The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

"The Prophet" is a collection of poetic essays that are philosophical, spiritual, and, above all, inspirational. The central character, a prophet, is about to board a ship which will carry him home after 12 years spent living in a foreign city. Before he departs, he is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses topics such as life and the human condition. The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.

The 522nd greatest book of all time


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Total Points: 669

Since this book was first published in 1923, there is a penalty of 0%. The age adjusted score is 669.0.

This is to prevent newer books from reaching super high on the ranked list of the greatest books of all time. The greatest books should also stand the test of time.