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A Canticle for Leibowitz
 
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A Canticle for Leibowitz (School & Library Binding)

by Walter M., Jr. Miller (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (158 customer reviews)

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

Walter M. Miller's acclaimed SF classic A Canticle for Leibowitz opens with the accidental excavation of a holy artifact: a creased, brittle memo scrawled by the hand of the blessed Saint Leibowitz, that reads: "Pound pastrami, can kraut, six bagels--bring home for Emma." To the Brothers of Saint Leibowitz, this sacred shopping list penned by an obscure, 20th-century engineer is a symbol of hope from the distant past, from before the Simplification, the fiery atomic holocaust that plunged the earth into darkness and ignorance. As 1984 cautioned against Stalinism, so 1959's A Canticle for Leibowitz warns of the threat and implications of nuclear annihilation. Following a cloister of monks in their Utah abbey over some six or seven hundred years, the funny but bleak Canticle tackles the sociological and religious implications of the cyclical rise and fall of civilization, questioning whether humanity can hope for more than repeating its own history. Divided into three sections--Fiat Homo (Let There Be Man), Fiat Lux (Let There Be Light), and Fiat Voluntas Tua (Thy Will Be Done)--Canticle is steeped in Catholicism and Latin, exploring the fascinating, seemingly capricious process of how and why a person is canonized. --Paul Hughes --This text refers to the Paperback edition.


Ingram

A masterful achievement that ranks with Brave New World and 1984, this mesmerizing tale of the terrible aftermath of nuclear war has captivated generations of readers since its first publication in 1959. "Prodigiously imaginative, richly comic, terrifyingly grim."--Chicago Tribune. BDD ONLINE feature. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews

158 Reviews
5 star:
 (115)
4 star:
 (25)
3 star:
 (9)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (6)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (158 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Lucifer is Fallen, May 3 2004
By doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: A Canticle for Leibowitz (Paperback)
This novel from the 1950's is a deserved classic among the sci-fi intelligentsia. Maybe its laborious title has kept it from being noticed by the popular masses, but this book is a hidden gem for those looking to broaden their horizons. This is probably one of the earliest stories to speculate on a post-nuclear apocalypse, and here Walter Miller created one of the most imaginative and far-reaching examples of that motif. Later nuclear winter stories would get predictable and formulaic, but not this originator. In this masterpiece of storytelling, three ages of human development pass by over the course of 1800 years, but in the end we see that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. While it's a bit dated in places, this brilliant and disturbing novel will keep you thinking for a long time after you're done reading it.

In addition to its unique take on historical processes, this book is essentially about the pros and cons of organized religion. In Part 1, humanity is stuck in the middle of several centuries of dark ages after a nuclear war, and once again the Catholic Church (or what's left of it) holds sway over a fearful and unenlightened society. Among the few records of the pre-war world that have survived are some inconsequential notes and blueprints by a minor scientist called Leibowitz. The church has made Leibowitz a saint, and here Miller appears to be commenting on the reverence of organized religion toward matters of doubtful authenticity and importance. Is religious belief built upon weak foundations? In Part 2 humanity is entering a new renaissance of knowledge, with religion being unable to adjust to the new enlightenment. In Part 3, humanity has reached a new technical age, but society is again oppressed by nuclear paranoia and mutually assured destruction. Humanity is about to destroy itself once again in this 1800-year cycle. Miller then takes us on an examination of the strength and relevance of faith in the face of such suffering and destruction. However, for the entire 1800 years and more, the disciples of Leibowitz have kept faith and hope alive. So is organized religion the curse or savior of humanity? Walter Miller contemplates these issues with great lucidity in this lost classic. [~doomsdayer520~]

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4.0 out of 5 stars A curiously allusive work, Dec 3 2008
By Ryan B. Ward (London, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: A Canticle for Leibowitz (Mass Market Paperback)
Unlike much work in this genre, this book does not focus on the violence and danger of a post-apocalyptic world (although that certainly is present) but on the thoughts and reflections provoked by the events. Essentially this book is a reflective work on the role of government, on religion and on intellectual life. As to the style, I personally found the transitions between the three sections somewhat jarring, but other than that I found it very good.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, Jun 24 2007
By J. Niskanen (Thunder Bay, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: A Canticle for Leibowitz (Paperback)
I read this one for the first time a few years ago. I've read it a couple times since. It's thought provoking and original. The book really stuck in my mind and manages to absorb my attention, even though I have read it before. I don't usually like collections of stories, even longer ones, like those in this book, but this is definitely an exception.
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 		 Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Work
A Canticle for Leibowitz is not a novel. Rather, it is 3 linked novellas concerning the Order of Saint Leibowitz. Read more
Published on Jun 19 2004 by Charles J. Rector

4.0 out of 5 stars unique and wonderful
Well, amazing. So many novels in this general genre completely discount the power, much less the existence, of faith and ritual in human culture, or else they deride it. Read more
Published on Jun 8 2004 by katla

5.0 out of 5 stars Miller's highly personal struggle with religion and science
Walter Miller's only major novel is not simply a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel but also a multi-layered meditation on the conflict between knowledge and morality. Read more
Published on May 23 2004 by D. Cloyce Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars After the Fall
Imagine a Benedictine monastary, monks going through their daily rituals, preserving and reproducing holy documents without understanding them or why they're holy for hundreds of... Read more
Published on May 16 2004 by Jack Purcell

4.0 out of 5 stars Great example of 'Future History'
Canticle for Lebowitz is a story that will appeal to all types of readers: science fiction readerers because of its speculative aspects as well as fantasy readers due to its... Read more
Published on Mar 29 2004 by jradoff

5.0 out of 5 stars I cuncur fully. . .
. . .with those who consider "A Canticle for Leibowitz" as the single greatest Science Fiction novel ever written. Read more
Published on Mar 12 2004 by David Zampino

5.0 out of 5 stars Order it right now!
Stop wasting your time reading reviews - read the book instead!!
Published on Jan 24 2004 by Mugwort

5.0 out of 5 stars Tragic and Hopeful
The horrific Flame Deluge has come and gone, and in the broken world that remains, a small order of monks collect and protect what remains of worldly knowledge at a remote abbey... Read more
Published on Jan 19 2004 by Silas Traitor

5.0 out of 5 stars Those who don't learn from the past....
600 years after the nuclear apocalypse, Brother Francis of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz (AOL) is performing his Lenten fast in the desert of Utah. Read more
Published on Oct 29 2003 by gac1003

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding post-apocalpytic literature
This one's really thought provoking, as any good science fiction novel should be. Based on a "what if" scenario of worldwide nuclear devastation (mainly by fallout) and... Read more
Published on Oct 2 2003 by Ritesh Laud

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