Herman Hesse. 
 
New Directions: 1951. First edition of this book in the New Classics Series. Hardcover in a jacket. Small octavo. Chipping, soiling, and tears along the edges and corners of the spines. Some soiling on the back panels. Jacket is clipped at the bottom of its front fold though its original price - $1.75 - is still there at the top. Shelfwear and rubbing on the corners of the boards as well as the crown of the spine. One letter of the title on the spine is a little faded, there are some light smudges on the top edge, and there is some browning on the attached endpapers. 153 pages. Very good. 
 
The novel that inspired a million young Western men and women to seek enlightenment. Hesse's lyrical light touch and white hot psychological penetration earned him a Nobel Prize and the jacket design of another master, Alvin Lustig, for this edition. When you can't leave your life and go on a search for meaning, have this on your shelf to take down, admire, and read. 
 
"Dreams and restless thoughts came flowing to him from the river, from the twinkling stars at night, from the sun's melting rays."