Few religious scholars have been the subject of as much scrutiny and interpretation as Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk, contemplative, social critic, ecumenist, and prolific author of The Seven Storey Mountain as well as 20+ other books. Even fewer have embodied the paradox of earthly devotion as fully as Merton, a man committed to a life of withdrawal from the world, of silence and solitude—who nonetheless spoke out about the abuses of power, civil rights, the environment, nuclear weapons, and Vietnam. Fifty years after his death, he remains a surprisingly contemporary figure, addressing time and again the issues that matter to us and to our world.