The Shepherd's Quest

Published in 1988, The Alchemist follows Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who dreams of treasure near the Egyptian pyramids and crosses the Sahara to find it. Paulo Coelho wrote the novel in two weeks of intense inspiration. The first Brazilian publisher printed 900 copies and dropped the book when it did not sell.

Coelho found a new publisher, and The Alchemist became one of the bestselling books in human history — over 150 million copies sold, translated into 80 languages, spread almost entirely through passionate word-of-mouth recommendation.