What is the Oldest book in history?

There's no single definitive answer to the "oldest book" question, as it depends on how you define "book." Here's why it's tricky:

* Defining "Book": Do we mean a bound volume? A collection of written material? Something with a cover? This affects what qualifies as a "book."

* Materials and Preservation: Early writing was often on perishable materials like papyrus or clay tablets. These are far less likely to survive intact than materials like parchment or paper.

Here are some contenders for "oldest book":

* The "Book of the Dead" (Ancient Egypt): This collection of spells and prayers, dating back to the late third millennium BCE, is often cited as an early example of a book, but it wasn't a single bound volume.

* The "Code of Hammurabi" (Ancient Mesopotamia): This code of laws, inscribed on a basalt stele around 1750 BCE, can be considered a book, but again, not a bound volume.

* The "Dead Sea Scrolls" (Ancient Israel): These ancient scrolls, dating back to the 3rd century BCE, are collections of religious texts and are considered books by some.

* The "Codex Sinaiticus" (Early Christianity): This 4th-century CE manuscript of the Bible, found in the Sinai Peninsula, is one of the oldest surviving complete manuscripts of the Bible.

In short: There's no single "oldest book" that everyone agrees on. It depends on how you define "book" and which historical materials have survived to the present day.