“Manuscript Found in Accra” by Paulo Coelho
In 1974 a British archaeologist discovered a manuscript in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. Written in Hebrew, Latin, and Arabic; the carbon dating showed that the document is originated from 1307. And it describes a gathering in Jerusalem in the year 1099 – when Jews, Christians, and Muslims live in a relative peace – where on the eve of an attack by the Crusaders, people of all religions get together to hear the wisdom of a mysterious Greek man simply known as the Copt.
As the Crusaders are getting near, people inside the city walls begin to question the wise man about their fears, their struggles, their anxiety before fighting the war, and on the possibility of defeat. The solemn conversation has this feel of calm before the storm, and it also has a message of loyalty and love, beauty and elegance, sex, solitude, self-worthiness, embracing change, feeling uselessness, on community, loyalty, luck, even miracles.
It is a short story filled with so many gems. And it is immediately clear right from the start that this book is not really about Jerusalem, not about the Crusaders attack, not even about the manuscript (and whether or not the real manuscript does exist). But it is a bunch of timeless wisdom about many things in life, fitting not just for the 11th century but also very relevant today for life in the modern world.
THE CHAOS THEORY 