I think I could read this 50 more times and get something new out of it every single time.

A wonderful idea to gather the best of Merton's essays into a collection. Rereading these seminal works as a whole was an enriching delight. Patrick O'Connell introductions help situate each of the essays in Merton's life and overall thought and help guide the reader in gleaning as much from these insightful jewels as possible.

A wonderfully assembled collection of Merton's letters! These letters are much more than, "Hey, how you're doing?" Great personal sensitivity and concern mixed with erudite insights and questions exploring a vast range of topics characterize Merton's correspondences. Makes me wish I would have written more letters in my life...and makes me realize what we're losing by relying on quick emails! Merton, pray for us!

This book is mainly for serious readers of Merton who are interested in comparing the early Merton with the more mature Merton. If you really want to know what Merton thinks about contemplation (the topic of most of these essays), it would be better to go straight to the mature Merton and read New Seeds of Contemplation, The Inner Experience, and The Climate of Monastic Prayer.