Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and Magister Ludi.

The Buddha is a title given to the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama (c. 563-460 B.C.). Born an Indian prince, he renounced wealth and family, became an ascetic, and after achieving enlightenment through meditation, taught all who came to learn from him.

Written in a prose of almost biblical simplicity and beauty, Siddhartha is the story of a soul's long quest for the answer to the enigma of man's role on earth. As a youth, the young Indian Siddhartha meets the Buddha but isn't content with the disciple's role. He must work out his own destiny-a torturous road on which he experiences a love affair with the beautiful courtesan Kamala, the temptation of success and riches, the heartache of struggling with his own son, and finally, renunciation and self-knowledge. The name "Siddhartha" is often given to the Buddha himself-perhaps a clue to Hesse's aims contrasting the traditional legendary figure with his own conception. This new edition of the classic Siddhartha includes The Dhammapada ("Path of Virtue"), the 423 verses attributed to the Buddha himself, which forms the essence of the ethics of Buddhist philosophy.