Millions know Thomas Merton as the author of The Seven Storey Mountain, the international bestseller and a modern spiritual classic. Now, in the first collection of his writings on nature, Merton is revealed as a man whose spirituality is rooted in nature, an environmentalist ahead of his time. These writings serve as a primer on eco-spirituality, revealing Merton's approach to ecology as a spiritual issue that exposes the degree of human alienation from the sacredness of the planet. Kathleen Deignan, PhD, has skillfully grouped more than 300 of Merton's nature writings into thematic sections on the seasons, elements, creatures, and other topics, and she has has added an informative introduction. A foreword by renowned environmental and spiritual mentor Thomas Berry and art by John Giuliani complete this important compilation.