In the light of Thomas Merton's primary allegiance to the monastic life, one feels somewhat perplexed by his prodigious publication record. Merton was born in Prades, France, 31 January 1915, the son of two artists, Owen Heathcote Merton, a New Zealander, and Ruth Jenkins Merton, an American. His mother died when he was six, and he spent his youth as something of a nomad, living alternately with his father in various Transatlantic settings, and with his mother's family on Long Island, New York. His father died in England when Thomas was fifteen. He was educated at the Lycée de Montauban in France (1926-1928) and the Oakham School in England (1929-1932) and spent a year at Clare College, Cambridge, before entering Columbia University, where he obtained a B.A. in 1938 and an M.A. in 1939, having written his thesis on William Blake. At Columbia he began a lifelong friendship...