Cold War Letters

Overview

"Those who think there can be a just cause for measures that gravely risk leading to the destruction of the entire human race are in the most dangerous illusion." --Thomas Merton

Published in book form for the first time, Thomas Mertons Cold War Letters brings together 111 of the acclaimed Trappist monk's letters to friends, peace activists, artists, and intellectuals, written between October 1961 and October 1962 at the height of Cold War tensions. Originally distributed in mimeographed form (after he was forbidden to publish his thoughts on peace), these letters reflect Merton's prophetic insight into the crisis of his time. As the world seemed to tumble toward an atomic apocalypse, Merton sought in these letters--still uncannily relevant a half a century later--to create a community of concern that might raise a moral counterweight to the forces of fear and destruction.

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was a Trappist monk and the author of many influential works, including The Seven Story Mountain and Peace in the Post-Christian Era.