From Publishers Weekly

This is the fourth of seven planned volumes of Merton's private journal. Merton, who died in 1968, was a Trappist monk, peace activist and well-loved author of spiritual classics such as The Seven Storey Mountain. Neither mundane nor egotistical, these journal entries demonstrate Merton's characteristic humor and warmth. This journal reflects a time in Merton's life when he is trying to balance his popularity as an author and speaker with his vows of silence as a Trappist monk, his pacifism and his political beliefs with his submission to the authority of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Above all, Merton's intellectual curiosity about a number of matters?including international and Vatican politics, architecture and his personal relationships?marks this fascinating journal.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Merton (1915-68), the Trappist monk and author of numerous books, published many journals, which were carefully edited and rewritten until they became theological masterpieces. Now Merton scholars have a rare opportunity to see the actual writing journals, transcribed from Merton's own handwritings. Turning Toward the World is a seven-volume set, and Volume 4 covers the period from May 1960 to July 1963, the years when Merton set up his private hermitage in the woods of the Abbey of Gethsemani. It shows a deeply troubled man attempting to reconcile his chosen solitude with his growing belief that faith must be active in the world. This incredibly rich work is full of aphorisms, comments, castigations of himself and his fellow monks, laundry lists of read books, and descriptions of the weather. For the uninitiated, this journal will be tedious and slow-going; however, for Merton scholars, there is no better source for both pleasure and intellectual stimulation. Volume 4 turns the soil from which much of Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (1966) grew. Recommended for academic libraries.?Glenn Masuchika, Chaminade Univ. Lib., Honolulu
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.