The Unquiet Monk: Thomas Merton's Questing Faith

Thomas Merton, (1915-1968), the Trappist monk, poet, spiritual writer, and social critic, remains many years after his death one of the most influential religious figures of our time. From a cloistered monastery in Kentucky he spoke to the spiritual and social concerns of the world, offering a voice of conscience, sanity, and compassion. One hundred years after his birth in 1915, his fascinating life and spiritual wisdom continue to find an audience. In this concise work, Michael Higgins offers a fresh interpretation of Merton's endlessly fascinating, complex, and multivalent genius. Drawing in part on interviews with those who knew him, Higgins explores the story of Merton's life, his work as a poet and writer, his prophetic response to war and social disorder, his contemplative response to the human condition, and his forays into interreligious dialogue.