Widely known as the author of The Prophet, which sold more copies in the 20th century than any other book but the Bible, the great Lebanese-American poet and artist Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) published his The Madman in 1918. Thought-provoking and inspiring, it is a collection of memorable, life-affirming parables and poems, many of them casting an ironic light on the beliefs, aspirations, and vanities of humankind.