About the Book and its Writer
Most people think of great books like War and Peace when they think of Leo Tolstoy. But Tolstoy himself, who lived in Russia in the last century, would say that his greatest books were written after he was 50 years old. That was when, for six years, he stopped writing stories, and just looked for the meaning of life. What he learned at this time is in this book, and it has changed history.
He left all that he had, to live with the poor in Russia; and people from all over the world came to learn from him. Ghandi himself was one of Tolstoy's most enthusiastic followers.
In 1901, Tolstoy was kicked out of the Orthodox Church for what he was saying. When he was dying, a priest came to see if he would take back what he had said. Tolstoy heard of this, and he said to his son, "When will they ever learn that, even in the face of death, two and two do not equal five?"