Fernando Morais - Paulo Coelho. A Warrior's Life [2009][A]

Book Description
Paulo Coelho: A Warrior’s Life is the definitive, authorized biography of one of the world’s most popular and widely read authors—and the story of how his enormously popular novel The Alchemist came to be. Fernando Morais, the preeminent biographer in Brazil and a groundbreaking journalist, traces 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 The Alchemist and beyond, telling the true tale of one of the most adored authors of our time.

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
International bestseller Paulo Coelho has captured the imaginations of millions of readers with his mystical, semi-autobiographical fiction. Despite his success (and a brilliant facility for self-promotion), few readers know anything about Coelho the man. This authorized biography plunges into the details of Coelho's life, from his perilous birth to his time in asylums to his multifarious spiritual journey to his staggering 25-year writing career. Brazilian journalist, politician and biographer Morais writes with an unapologetic eye, neither judging Coelho nor seeking to justify his actions, smartly presenting the facts for readers' appraisal. Coelho himself provides a generous level of access and candor, giving readers the feeling that they are getting a privileged view despite the biography's "authorized" label; what makes Morais' biography especially revealing is his access to years of Coelho's diaries, a goldmine for biographer and reader. Fans of Coelho's work will eagerly tear through this attentive, satisfying biography.
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From Booklist
It’s always a bit disconcerting when a biography of a well-known figure appears during his lifetime. It seems to leave so much hanging in the balance—so many blank pages waiting expectantly to be filled. Internationally acclaimed author Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist, 1993) is only 63 years old, yet the incredible story of his life and his incandescent work could already fill several volumes. Committed to a mental institution at the age of 17 by parents who could not grasp the enormity of his talent or understand his unconventional approach to life, he spent decades rushing headlong down many less-traveled roads, zealously steeping himself in a variety of often bizarre lifestyles before experiencing a life-altering reconversion to the Christian faith in his middle years. After reading this biography, it is easy to understand how and why these youthful experiences and his subsequent spiritual reawakening inform his fiction with the mystical depth that is his literary trademark. Readers will definitely want to see how his unfolding story continues to play out. --Margaret Flanagan

Reviews
“Fans of Coelho’s work will eagerly tear through this attentive, satisfying biography.” (Publishers Weekly)

After reading this biography, it is easy to understand how and why these youthful experiences and his subsequent spiritual reawakening inform his fiction with the mystical depth that is his literary trademark. Readers will definitely want to see how his unfolding story continues to play out. (Booklist)

From the Back Cover
Paulo Coelho: A Warrior's Life is the first-ever biography of the man whose books have sold an astounding 100 million copies worldwide, making him one of the bestselling authors of all time.
Paulo Coelho's life begins with a complicated birth in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August 1947. He was known as the "boy who was born dead" and who ultimately survived against all odds. Before he became internationally known as a worldwide bestselling author, Paulo lived many different lives. He flirted with suicide, was committed by his parents to insane asylums, suffered the brutality of electric shock therapy, dove into drugs, tried several varieties of sex, met the devil, spent time in prison, helped revolutionize Brazilian rock with musician Raul Seixas, and finally rediscovered his faith in 1986 as he walked the sacred Road to Santiago de Compostela, a medieval pilgrim's route between France and Spain.
Coelho would later describe this life-changing spiritual experience in his first book, The Pilgrimage. The following year, The Alchemist established his worldwide reputation. The novel has already achieved the status of a universally admired modern classic. Now, for the first time, discover the life story of one of the most widely read and adored authors of our time.

About the Author
Fernando Morais is one of the most important and preeminent journalists in South America and is widely credited with making the biography a popular genre in Brazil. He is also a well-known politician and activist whose articles have stirred much debate in both his native country and South America in general. He lives in São Paulo.