Paul Tillich was one of the great theologians and philosophers of the 20th century. Born before the advent of the automobile, he lived to see the launch of Sputnik, the Mercury and Gemini programs, and the dawn of the nuclear age. One of the key events in his early life was the First World War, during which he served the German army as a Chaplain. He survived that war, and his early works grew out of the optimistic and creative zeitgeist that emerged in its wake. Before he turned 60, he had survived the Second World War as well. His later work might be seen as a reaction to the pessimism and...

Thomas Merton has been the subject of a number of books in the years since his death. His spiritual autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, was a best-seller at the time of its publication, and continues to be purchased and read at a steady pace. In addition, books of his meditations, poems, reflections, essays, letters, and journals have also been produced. While Merton wrote extensively on racial justice, and while these writings have been collected in certain volumes, there are few (if any) books devoted to summarizing, analysing, and applying his ideas to current racial tensions in the...