CIVIL WAR BY THE MILE
Curious about America’s many twists and turns? Send your “What IF?” question to The Attic at bwattic@gmail.com. If it’s chosen, you’ll win some Attic merch.
No exact number of Civil War books has been confirmed but estimates approach 100,000. At an average of nine inches in length, these 100,000 books would stretch 14.2 miles, roughly the distance from Chancellorsville to Fredericksburg. (And if neither of those names right a bell, you should read at least ONE of the 100K.). But. . .
Since laying books end-to-end is a lost art, a better question is how long it would take to read all 100,000 Civil War books. At an average length of 300 pages per book, read at a studious two hours per day, 25 pages an hour, and you’ll finish a book a week. Taking two weeks off a year for summer reading, you could read EVERY book about the Civil War in a mere 2,000 years.
It would be easier to polish off a popular biographical subject. Here’s a list:
Located at the DC house where Lincoln died, this tower of books about includes 7,000 titles. Thanks to Atlas Obscura.
Lincoln — 15,000 books — 300 years
JFK — 40,000 books — 800 years
Albert Einstein — 2,000 books — 40 years
Eleanor Roosevelt — 4,000 books — 80 years
Beyonce — 94 books (not including notebooks, sticker books, and paper doll cutouts) — 22 months
