It took many years, six, I believe, for Margaret Mitchell to complete the writing of her Pulitzer Prize winning book on which the feature film is based too. The novel shows it and it was still being written with major changes, for example, in its title and the name of its protagonist from Pansy to Scarlett even while its publisher, Macmillan, was preparing it for print.Though there were some lapses like these, beyond any doubt, it is a triumph in literature in both novel and film forms. Like all finely accomplished works of the human heart it has become timeless. I say it remains critic proof because of the safe way in which it has been penned. However, the drawback according to me is the claim of everyone that it’s a great ’’love’’ story; Scarlett loves a man who never loves her, and marries whom she doesn’t love! It’s an epic, no doubt and does deserve all the acclaim, yet, it’s not THE PERFECT BOOK that many claim it is. It probably wasn’t written with views of commercial success, but re-reading shows that it IS a book written with a lot of caution.But, certainly worth the money and time spent on reading it!