A book about contemplative prayer, what it is and isn't, can and can't be, should and shouldn't be, and how it eludes description. ___ "Do not be put off by the adjective `monastic.' This is a book for all who are serious about the life of prayer. Here Merton makes accessible classic texts, writers, and practices on monastic prayer. Without losing sight of the context of the social and political circumstances of the late 1960's, the work is concerned primarily `with personal prayer . . . in its meditative and contemplative aspects.' (14) It reflects Merton's voracious reading and interests, for example, in the Desert Christians of the 4th century, Christian mystics (especially St. John of the Cross, and the 14th C. Rhenish mystics), Russian literature and theology, inter-religious dialogue, and the relationship between active and contemplative life. But, perhaps most importantly in our religious context, Merton asserts that `The contemplative way is, in fact, not a way. Christ alone is the way.' (116)" Review by Bonnie B. Thurston, co-author of Philippians and Phile mon (Sacra Pagina, vol. 10) and Maverick Mark: The Untamed First Gospel