Man in the Sycamore Tree: The Good Times & Hard Life of Thomas Merton

I read the hardcover edition. Which is a very nice format. This book is a very fast read; I read it in one evening. It is filled with sketches done by Thomas Merton and many photos of him I had not seen before. Both in secular life and after he entered the monastery. Edward Rice who was a long time friend of Thomas Merton writes this book. Edward Rice is a well-known photographer and writer who met Thomas Merton at Columbia and whose friendship with him continued until Merton's death. He knew the man well and shares his perspective on his life in this well written biography. In this biography we learn about how Merton lived, played, studied and worked. It is written as a series of personal recollections, which tries to let us share his experiences. We see how he developed his opinions and ideas. And over time we see how his perspective on the world changed. I was surprised to learn just how prolific a writer Merton was, and it pains me to think of how much of his work was lost. One thing we do see is that he had one over riding interest, and that was in Peace. He even started to delve into the Eastern Philosophies in trying to perfect himself. Who knows what he would have written if he would have been able to carry on.

A very interesting look at the late Thomas Merton by Edward Rice, one of his close friends. The book is fairly small and easy to read and contaons a wealth of information by and about Merton which other sources leave out. Included are some of his drawings (rather "naughty" ones, too!), the way his opinions changed from the time when he first entered the Catholic church to the time of his death. Merton's views were continually changing and Rice is the only person who actually has come out and said in print what was quite plain to most of his readers: that at the time of his death, he was far more a Buddhist than a Christian. Many photos are included, as well as several of Merton's hermitage out in the woods of Kentucky, and several of Merton and his friends in his beer-swilling fraternity days along with his boasts of early sexual conquests). A great deal of commentary is given on the contemplative life (particularly useful to those considering becoming hermits) and on the role of peace as the full flowering of the mystical life. At the tome of his death, Merton was going to ask permission from his Abbey at Gethsemene to stay in Asia, as he considered the monks there to have a far superior insight into one's relationship with god and deep meditation than the ones in the West did, and with whom he seemed to be running into nearly continual conflicts with. great for anyone interested in Buddhism, Zen, Merton, or mysticism.

I recently hunted down a copy of this book. It was worth the trouble.Written by a close friend of Merton's shortly after his untimely death in 1968, it is one of the few books "about" Merton which please me nearly as much as Merton's own work. Fluid, perceptive, it brings to life Merton's time and the struggles he and his world were confronting.More importantly, however, it presents in a living form the concerns and hazards of the contemplative life - useful information for serious explorers who may be following a similar path.Finally, "Sycamore" is illustrated with dozens of photographs, and also reproductions of Merton's own drawings. The author, Edward Rice, commendably keeps himself out of sight, but his own clear writing is a pleasure to read.