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Rating: 
Summary: Good soul food.
Review: In his Preface to this collection of forty essays and poems, Zaleski
writes, "we see that certain themes remain constant" in the
Best Spritual Writing series, "as if hard-wired into the soul:
the struggle with evil; the quest for God; nature as the ophany; the
sense that we inhabit two worlds, one divine, the other human--all
too human" (p. xvi). Although I found his five-star, 1999
collection more compelling overall, the contributions here both stir
the soul and move the mind. Or, in the words of Thomas Moore's
Introduction, these writings "should help us get through life
rather than above or around it, . . . should turn us inside out,
peeling back our skin of literalism, and remind us to hear the divine
and angelic music that sounds through in any good piece of
writing" (p. xviii).This collection takes us on spiritual
journeys both literally and figuratively. With her "rucksack on
a cold March morning," Gretel Ehrlich follows the 800-year-old
footsteps of St. Francis, "wanderer, seeker, ultimately
saint" (p. 101). On her pilgrimage, she discovers "walking
and giving, walking and singing, walking and praying: the path was a
proving ground for sainthood, and walking was ambulation for heart
and mind" (p. 107). We also travel with Natalie Goldberg to
Kitada, Japan, where she visits the grave of her Zen teacher,
Katagiri Roshiin a downpour. She writes, "I prostrate three
times on the wet earth and I kneel in front of his stone. Pushing
the dripping hair from my face, the rain running down my cheeks, I
speak to my teacher: 'I am here. It took me a while, but I made
it'" (p.139). Through the death of his wife, Christopher
Bamford discovers the meaning of life, that "each person's life
is a spiritual journey" (p. 8), and that "time, each
moment" is" a gift, a grace" (p. 4). Anita Mathias
learns that "domesticity, marriage, and motherhood are smiths in
which the soul can be forged as painfully, as beautifully, as amid
the splendid virginal solitudes of the convent" (p. 218). In
the most humourous essay in the book, John Price describes his
near-death experience with a pheasant while driving through Iowa.
"It made me wake up, become more observant of what's lurking in
the margins," he writes. "What's lurking there, despite
the rumors, is the possibility of surprise, of accident, of death.
And if it's possible in this over determined landscape for a pheasant
to kill a man, then why not, too, the possibility of restoration,
renewal, and, at last, hope?" (p. 264). I was pleased to find
several of my favorite writers here, and discovered a few new writers
I am eager to read beyond this anthology. While Wendell Berry
questions "the hopeless paradox of making peace by making
war"(p. 37), Annie Dillard finds "sparks of holiness"
in the depths of "our bleak world" (p. 86). In her essay
(excerpted from her excellent book, FOR THE TIME BEING), she
observes, God "does not give as the world gives; he leads
invisibly over many years, or he wallops for 30 seconds at a time.
He may touch a mind, too, making a loud sound, or a mind may feel the
rim of his mind as he nears" (pp. 96-7). Linda Hogan writes
that the cure for "soul sickness" is "not in books.
It is written in the bark of a tree, in the moonlit silence of night,
in the bank of a river and the water's motion" (p. 153). Bill
McKibben compares the secret of Gandhi's life, "renounce and
enjoy" (p. 225), to the spread of the voluntary simplicity
movement. "Here is the secret reason," he writes,
"that some people in the rich world have begun to get rid of
some of their stuff, move to smaller houses, eat lower on the food
chain, ride bikes, reduce their expenses and scale back their
careers: if you can simplify your life, and it requires a certain
minimal affluence to do so, then you can have more fun than your
neighbors" (p. 232). I have rated this collection with four
stars only when measured against Zaleski's five-star BEST SPIRITUAL
WRITING, 1999. However, it is likely other readers will give this
book their five-star approval. It may interest some readers that
Zaleski also includes a list of the 100 best spiritual books of the
century in this volume. G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: Good soul food.
Review: In his Preface to this collection of forty essays and poems, Zaleski
writes, "we see that certain themes remain constant" in the
Best Spritual Writing series, "as if hard-wired into the soul:
the struggle with evil; the quest for God; nature as the ophany; the
sense that we inhabit two worlds, one divine, the other human--all
too human" (p. xvi). Although I found his five-star, 1999
collection more compelling overall, the contributions here both stir
the soul and move the mind. Or, in the words of Thomas Moore's
Introduction, these writings "should help us get through life
rather than above or around it, . . . should turn us inside out,
peeling back our skin of literalism, and remind us to hear the divine
and angelic music that sounds through in any good piece of
writing" (p. xviii). This collection takes us on spiritual
journeys both literally and figuratively. With her "rucksack on
a cold March morning," Gretel Ehrlich follows the 800-year-old
footsteps of St. Francis, "wanderer, seeker, ultimately
saint" (p. 101). On her pilgrimage, she discovers "walking
and giving, walking and singing, walking and praying: the path was a
proving ground for sainthood, and walking was ambulation for heart
and mind" (p. 107). We also travel with Natalie Goldberg to
Kitada, Japan, where she visits the grave of her Zen teacher,
Katagiri Roshiin a downpour. She writes, "I prostrate three
times on the wet earth and I kneel in front of his stone. Pushing
the dripping hair from my face, the rain running down my cheeks, I
speak to my teacher: 'I am here. It took me a while, but I made
it'" (p.139). Through the death of his wife, Christopher
Bamford discovers the meaning of life, that "each person's life
is a spiritual journey" (p. 8), and that "time, each
moment" is" a gift, a grace" (p. 4). Anita Mathias
learns that "domesticity, marriage, and motherhood are smiths in
which the soul can be forged as painfully, as beautifully, as amid
the splendid virginal solitudes of the convent" (p. 218). In
the most humourous essay in the book, John Price describes his
near-death experience with a pheasant while driving through Iowa.
