Few films have become a part of the fabric of American life as much as Frank Capra's classic It's a Wonderful Life. Every Christmas, Americans reopen their hearts to Jimmy Stewart and his journey through Bedford Falls. Yet few of us know that the movie was based on "The Greatest Gift," a short story by Philip Van Doren Stern, privately printed as a Christmas card to the author's friends in 1943. This deluxe edition of "The Greatest Gift" marks the fiftieth anniversary of the release of It's a Wonderful Life. Delighted readers will immediately recognize George Bailey from the movie - together with the guardian angel, the snowy scene on the bridge, and Bedford Falls - and will identify with George's realization that life is a gift and every individual indispensable. Specially commissioned artwork illustrates scenes from "The Greatest Gift," and an afterword by the author's daughter, Marguerite Stern Robinson, reveals how this enchanting story inspired the beloved movie.