The Art of Worldly Wisdom by Baltasar Gracian was all but forgotten for three hundred years, until its republication in 1992 turned this lost classic into a New York Times best-seller. Now Gracian, the Spanish Jesuit considered Machiavelli's better in strategy and insight, sets a new standard on the art of living and the practice of achieving.

That new standard is the art of heroism - how to be "the consummate person, ripe and perfect: accurate in judgment, mature in taste, attentive in listening, wise in sayings, shrewd in deeds, the center of all perfection.".

Gracian teaches the reader to be "a giant" - "the greatest person possible, a miracle of perfection, a king." Wit, wisdom, courage, elegance, grace, humility, spontaneity - these are the qualities needed to reach heroism in any occupation. But it is not enough to be wise or graceful: One must learn as well how to manage that talent, how to distinguish a quality from its shadow.

A Pocket Mirror for Heroes provides "a politics for governing [oneself], a compass for sailing toward excellence, an art for reaching distinction with just a few rules of discretion," and it will be wise and witty company for anyone who recognizes - and relishes - the challenges of daily life.