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Paulo Coelho
The Book of Manuals
September 2008
Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa
Summary
Man and his manuals
Convention for those wounded in love
The warrior of light and his quest
Rules for the 21st Century
The art of the sword
Manual for preserving paths
Manual of reasons to love men
Manual to help men understand women’s behaviour
Julia’s manual explaining why men love women
The professional crisis and its booby-traps
Manual for real travelling, and not just so that you can tell your friends you’ve visited other countries
The ten steps of the spiritual search according to the Tradition
Manual for dealing with time
The warrior of life and renunciation
Carlos Castañeda and the sacred lineage
Manual for being accepted in society as a normal person
Manual for climbing mountains
Man and his manuals
There are several dictionary definitions of the word ‘manual’. The most common definition for the adjective is ‘done or performed with the hands’, but the noun has its origins among pilgrims, who could only carry very slender books in their luggage, books containing abbreviated texts and aphorisms as food for thought.
I have read many manuals in my life, ranging from manuals on how to mend boats to ones telling me how to use a computer (nowadays, of course, the computer itself tells us what we should do). Gradually, I developed something of a passion for the manual and started to draw up my own, based on my observations of daily life. When I was asked to write a book, I thought: Why not collect together all the manuals I’ve written over the years and publish them? The result is the book you’re holding in your hands now.
As I worked on the project, I came across some other manuals I had compiled, based on other people’s work: Carlos Castañeda, Tahlan, Mario Rosa and Stephan Rechtschaffen – all duly acknowledged on the relevant pages.
The manuals written by Julia Dragan and Kristen about relationships between men and women were sent to me via the internet, and I give them due credit. Hard as I’ve tried, however, I’ve been unable to confirm that they are the actual authors of those texts.
May I make a suggestion? Write your own manuals. It’s a fascinating exercise.
Paulo Coelho
Convention for those wounded in love
