Jim Forest (1941–2022)

I only encountered the late Daniel Berrigan once or twice, but he made an impression: he was congenial, outgoing, deeply spiritual and lived his faith in every way. Jim Forest's book, part biography and part memoir, confirms my impressions. His book explores in detail Dan's relationship with his brother Phil, and the influence their childhood, especially their parents, had on them both. This is a profound book and a careful account of the life of an as yet unacknowledged saint by someone who show more knew him well and shared many of his beliefs and acts. show less

Another book about Thomas Merton? Yes, but a book by Jim Forest, himself a long-time peace activist and writer who had a close friendship with Merton. His book examines Merton's thinking on issues of war, peace and nonviolence, and his role in mentoring Forest and others. Forest details the background to Merton's trouble with restrictions on his writing imposed by his community's superiors, which I found enlightening and sympathetic to all sides. Forest quotes Merton extensively, including show more extracts from unpublished letters. I savored every page of this book! show less

An excellent introduction to Dorothy Day. Better than her autobiography for three reasons: 1) It covers her entire life, not just her early years. 2) It covers all aspects of her life, not just her religious conversion. 3) It draws on all her writings, public and private, including her recently-released diaries. It is detailed without being boring, personal without being biased.

For those already familiar with her, this is an excellent recap. It clarifies things and fills in the gaps nicely. show more Years of research went into this book; I don’t see any obvious factual errors. Having known Dorothy Day, I can attest to the accuracy of this book. Should she be canonized a saint? I don’t know why not. See the discussion in this book.

More than a biography, this is also a history of the Catholic Worker movement within the larger contexts of American and world histories. Well written, clear and easy to follow, though its page layout is not easy on the eyes. (The text is squeezed into narrow columns to accommodate oversized margins that are mostly wasted space. What were they thinking? But it is readable.)

Other than its page layout, this is a great book! An engrossing story of an eventful life. Recommended to anyone who would like to get to know Dorothy Day and walk a mile in her shoes. The illustrations, mostly photographs, are many and outstanding. show less

Wow. Wow. Reading this was like watching RBG; I kept thinking "I remember this. Oh, this is how that is connected. Oh, yes, this is the challenge. This is our roots. This is how we need to nourish ourselves. Wow." I also appreciated Jim Forest's even, steady voice. He was a part of this history and the occasional photo and story documents this, but his voice is not intrusive here.
(and I appreciated the side bar quotes which were not repeated in the text. One could skim this book by looking show more at the photos and reading the side bars.)
Personal note: Nick and I were at Dan Berrigan's funeral. What I remember is how the tightly packed church SANG. Everyone knew the words and the voices reverbated in my chest. show less