The Coffee House of Surat, adapted from a French piece, follows a spirited debate about the nature of God among people of different faiths. What Men Live By, one of Tolstoy's most beloved short stories, explores the fundamental principles of human existence. The iconic title story, How Much Land Does a Man Need?, follows a man's relentless pursuit of land ownership and has been praised by James Joyce as "the greatest story that the literature of the world knows."