Khalil Gibran is the third most read poet in history, with only Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu more widely studied. 'The Prophet' is Gibran's greatest work, a prose poem of sublime majesty describing his own timeless philosophy of life. A prophet prepares to leave the townsfolk with whom he has lived for 12 years, and who have come to love and respect him . Each villager asks a question of the sage - twenty-six in all - on topics ranging from Marriage and Death, through Beauty and Giving, to Pain and Freedom. And each receives in response the blessing of pure wisdom, free of cant or dogma, an answer that all, irrespective of position or religion, can take to their heart. As the Chicago Post has said: "If there is a man or woman who can read this book without... a singing in the heart as of music born within, that man or woman is indeed dead to life and truth."