9Few works in world literature have inspired so vast an audience, in nations with radically different languages and cultures, as the Ramayana, written some 2,000 years ago by a poet known to us as Valmiki. William Buck has retold the story of Prince Rama--with all its nobility of spirit, courtly intrigue, heroic renunciation, fierce battles, and triumph of good over evil--in a length and style that makes the great Indian epic accessible without compromising the spirit and lyricism of the original. Stunningly illustrated with majestic imagery throughout, this 35th anniversary edition is a true collector's item.