Originally published in 1983, The Gift is an inquiry into the place of creativity in our market-oriented society. Starting with the premise that the work of art is a gift and not a commodity, Lewis Hyde's revolutionary book ranges across anthropology, literature, economics, and psychology to show how the "commerce of the creative spirit" functions in the lives of artists and in the culture as a whole.

As the CoEvolution Quarterly commented when the book first appeared, Hyde is able to "fashion meaning from an atypical combination of sources, to address our spiritual and emotional sides," revealing "hidden realms of magic and mystery which affect our hearts as well as our pocketbooks." This ground-breaking work of literary anthropology is a daring, entirely original undertaking destined to have a profound impact on our understanding of the role of the artist in our society.