The Christian mystics are the treasure of Western civilization -- yet they remain little known among those of us who are potentially their spiritual heirs. Andrew Harvey`s anthology confronts us with the mystics in their own words, to show us how well they serve, even now, as guides for the spiritual life -- and to challenge our preconceived ideas about the path of Christianity. He has chosen selections that represent all eras of the Christian tradition, as well as the amazing range of people who have embodied it, people like Francis of Assisi, Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avila, Thomas Merton, Bede Griffiths, and many, many others. `Christ came not to found a new religion or to inaugurate a new set of dogmas but to open up a fierce and shattering new path of love-in-action, a path that seems now, with the hindsight of history, the one that could have saved -- and still could save -- humanity from its course of suicidal self-destruction.` --FROM THE INTRODUCTION Andrew Harvey is the author of numerous books, including A Journey in Ladakh, Return of the Mother, The Mystic Vision, and Mary`s Vineyard. Born in India and educated in England, he now lives in Nevada.