Truth, my son, is like a beautiful diamond. It is one; yet it has thousands upon thousands of facets, colours, aspects, reflections. Every person who honestly seeks the truth will have something important to say to you, but remember that no one will ever possess it entirely.' DIRK COLLIER (b. 1956 in Antwerp, Belgium) owns a personal library of several thousand books in nine different languages, on history, philosophy, art and religion. His passion for Asian culture and history has been aroused as a result of his frequent travels throughout the continent, predominantly China and India. Professionally, he is a lawyer and a businessman and serves on the board of several companies and organizations. He has published several books and articles on philosophy, law and history, including The Great Mughals and Their India (Delhi, 2016), a non-fiction history of the Mughal Dynasty. Akbar's Farewell is the second, completely revised edition of The Emperor's Writings (2011), a historical novel on the life and times of Akbar the Great.