The Alchemist - 10th Anniversary Edition

a good story about life, it always offers you it's best, you only have to accept that and to anticipate it's offerings everday, everywhere

What I love about this book is that the concepts are simple, useful and the story, magical. It's the pangea of books. Inspiring, regardless of age, time in history, geography, language and religion.

I read and reread The Alchemist. Then it is time to lay the book down and live another adventure. Thankyou Paulo Coelho. No other contemporary writer has achieved so much, including translations into 67 languages.

This beautiful little fable helped not only myself, but millions around the world to improve their lives. I hope each day, for continued success to you and the Paulo Coelho Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. God bless all 430 children and seniors that you support. In living the story and sharing with others, I feel that I, in a smaller way, am expressing ongoing gratitude and also generating the loving messages that your book conveys.

Looking forward to the release of The Alchemist in graphic novel format in August 2010 (in the United States)!!

"The Alchemist was written in Portuguese and translated into 56 languages. It has been heralded as a modern day classic. It is an allegorical novel written by Paula Coelho and is one of the best selling books in history.

It is a story about Santiago a shepherd boy who has a dream of finding treasure and unlike most people Santiago decides to sell his sheep and pursue his dream of finding the treasure. He is encouraged by Melchizedek and is given seer stones to help him on his journey.

Santiago does not immediately find his treasure, it becomes a work in progress and along the way he meets many people, he falls in love, and he faces war. One of the many people he meets is an alchemist who helps him finally fulfill his dream. "My Heart Is Afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky. Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."

This book is written simply and preaches the message that we should fulfill our destiny (visions of Star Wars pops into my head). There are numerous bible references, Melchizedek just being one of them and Santiago is compared to Joseph, the one with the coat of many colours.

I like others had great expectations for this book and I was disappointed. It is not a worthless book, there is a profound message of following your dreams, but it is so obvious and in your face that it almost seems annoying. Maybe in this fast paced world we live in, with all the action and fighting constantly surrounding us in media and in books that when something simple comes forward we look at it in disdain...just a random thought.

Got here on time and for a very reasonable price. Very interesting book. Thank you!

I don't know what the fuss is all about. This is a self-help book about helping yourself. A simple story about following dreams, listening to your heart, tenacity. and about selfishness - the getting of what you want no matter who gets hurt in the process. I am glad I read this book because it has helped me define what has been annoying me about New Age so-called spiritualism for years. Spirituality is not about the self, not just about the self, anyway. A whole and fulfilled self is a great starting point for loving others but the story of the Alchemist stops short of giving back to others. It is about self-fulfillment, taking what you want from wherever you can get it. Sure, Santiago helps the crystal dealer but it is just so he can save up the money in search of the buried treasure. Read a Leonard Cohen book instead.