28 films, including “Little Obama.” During his career as a painter he once produced a painting every day for one year.

The previous world record for thickest book was set in 2009 by Agatha Christie’s “Queen of Crime,” the complete collection of Miss Marple stories—12 novels and 20 short stories. That book is 4,032 pages with a spine measuring 32.2 cm (12.6 inches), according to the Guinness World Records website.