Honorable Reader: Reflections

Would Thomas Merton have written his autobiography differently had he written it later? Were there any books he did not especially like once they were written? What additional ideas on prayer or contemplation or peace would he share with new readers of his books? Answers to these questions and more are found in this fascinating collection of personal reflections that Merton wrote as prefaces to foreign editions of his books. Written from the distance of time, and for a whole new readership, these further thoughts are like invitations into the author's mind and heart as he reconsiders and feels again the great themes in the books he is introducing. This was originally published as INTRODUCTIONS EAST AND WEST and this is the new expanded edition. It adds three newly discovered pieces, a reproduction of an actual graph that Merton used to rate his various books, and provides an updated bibliography of his major works.