#walter m. miller jr

[akiraofthefour]

I've read this novel three times. The story has, of course, remained the same since 1959, but the persons with my name who read it in 1968 and 1998, at eighteen and forty-eight, are not the same as the one who came to the novel most recently at the age of fifty-five. All three of us have been altered by it, according to our gifts at the time.

Mary Doria Russell, introduction to the 2006 edition of A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

[aaronsrpgs]

book I finished / book I started

[the-haylien]

A Canticle for Leibowitz

by Walter M. Miller Jr.

This book was originally published in 1959. It is post-apocalypse science fiction. Phrases among the English appear in Latin and Hebrew. I looked them up as I went, but eventually just read past them for the most part. The world is reduced to post nuclear rubble. Artifacts of the past are looked upon with wonder and veneration. You realize how very easily a doodad we take for granted today might become a mysterious holy relic in the future. Miller foresaw the mutation of science dominated by religion.

The book is divided into three sections, each separated by about 600 years, with new characters, either accepting their ancestor’s historical assessments, or wondering if their fathers might have been ignorant of reality. The setting feels medieval.

In Fiat homo (Let there be Man), Brother Francis seems to be led by the Divine to find a holy place: Fallout Survival Shelter, thanks to an old man. It is a place not seen or touched by any person in centuries. And there he finds the holiest of holy documents: a blueprint. The consequences of his find are not to be fully explored in Brother Francis’ lifetime. At the end of Part One, we get some sense of time as it is said to be the Year of Our Lord 3174.

Fiat Eux (Let them be) follows a skeptic who has some sense of what a blueprint might really represent. It is over six hundred years later and yet the old man from the first section shows up. Has the fallout caused this? Or is there some error in their calendar? They are still in rubble, but finally, after generations of darkness, came the generations of The Light.

Fiat Voluntas Tua (Thy will be done) jarringly jumps into a space-age, with humans evolved to their environment. And there he is again, that impossibly old man. The religious hierarchy remains in place even after thousands of years. The question is, have they evolved beyond their petty desires of control, domination, and war?

I wasn’t sure at first, but I liked this book. I was compelled to finish it, even though it took thousands of years. It doesn’t have the action and good guy versus bad guy that we are accustomed to in science fiction these days. But it certainly makes you think. The Latin phrases give it an authentic feel of generational connection and misunderstanding. In 2000 years, our progeny will laugh at our language and the funny way we look. They may wonder why we fought huge wars and killed so many people – or they may wonder why we didn’t kill a lot more people. Either way, they will still be us.

You might enjoy this book if you like apocalypse stories that cover multiple generations. You will enjoy it if you like to read books that make you think. This classic book is still provocative, 65 years after it was published.

[pagingdrmusic]

Big ol haule from a used book store!

[nightingaelic]

My review of the Fallout show is that the fans and everyone at Bethesda need to read A Canticle for Leibowitz and re-apply its themes to this thing they all love - Jonathan Nolan kind of gets it, but I'm pretty sure Emil Pagliarulo doesn't

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Richard Lasher was on his way to ride his dirt bike when Mt. St. Helens erupted in front of him. (1980)   ::  [Historic Photographs]

* * * * 

“And how will this come to pass?' He paused and lowered his voice. ' In the same way all change comes to pass, I fear, And I am sorry it is so. It will come to pass by violence and upheaval, by flame and by fury, for no change comes calmly over the world.”

― Walter M. Miller Jr.

[infinitaregna]

Thrift store finds

[rains-of-words]

You don’t have a soul, Doctor. You are a soul. You have a body, temporarily.

Walter M. Miller Jr., A Canticle for Leibowitz

[victusinveritas]

[mr-craig]

You can tell I’m really loving a book when I keep stopping to take photos of favourite bits…

[onenakedfarmer]

Reading

Walter M. Miller, Jr. A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ

[bluevelvetcat]

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. - Book Review

This sprawling, intricate post-apocalyptic novel blends religious faith with science fiction, and envisions a potential course for human civilisation that’s both bleak and hopeful – and surprisingly humorous. It’s a wonderfully written book deserving of its classic status. Continue reading A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. – Book Review

[rockpaperscissuhs]

