Rating: 
Summary: Profound
Review: "No Man Is An Island" can only be described as profound. There are many superb writings of spiritualiy, God and Christ. Thomas Merton's book is one that should not be passed up, it is absolutely profound for the interior solitude, the silence within, our silence where we find God's silence, who knows us and where we know Him. A book by a man of God for men of God, Merton goes far beyond religious organizational teachings and human thinking, to that of the spiritual life with God. I can only say, I have new found respect for the Catholic church, for Merton does not write in defense of her, but for God, men and charity, that go far beyond this life, existing now within us, and bring us to the real life we seek.
Rating:
Summary: Profound
Review: "No Man Is An Island" can only be described as profound. There are many superb writings of spiritualiy, God and Christ. Thomas Merton's book is one that should not be passed up, it is absolutely profound for the interior solitude, the silence within, our silence where we find God's silence, who knows us and where we know Him. A book by a man of God for men of God, Merton goes far beyond religious organizational teachings and human thinking, to that of the spiritual life with God. I can only say, I have new found respect for the Catholic church, for Merton does not write in defense of her, but for God, men and charity, that go far beyond this life, existing now within us, and bring us to the real life we seek.
Rating:
Summary: Assurance That God is Able
Review: A wellspring of encouragement for those who are looking for spiritual simplicity, without dogmatism. Merton's flowing prose carries the reader so effortlessly, that I often had to stop myself, saturated, and put off going on until I had the capacity to absorb more. The greatest challenge of this book is not in comprehending his points, but in accepting them as actually possible, and internalizing their meaning for one's own life context. Merton opens a door to a place of potential joy, that many will desire to pass through.
Rating:
Summary: Assurance That God is Able
Review: A wellspring of encouragement for those who are looking for spiritual simplicity, without dogmatism. Merton's flowing prose carries the reader so effortlessly, that I often had to stop myself, saturated, and put off going on until I had the capacity to absorb more. The greatest challenge of this book is not in comprehending his points, but in accepting them as actually possible, and internalizing their meaning for one's own life context. Merton opens a door to a place of potential joy, that many will desire to pass through.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just for Catholic Christians, This Book Is for Everyone!
Review: I couldn't put this book down and have grown to love the writings of Thomas Merton better than some Protestant books I own. His words speak elegantly of the love of Christ, the beauty of His Church, and many other deep spiritual truths. His books were not merely written, but inspired every step of the way!
Rating:
Summary: The heart of Catholic spirituality
Review: I found this classic a rather refreshing departure from some of the more modern "spirituality" titles from Catholic authors now coming out of some Catholic (and other) publishing houses. This book was published in 1955. Back then Catholic authors on topics of Christian sprirituality did not feel compelled to blindly follow the dictates of the "NewSpeak" a.k.a. "inclusive language" references to God (Merton appropriately refers to God as "He"). I have no problem with inclusive language in principal, but some modern writers go to absurd lengths _not_ to refer to God using any male pronouns (or worse, referring to God as He/She). Had Merton rewritten the book before he died I'm sure he would have made some modifications when making references to "men" and "mankind," probably using the more generic "mortals," "human beings" or "humanity." Another welcome relief (from the more extreme synchretistic tendancies of writers purporting to write AS Catholics TO Catholics) is the pure "Catholicity" of the spirituality traditions Merton appeals to in _No Man Is An Island_. Anyone who has a familiarity with the history of Catholic sprirituality (esp. the contemplative variety) knows it goes back many centuries and is very rich. (Might I also include the doctrines of redemtive suffering and "detachment"?). That being the case it puzzles me why some modern Catholic writers feel it necessary to appeal to Buddhist, Zen, or other traditions of spirituality in order to illustrate "Catholic" themes of spirituality or holiness. Comparing traditions of spirituality is one thing, and as Catholics we should always, if possible, seek out the truths of whatever faith traditions we encounter, whether occidental or oriental. Some modern Catholic writers of this genre have unnecessarily thrown caution to the wind and for all intents and purposes jettisoned a heritage so rich and true in order to replace it with something that often does not quite hit the mark. In _No Man_ Merton scores a bullseye. (IMO it should be required reading in any parish adult formation program, it's THAT good.)
Rating: 
Summary: Difficult but deep
Review: I guess I have been spoiled by more modern writers, who seem to be simpler to read than Thomas Merton was. Still, I got a lot out of this book, especially his essays on suffering, charity, sincerity. mercy and solitude. He had many good quotes along the way that led me to some good introspection -- not mere bumper sticker theology. This is a book that needs to be read slowly, with a journal to record the thoughts that come along as you read it -- something I unfortunately did not do, and I regret that. I will probably have to read this book again when I have more quiet time to really absorb its meaning.
Rating:
Summary: Filled with several life-changing essays.
Review: In this work, Merton speaks to a variety of issues about the response of faith to various issues in this age. His essay on "Christian Humanism" is superb, and his ideas on reciprical love are desperately needed in a world where lifelong relationships are deeply undervalued.
Rating:
Summary: Merton distills the essence of a Christian life powerfully.
Review: Merton's understanding of our human nature and his spiritual understanding of scripture combine to make a personally challenging and thoroughly understandable realization of how to become more spiritual, not religious. This is a "centering" book. It centers you in God revealed through Christ. This book has matured me as a Christian tremendously.
Rating:
Summary: No Man is an Island.
Review: The writings gathered in this volume will not be read quickly or superficially. Paragraphs will continually ask to be reread. Thomas Merton's perspicacious meditations, offered with such poetic strength, are to his reader like veins whose rich ore leads the miner deep. The effort is real and so too is the reward. Merton (1915-1968) was a contemplative monk, a Trappist, and although most of his readers may think themselves of another world, so to speak, it is the world of which Merton writes which is Real, and the clabbering, self-directed world of our common experience that is illusory.
A few thoughts, ones that are obviously directed more narrowly toward other Catholic monks, may generally be less helpful to most readers (I think of basically one chapter). I could offer other minor detraction but it would probably only amount to vanity on my part. It will be more valuable to meditate on these words of Merton:
"Those who love their own noise are impatient of everything else. They constantly defile the silence of the forests and the mountains and the sea. They bore through silent nature in every direction with their machines, for fear that the calm world might accuse them of their own emptiness. The urgency of their swift movement seems to ignore the tranquillity of nature by pretending to have a purpose. The loud plane seems for a moment to deny the reality of the clouds and of the sky, by its direction, its noise, and its pretended strength. The silence of the sky remains when the plane has gone. The tranquility of the clouds will remain when the plane has fallen apart. It is the silence of the world that is real. Our noise, our business, our purposes, and all our fatuous statements about our purposes, our business, and our noise: these are the illusion. God is present, and His thought is alive and awake in the fullness and depth and breadth of all the silences of the world. The Lord is watching in the almond trees [Jer 1.11, 12]. . . Whether the plane pass by tonight or tomorrow . . . whether the liner enters the harbor full of tourists or full of soldiers, the almond tree brings forth her fruit in silence.
"There are some men for whom a tree has no reality until they think of cutting it down . . . men who never look at anything until they decide to abuse it and who never even notice what they do not want to destroy. These men can hardly know the silence of love: for their love is the absorption of another person's silence into their own noise. And because they do not know the silence of love, they cannot know the silence of God . . . Who is bound, by His own law of Charity, to give life to all those whom He draws into His own silence."
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