The Alchemist 25th Anniversary: A Fable About Following Your Dream
The Alchemist 25th Anniversary: A Fable About Following Your Dream book cover

The Alchemist 25th Anniversary: A Fable About Following Your Dream

Price
$21.59
Format
Paperback
Pages
208
Publisher
Harper Large Print
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0062326775
Dimensions
6 x 0.52 x 9 inches
Weight
7.2 ounces

Description

“It’s a brilliant, magical, life-changing book that continues to blow my mind with its lessons. [...] A remarkable tome.” — NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, ACTOR “it changed my whole life. I realized of all of the people who had conspired to get me to this place.” — PHARRELL WILLIAMS, MUSICIAN AND SONG-WRITER “A wise and inspiring fable about the pilgrimage that life should be.” — M. Scott Peck “An adventure story full of magic and wisdom.” — Rudolfo Anaya, author of Bless Me, Ultima “A touching, inspiring fable.” — Indianapolis Star “A magical little volume.” — San Francisco Chronicle “[This] Brazilian wizard makes books disappear from stores.” — New York Times “[His] books have had a life-enchanting effect on millions of people.” — London Times “A beautiful story with a pointed message for every reader.” — Joseph Girzone, author of Joshua “As memorable and meaningful as Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince.” — Austin American-Statesman “A sweetly exotic tale for young and old alike.” — Publishers Weekly “A most tender and gentle story. It is a rare gem of a book.” — Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D., co-author of Change Our Mind, Change Your Life “An entrepreneurial tale of universal wisdom we can apply to the business of our own lives.” — Spencer Johnson, M.D., co-author of The One-Minute Manager “A remarkable tale about the most magical of all journeys: the quest to fulfill one’s destiny.” — Anthony Robbins, author of Awaken the Giant Within Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. What starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasure found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts. One of the most influential writers of our time, Paulo Coelho is the author of thirty international bestsellers, including The Alchemist, Brida, Veronika Decides to Die, Manual of the Warrior of Light , and Eleven Minutes . He is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Paulo is the recipient of 115 international prizes and awards, among them, the Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor). Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1947, he soon discovered his vocation for writing. He worked as a director, theater actor, songwriter, and journalist. In 1986, a special meeting led him to make the pilgrimage to Saint James Compostela (in Spain). The Road to Santiago was not only a common pilgrimage but a turning point in his existence. A year later, he wrote The Pilgrimage , an autobiographical novel that is considered the beginning of his literary career. He lives in Geneva, Switzerland. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • A special 25th anniversary edition of the extraordinary international bestseller, including a new Foreword by Paulo Coelho.
  • Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery,
  • The Alchemist
  • has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations.
  • Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(84.8K)
★★★★
25%
(35.3K)
★★★
15%
(21.2K)
★★
7%
(9.9K)
-7%
(-9894)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Good plot but lacks depth

The Alchemist is a short, mystical adventure of a shepherd boy on a hunt for treasure at the great pyramids. This boy, who’s name is only given once, first learned of this treasure when he went to a fortune teller. Later, he meets an old man in the park who tells him of the same treasure. This man turns out to be a king in disguise and starts to explain about what a personal legend means and the significance of omens. The boy then proceeds to cross the desert to get to the great pyramids and claim his treasure. On his way he gets robbed and decides to work at a crystal merchant’s shop. After working there for a year the boy realized he has been distracted from achieving his personal legend and continuous his journey. He befriends an englishman, on his way who is in search of an alchemist. The alchemist is a wizardly figure who the englishman claims can make his old gold. The boy decides he should find the alchemist as well. Eventually his group arrives in an oasis where the boy finds love as well as an important omen. He saves the oasis from a surprise attack and is paid. He then becomes a protege of the alchemist and refocuses his dream of finding the treasure. He then says goodbye to his mentor but in the end he finds the treasure after digging for a short period of time. The plot of this book is well written and the events are carefully placed in the books timeline. However The Alchemist lacks depth. The book goes on and on about omens and personal legends but the book is mostly skin and bones. The theme of the book is something along the lines of follow your destiny. That is a common theme and this book does not stand out from others like it. The Alchemist also lacks diction. It uses repeated phrases like “the boy” and “the Englishman” and their are no complex words used. You are much more likely to find words like bad or sad in this book then you are to find works like irritated or melancholy. As I read this book I sometimes was annoyed about how simple and dull this book is. I’d recommend this book to a child in elementary school or maybe middle school but if you're look for a good book that is deep and complex this is definitely not the one.
2 people found this helpful
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Great story but the book was larger than expected. Still a great buy!

The big was in large print (kinda like if it were meant for someone with bad eyesight). Overall, it had the story and that was obviously the important part.
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Oh, go ahead ... you will enjoy it

I had missed this book along the way... charming, a must read.. lot of food for thought
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I so enjoyed The Alchemist

I so enjoyed The Alchemist. I read it in 2 days and passed it to my husband. It's inspiring/the kind of book we need more of these days! 5 stars for me!!!!