"It made me wake up, become more observant of what's lurking in
the margins," he writes. "What's lurking there, despite
the rumors, is the possibility of surprise, of accident, of death.
And if it's possible in this over determined landscape for a pheasant
to kill a man, then why not, too, the possibility of restoration,
renewal, and, at last, hope?" (p. 264). I was pleased to find
several of my favorite writers here, and discovered a few new writers
I am eager to read beyond this anthology. While Wendell Berry
questions "the hopeless paradox of making peace by making
war"(p. 37), Annie Dillard finds "sparks of holiness"
in the depths of "our bleak world" (p. 86). In her essay
(excerpted from her excellent book, FOR THE TIME BEING), she
observes, God "does not give as the world gives; he leads
invisibly over many years, or he wallops for 30 seconds at a time.
He may touch a mind, too, making a loud sound, or a mind may feel the
rim of his mind as he nears" (pp. 96-7). Linda Hogan writes
that the cure for "soul sickness" is "not in books.
It is written in the bark of a tree, in the moonlit silence of night,
in the bank of a river and the water's motion" (p. 153). Bill
McKibben compares the secret of Gandhi's life, "renounce and
enjoy" (p. 225), to the spread of the voluntary simplicity
movement. "Here is the secret reason," he writes,
"that some people in the rich world have begun to get rid of
some of their stuff, move to smaller houses, eat lower on the food
chain, ride bikes, reduce their expenses and scale back their
careers: if you can simplify your life, and it requires a certain
minimal affluence to do so, then you can have more fun than your
neighbors" (p. 232). I have rated this collection with four
stars only when measured against Zaleski's five-star BEST SPIRITUAL
WRITING, 1999. However, it is likely other readers will give this
book their five-star approval. It may interest some readers that
Zaleski also includes a list of the 100 best spiritual books of the
century in this volume. G. Merritt
Rating: 
Summary: A BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED COLLECTION
Review: This is a beautifully crafted collection of spiritual writing, comparable to looking at a finely woven piece of sacred tapestry. Writers Kimberly Snow, "Rearranging the Clouds", John Updike, "Religious Consolation", James Van Tholen, "Surprised by Death", Jacques Lusseyran, "What One Sees Without Eyes", Natalie Goldberg, "The Rain and the Temple", and Ann Hood, "In Search of Miracles", are among those selected by Philip Zaleski and a panel of distinguished writers and thinkers to perpetuate this ongoing series of books honoring great spiritual writers. The aim of the 2000 series was to capture the spiritual pulse of this century, not of the earlier ones. More than two hundred books were nominated by the panel. This collection represents a wide spectrum of religious traditions. I liked that it embraced the everyday aspects of spirituality in our lives. Highly recommended reading! Hopefully, the 2001 series will include James Davis, "Rosetta Stone of God", Philip Morimitsu, "The Seeker", or Harold Klemp, "Child In The Wilderness".These three authors offer similar stunning insights and soul searing reminders of our ability to connect with Divine Spirit daily.
Rating:
Summary: A BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED COLLECTION
Review: This is a beautifully crafted collection of spiritual writing, comparable to looking at a finely woven piece of sacred tapestry. Writers Kimberly Snow, "Rearranging the Clouds", John Updike, "Religious Consolation", James Van Tholen, "Surprised by Death", Jacques Lusseyran, "What One Sees Without Eyes", Natalie Goldberg, "The Rain and the Temple", and Ann Hood, "In Search of Miracles", are among those selected by Philip Zaleski and a panel of distinguished writers and thinkers to perpetuate this ongoing series of books honoring great spiritual writers. The aim of the 2000 series was to capture the spiritual pulse of this century, not of the earlier ones. More than two hundred books were nominated by the panel. This collection represents a wide spectrum of religious traditions. I liked that it embraced the everyday aspects of spirituality in our lives. Highly recommended reading! Hopefully, the 2001 series will include James Davis, "Rosetta Stone of God", Philip Morimitsu, "The Seeker", or Harold Klemp, "Child In The Wilderness".These three authors offer similar stunning insights and soul searing reminders of our ability to connect with Divine Spirit daily.
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