Honorable Reader: Reflections on My Work [Paperback]

Thomas Merton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Despite a title change, this new edition of Introductions East & West ( LJ 8/81) is not greatly revised over that original anthology of prefaces Merton wrote retrospectively for foreign translations of his works. Only a few prefaces here were not included in the first book, and except for some new letters on proposed translations, material in the appendixes is duplicated as well. Still, this may be appropriate for comprehensive Merton collections even if they include Introductions , and for libraries without the latter, it offers a fascinating glimpse at Merton's own evaluation of his work. (Readers may also be interested in a March 1989 title from New Directions, Thomas Merton in Alaska: Prelude to The Asian Journal .)-- EC
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Crossroad (September 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824511255
• ISBN-13: 978-0824511258
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,131,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) is arguably the most influential American Catholic author of the twentieth century. His autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, has millions of copies and has been translated into over fifteen languages. He wrote over sixty other books and hundreds of poems and articles on topics ranging from monastic spirituality to civil rights, nonviolence, and the nuclear arms race.

After a rambunctious youth and adolescence, Merton converted to Roman Catholicism and entered the Abbey of Gethsemani, a community of monks belonging to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists), the most ascetic Roman Catholic monastic order.

The twenty-seven years he spent in Gethsemani brought about profound changes in his self-understanding. This ongoing conversion impelled him into the political arena, where he became, according to Daniel Berrigan, the conscience of the peace movement of the 1960's. Referring to race and peace as the two most urgent issues of our time, Merton was a strong supporter of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which he called "certainly the greatest example of Christian faith in action in the social history of the United States." For his social activism Merton endured severe criticism, from Catholics and non-Catholics alike, who assailed his political writings as unbecoming of a monk.

During his last years, he became deeply interested in Asian religions, particularly Zen Buddhism, and in promoting East-West dialogue. After several meetings with Merton during the American monk's trip to the Far East in 1968, the Dali Lama praised him as having a more profound understanding of Buddhism than any other Christian he had known. It was during this trip to a conference on East-West monastic dialogue that Merton died, in Bangkok on December 10, 1968, the victim of an accidental electrocution. The date marked the twenty-seventh anniversary of his entrance to Gethsemani.