Book excerpt: "This, the last journal-writing Thomas Merton ever approved for publication, details his departure from the Trappist Abbey at Gethsemani in 1968, and his subsequent journey through the American West. As The Seven Storey Mountain detailed the thoughts and fears of an aspirant to the monastic life, the never-before-published Woods, Shore, Desert is almost a canticle of a mature Religious, remarkable in its frankness and self-questioning. Recalling sources as diverse as Hegel, Unamuno, and the Astavakra Gita, Merton magically weaves his impressions of the rare and the mundane. And throughout the book, his thoughts are preoccupied by the lovely and vibrant land about him... I dream every night of the West"--Back cover.