Bread in the Wilderness (New Directions Classic)
Worth buying if: You follow Thomas Merton’s monastic reflections and want more essays on prayer.
Skip it if: You prefer strictly academic theology over Merton’s personal meditations.
Exact edition: Edition shown · ISBN-13 9780811213486. The Amazon link uses this ISBN, so the product page should open to the edition shown here.
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Summary
This New Directions Classic edition collects essays and short pieces by Thomas Merton exploring prayer, solitude, and the contemplative life with plain language and occasional wry humor across 146 pages.
Why this book now
Merton’s reflections on solitude and contemplative practice feel pertinent amid renewed public interest in mindfulness and quiet amid busy modern life.
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Best for readers who...
Good fit if you want...
- You follow Thomas Merton’s monastic reflections and want more essays on prayer.
- You enjoy short contemplative pieces you can reread between daily routines.
- When you like high-stakes dilemmas, the chapters move briskly from one reveal to the next.
- You prefer strictly academic theology over Merton’s personal meditations.
- You expect a continuous narrative rather than discrete essays and parables.
- You need the newest edition, freshest examples, or the most current framing.
Decided it fits?
Exact edition: Edition shown · ISBN-13 9780811213486
Worth buying if: You follow Thomas Merton’s monastic reflections and want more essays on prayer.
Skip it if: You prefer strictly academic theology over Merton’s personal meditations.
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.
Reader guide
Cues to help you decide faster.
Reading commitment
Light Short sit-downs
At 146 pages, this compact New Directions edition suits evening readings or a focused weekend of contemplative essays and meditations.
What stands out here
This New Directions Classic keeps Merton’s original voice and accessible essays front-and-center, with a portable format for repeated reflection.
Best way to approach it
Read slowly and reverently: pause between essays, underline passages about prayer or solitude, and return later to savor Merton’s paradoxical insights.
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Exact edition: ISBN-13 9780811213486
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.