The Pocket Mirror of Heroes

The Art of Worldly Wisdom by Baltasar Gracian was all but forgotten for three hundred years, until its republication in 1992 turned this lost classic into a New York Times best-seller. Now Gracian, the Spanish Jesuit considered Machiavelli's better in strategy and insight, sets a new standard on the art of living and the practice of achieving.

That new standard is the art of heroism - how to be "the consummate person, ripe and perfect: accurate in judgment, mature in taste, attentive in listening, wise in sayings, shrewd in deeds, the center of all perfection.".

Gracian teaches the reader to be "a giant" - "the greatest person possible, a miracle of perfection, a king." Wit, wisdom, courage, elegance, grace, humility, spontaneity - these are the qualities needed to reach heroism in any occupation. But it is not enough to be wise or graceful: One must learn as well how to manage that talent, how to distinguish a quality from its shadow.

A Pocket Mirror for Heroes provides "a politics for governing [oneself], a compass for sailing toward excellence, an art for reaching distinction with just a few rules of discretion," and it will be wise and witty company for anyone who recognizes - and relishes - the challenges of daily life.