The Letters of Thomas Merton and Victor and Carolyn Hammer: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam - Tapa dura

" The Letters of Thomas Merton and Victor and Carolyn Hammer offers not only insight into Merton's day-to-day life in the monastery and with friends, but also one can hear Thomas Merton in "conversation" with like-minded friends regarding issues important to him in the 1950s and 1960s." -- Pennsylvania History "Books about Thomas Merton proliferated around 2015, the centenary of his birth. This volume may be the most significant. Both Kentucky scholars, the editors have produced an important volume illustrating Catholic intellectual life in the mid-twentieth century. Their extensive notes are valuable especially in identifying people mentioned and in synchronizing letters with Merton's journals." -- Catholic Historical Review "The value of these letters lies principally in the light that they shed on Merton's thinking about art, besides giving us a vivid picture of a friendship. There is very much to enjoy in these letters." -- Merton Journal "The letters admirably capture the complexity and curiosity of Merton, and the warmth of one personal friendship that sustained him throughout his many intellectual and theological ventures." -- Catholic Library World "This volume is essential reading for an understanding of Victor Hammer's extraordinary life and talent and Thomas Merton's ability to sustain deep and lasting friendships. Scholars... will find these letters... informative." -- Forthcoming in Cithara "This source will be essential for any student of Thomas Merton." -- Kentucky Libraries "These letters tell the story of a tender and deep friendship among artists.... The letters, chronologically arranged, communicate an evolving kinship beginning with artistic collaborations, expanded through human, spiritual and artistic concerns/challenges, and celebrated frequently with the little picnic or visit -- and agape of sorts.... The story of this exceptional friendship awaits all readers of Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam." -- The Merton Seasonal "This volume is an unexpected treasure. The extent and depth of the correspondence is a revelation of a mutually influential and beneficial friendship among kindred spirits." -- Patrick O'Connell, author of The Vision of Thomas Merton "Offers new insight into Merton's broad, complex, and overlapping interests. The volume also adds a unique dimension to common knowledge of the Merton--Hammer relationship by expanding readers' awareness of Victor Hammer's life, talents, artistic philosophy, and spiritual insights." -- Monica Weis, SSJ, author of The Environmental Vision of Thomas Merton

During the summer of 1964, hundreds of American college students descended on Mississippi to help the state's African American citizens register to vote. Student organizers, volunteers, and community members canvassed black neighborhoods to organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), a group that sought to give a voice to black Mississippians and demonstrate their will to vote in the face of terror and intimidation. In For a Voice and the Vote, author Lisa Anderson Todd gives a fascinating insider's account of her experience volunteering in Greenville, Mississippi, during Freedom Summer, when she participated in organizing the MFDP. Innovative and integrated, the party provided political education, ran candidates for office, and offered participation in local and statewide meetings for blacks who were denied the vote. For Todd, it was an exciting, dangerous, and life-changing experience. Offering the first full account of the group's five days in Atlantic City, the book draws on primary sources, oral histories, and the author's personal interviews of individuals who were supporters of the MFDP in 1964.