Howard Thurman

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979 

 Pastor, professor, mystic, and author Howard Thurman is one of the shapers of twentieth-century Christianity.  A grandson of a former slave, his upbringing was amidst the viccitudes and challenges of American racial segregation and all that it divided him from seeming opportunity.

Hafiz

Daniel Ladinsky, translator

Penguin Compass, 1999

This collection by the Persian poet Hafiz of 250 poems illustrates why he, like Rumi (born a century earlier) is also an admired favorite throughout history. Hafiz's approach is more direct and blunter at times, yet as a Sufi master, he too shares a mystical relationship with God as the Beloved and Friend.

Mary C. Earle

Morehouse Publishing, 2007 

Here is a wonderful book which guides the reader into the stories and spiritual practices of holy mothers, the ammas, of the early church in the Near Eastern desert.  Earle, an Episcopal priest, spiritual director, and author of Beginning Again, Broken Body, Healing Spirit, and Marvelously Made introduces us to the women mystics who birthed the Christian contemplative movement.

Denise Lardner Carmody and John Tully Carmody

Oxford University Press, 1996

The Carmodys, both professors, examine the long tradition of mysticism in each of the world religions including those of the oral tradition. 

Robert Frager

James Fadiman, editors

HarperCollins, 1997

This is an excellent introduction to the writings of a great range of Sufi wisdom teachers who are part of this mystical stream of Islam.

Dorothee Soelle

Fortress Press, 2001

In what is considered her finest work, German liberation theologian Soelle examines the character and experience of mysticism which is available to us all as it has been to many mystics in the past.

Fr. John-Julian, OJN

Paraclete Press, 2009

This is the first book which includes all of Julian of Norwich's writing in modern English and which puts her life and works in context.  Fr. John-Julian has a knowlegeable yet accessible perspective on Juilan's life and the contemporary setting.

Megan Don

New World Library, 2005

The wisdom found in The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila, a 16th-century nun, has been translated into contemporary English.  Each short chapter is followed by mediations to help the reader further contemplate her words. 

Annemarie Schimmel

Shambhala Publications, 2001

Schimmel, internationally renowned Sufism scholar and Harvard professor emerita, takes the reader on a journey of Rumi's life and his spiritual path along with knowledgeable perspective on his poetry.

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Annemarie Schimmel

Carl W. Ernst, Foreword

University of North Carolina Press, 2011

Considered the best introduction to Sufism, the book is now in its thirty-five-year anniversary edition. Harvard professor and Sufism scholar Annemarie Schimmel follows the history of Sufism, the most significant branch of Islamic mysticism, from its origins and up through the nineteenth century, also examining its expression which is most familiar worldwide: poetry.

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