Seldom can one predict that a book will have an effect on history, but this is such a work. Merton's many biographers and the American press now say unanimously that he died from accidental electrocution. From a careful examination of the official record, including crime scene photographs that the authors have found that the investigating police in Thailand never saw, and from reading the letters of witnesses, they have discovered that the accidental electrocution conclusion is totally false. The widely repeated story that Merton had taken a shower and was therefore wet when he touched a lethal faulty fan was made up several years after the event and is completely contradicted by the evidence. Hugh Turley and David Martin identify four individuals as the primary promoters of the false accidental electrocution narrative. Another person, they show, should have been treated as a murder suspect. The most likely suspect in plotting Merton's murder, a man who was a much stronger force for peace than most people realize, they identify as the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States government. Thomas Merton was the most important Roman Catholic spiritual and anti-warfare-state writer of the 20th century. To date, he has been the subject of 28 biographies and numerous other books. Remarkably, up to now no one has looked critically at the mysterious circumstances surrounding his sudden death in Thailand. From its publication date in the 50th anniversary of his death, into the foreseeable future, this carefully researched work will be the definitive, authoritative book on how Thomas Merton died.

One man's search to find his role in the world is revealed in the writer's portrait of his youthful political activism and entry into a Trappist monastery

This volume is a stimulating series of spiritual reflections which will prove helpful for all struggling to find the meaning of human existence and to live the richest, fullest and noblest life. --Chicago Tribune

For forty years, James Finley’s Merton's Palace of Nowhere has been the standard text for exploring, reflecting on, and understanding the rich vein of Thomas Merton's thought. Spiritual identity is the quest to know who we are, to find meaning, to overcome that sense of “Is this all there is?” Merton’s message cuts to the heart of this universal quest, and Finley illuminates that message as no one else can. As a young man of eighteen, Finley left home for an unlikely destination: the Abbey of Gethsemani, where Thomas Merton lived as a contemplative. Finley stayed at the monastery for six maturing years and later wrote this Merton’s Palace of Nowhere in order to share a taste of what he had learned on his spiritual journey under the guidance of one of the great religious figures of our time. At the heart of the quest for spiritual identity are Merton's illuminating insights—leading from an awareness of the false and illusory self to a realization of the true self. Dog-eared, tattered, underlined copies of this book are found on the bookshelves of retreat centers, parish libraries, and the homes of spiritual seekers everywhere. This anniversary edition brings a classic to a new generation and includes a new preface by Finley.

The two-time Newbery medalist has crafted “a loving representation of a relationship between parent and child” in post-WWII America (Publishers Weekly, starred review). This is the story of young Liz, her father, and their strained relationship. Dad has been away at WWII for longer than she can remember, and they begin their journey of reconnection through a hunting shirt, cherry pie, tender conversation, and the crow call. This allegorical story shows how, like the birds gathering above, the relationship between the girl and her father is graced with the chance to fly. “The memory of a treasured day spent with a special person will resonate with readers everywhere.” —School Library Journal (starred review) “Beautifully written, the piece reads much like a traditional short story . . . the details of [Ibatoulline’s] renderings gracefully capture a moment in time that was lost. Relevant for families whose parents are returning from war, the text is also ripe for classroom discussion and for advanced readers.” —Kirkus Reviews

In the case of the conviction and imprisonment of Captain Alfred Dreyfus on false espionage charges in late-19th century France, the initially small number of people who doubted the government and the press and worked for justice for Captain Dreyfus were known as "Dreyfusards." Doubt about the official version of the story of how President Bill Clinton's deputy White House Counsel Vincent W. Foster, Jr., died was also confined to a few individuals in the early days, at least among those who would speak up. By the terminology borrowed from France, David Martin was an original "Dreyfusard." In time, he was joined by people with a higher profile, but after Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's team rendered its long-delayed opinion that the original "suicide" judgment had been correct, most of them dropped by the wayside. Martin, who as a senior at Davidson College was secretary of the Young Democrats Club of which Foster was a member, persisted, following the case into the controversy surrounding candidate Donald Trump's expressed suspicions about Foster's death in the 2016 presidential campaign and beyond. In a certain sense, this book may be regarded as the memoir of a Washington, DC, "Dreyfusard" insider. Eventually, justice would prevail in the Dreyfus case. Demonstrating the same sort of incisive analysis that he showed in The Assassination of James Forrestal and The Martyrdom of Thomas Merton, written with Hugh Turley, Martin makes a persuasive case that justice is yet to be done in the case of Vince Foster's death. A major reason for the difference, Martin explains, is that the press and the ruling establishment of the United States have been much more monolithic on the side of injustice than were those institutions in France at the turn of the 20th century. This book is destined to be the definitive reference work for anyone interested in this high-level murder mystery, as Martin fashions it, while, at the same time, it reveals a great deal about the nature of the controlling power of the United States at the turn of the 21st century.

"Spirituality & Practice 2016 Award Winner." Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858–1916) was a complex man. Born into French aristocracy, he floundered as a military officer, but rediscovered his Catholic heritage and eventually lived voluntarily as an impoverished priest/hermit in the Sahara Desert in Algeria. Foucauld wanted to emulate the hidden life of Jesus in Nazareth and in doing so, left a spiritual legacy that attracted such figures as Dorothy Day and author, poet, and spiritual director Bonnie Thurston. Published in celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of Charles de Foucauld’s death on December 1, 1916, Hidden in God highlights the profound conversion that led Foucauld to embrace the life of a hermit in the Sahara, where he was eventually murdered by a band of marauders. Foucauld’s legacy is an enduring spiritual vision: believe in God, you should live for God and make him your reason for living. Drawing from his letters and journals, Bonnie Thurston explores how the hidden life of Nazareth brings the grace of great closeness to Jesus; the gift of the desert is the grace of complete dependence on God; and the grace of public life is the practice of charity and self-giving. Thurston adeptly demonstrates how these three locations are metaphors for states of spiritual life and ministry and how each one brings both a challenge and a danger. Words of wisdom from Foucauld, as well as questions to ponder and biblical texts to explore conclude each chapter. Thurston shares how she became enamored with Foucauld for the passionate way he lived his ideals without regard for recognition or success. “I’ve fallen in love with a dead Frenchman who was a hermit,” she admitted to a friend. Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement, also was attracted to Foucauld’s desert spirituality and wrote to Thomas Merton and others about Foucauld’s spiritual influence.