Hermits

Plot

Former BBC personality, France (Greek as a Treat, Penguin, 1995) spends over half the year living in solitude on the Greek island of Patmos; his own taste of the hermetical life leads him to write this study of solitaries from the ancient Greeks to the present. France has chosen a representative group of hermits, and his simple discussions of such figures as Thoreau and Thomas Merton serve as good introductions for readers unfamiliar with their work. Chapters on lesser-known figures such as Charles de Foucald or groups such as the Russian startsy (spiritual fathers) are, likewise, excellent introductions, and a nice bibliography leads the reader to more in-depth sources. The final chapter highlights the contemporary poet Robert Lax in a fitting, parting interview. This well-written, rather personal exploration will entertain as well as inform. Readers interested in a more scholarly treatment would do well to consult France's bibliography. A good choice for public and academic collections.?Mark Woodhouse, Elmira Coll. Lib., N.Y. -- From Library Journal