The definitive biography of Paulo Coelho, one of the world's most popular and widely read authors -- and the story of how THE ALCHEMIST came to be. Fernando Morais, the preeminent biographer in Brazil and a groundbreaking journalist, centers his investigative verve on one of Brazil's most influential and successful kinsman -- Paulo Coelho, the beloved author and phenomenon who has sold more than 100 million books worldwide and whose work has been translated more than any other contemporary writer. Tracing Coelho's roots in Brazil to his time as a musician and pop lyricist to his wild days of rock and roll to the publication of the megabestseller The Alchemist and beyond, this biography tells the real tale of one of the most widely read and adored authors of our time.