The Book to End All Books

Just when you thought your two-volume course-pack for “First Nights” was the ultimate in oversized ridiculousness, our friends over at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have gone and upped the standard. MIT scientist Michael Hawley has authored the world’s largest book: a 133-pound, five-by-seven-foot tome entitled “Bhutan: A Visual Odyssey Across the Kingdom.” The book’s 112 pages showcases spectacular digital photographs of the tiny country perched in the Himalayas and required innovations in bookbinding (all done by hand) to put together. For a donation of just $10,000 or more, you too can own this Guinness record-breaking literary creation. All proceeds will go to a charity founded by Hawley called Friendly Planet, which builds and supports schools in Bhutan and Cambodia.  Hawley, director of special projects at MIT and a faculty member at the famed Media Lab for 10 years, says he received about two dozen orders even before the book was launched. Guess there must a market for really heavy reading out there.