Includes bibliographical references (p. 432-437).

Foreword -- Preface -- Introduction -- Chronology of Merton's Life -- Autobiographical Writings -- From The Seven Storey Mountain -- "Fire Watch, July 4, 1952 from The Sing of Jonas -- From Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander -- From A Vow of Conversation: Journals 1964-1965 -- Day of a Strager -- From The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton -- Spiritual Writings -- From Thoughts in Solitude -- "The General Dance" from New Seeds of Contemplation "Hagia Sophia" -- From The Wisdom of the Desert -- "Herakleitos: A Study" from the Behaviour of Titans -- "The Inner Experience" -- "Learning to Live" from Love and Living -- "Contemplation in a Word of Action" and Ïs the World a Problem" -- "Rain and Rhinoceros"from Raids on the Unspeakable -- "A Christian Looks at Zen" from Zen and the Birds of Appetite -- "A Letter on the Contemplative Life" -- A Selected Bibliography

Thomas Merton is one of the few authentic spiritual masters America has produced. Merton's personal story and his writings continue to fascinate us, because his own life encapsulated the great social and spiritual struggles of his era. To read Merton today is to be swept up in the deepest issues of the 20th century. This volume contains substantial selections from Merton's prose writing, beginning with his autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, and including a wide range of other works. There are excerpts from his journals, reflections on monasticism, on Eastern religions, and on the place of spirituality in contemporary life. Students and general readers will find the book and introduction to Merton's unique and powerful voice. For those who know him already, the volume will be treasured as a library of his most important works.