"If you want to write, paint, sing, compose, act, or make films, read The Gift." --from the Introduction by Margaret Atwood A modern classic cherished by many of the greatest artists of our time and a brilliant, life-changing defense of the value of creative labor. Drawing on examples from folklore and literature, history and tribal customs, economics and modern copyright law, Lewis Hyde demonstrates how our society--governed by the marketplace--is poorly equipped to determine the worth of artists' work. He shows us that another way is possible: the alternative economy of the gift, which allows creations and ideas to circulate freely, rather than hoarding them as commodities. Illuminating and transformative, The Gift is a triumph of originality and insight--an essential book for anyone who has ever given or received a work of art.