Band of Brothers Birthdays

January

1 John S. Zielinski Jr. (b. 1925)

21 Richard D. “Dick” Winters (b. 1918)

26 Herbert M. Sobel (b. 1912)

30 Clifford Carwood "Lip" Lipton (b. 1920)

31 Warren H. “Skip” Muck (b. 1922) & Robert B. Brewer (b. 1924)

February

8 Clarence R. Hester (b. 1916)

18 Thomas A. Peacock (b. 1920)

23 Lester A. “Les” Hashey (b. 1925)

March

1 Charles E. “Chuck” Grant (b. 1922)

2 Colonel Robert L. “Bob” Strayer (b. 1910)

4 Wayne “Skinny” Sisk (b. 1922)

10 Frank J. Perconte (b. 1917)

13 Darrell C. “Shifty” Powers (b. 1923)

14 Joseph J. “Joe” Toye (b. 1919)

24 John D. “Cowboy” Halls (b. 1922)

26 George Lavenson (b. 1917) & George H. Smith Jr. (1922)

27 Gerald J. Loraine (b. 1913)

April

3 Colonel Robert F. “Bob” Sink (b. 1905) & Patrick S. “Patty” O’Keefe (b. 1926)

5 John T. “Johnny” Julian (b. 1924)

10 Renée B. E. Lemaire (b. 1914)

11 James W. Miller (b. 1924)

15 Walter S. “Smokey” Gordon Jr. (b. 1920)

20 Ronald C. “Sparky” Speirs (b. 1920)

23 Alton M. More (b. 1920)

27 Earl E. “One Lung” McClung (b. 1923) & Henry S. “Hank” Jones Jr. (b. 1924)

28 William J. “Wild Bill” Guarnere (b. 1923)

May

12 John W. “Johnny” Martin (b. 1922)

16 Edward J. “Babe” Heffron (b. 1923)

17 Joseph D. “Joe” Liebgott (b. 1915)

19 Norman S. Dike Jr. (b. 1918) & Cleveland O. Petty (b. 1924)

25 Albert L. "Al" Mampre (b. 1922)

June

2 David K. "Web" Webster (b. 1922)

6 Augusta M. Chiwy ("Anna") (b. 1921)

13 Edward D. Shames (b. 1922)

17 George Luz (b. 1921)

18 Roy W. Cobb (b. 1914)

23 Frederick T. “Moose” Heyliger (b. 1916)

25 Albert Blithe (b. 1923)

28 Donald B. "Hoob" Hoobler (b. 1922)

July

2 Gen. Anthony C. "Nuts" McAuliffe (b. 1898)

7 Francis J. “Frank” Mellet (b. 1920)

8 Thomas Meehan III (b. 1921)

9 John A. Janovec (b. 1925)

10 Robert E. “Popeye” Wynn (b. 1921)

16 William S. Evans (b. 1910)

20 James H. “Moe” Alley Jr. (b. 1922)

23 Burton P. “Pat” Christenson (b. 1922)

29 Eugene E. Jackson (b. 1922)

31 Donald G. "Don" Malarkey (b. 1921)

August

3 Edward J. “Ed” Tipper (b. 1921)

10 Allen E. Vest (b. 1924)

15 Kenneth J. Webb (b. 1920)

18 Jack E. Foley (b. 1922)

26 Floyd M. “Tab” Talbert (b. 1923) & General Maxwell D. Taylor (b. 1901)

29 Joseph A. Lesniewski (b. 1920)

31 Alex M. Penkala Jr. (b. 1924)

September

3 William H. Dukeman Jr. (b. 1921)

11 Harold D. Webb (b. 1925)

12 Major Oliver M. Horton (b. 1912)

27 Harry F. Welsh (b. 1918)

30 Lewis “Nix” Nixon III (b. 1918)

October

5 Joseph “Joe” Ramirez (b. 1921) & Ralph F. “Doc” Spina (b. 1919) & Terrence C. "Salty" Harris (b. 1920)

6 Leo D. Boyle (b. 1913)

10 William F. “Bill” Kiehn (b. 1921)

15 Antonio C. “Tony” Garcia (b. 1924)

17 Eugene G. "Doc" Roe (b. 1922)

21 Lt. Cl. David T. Dobie (b. 1912)

28 Herbert J. Suerth Jr. (b. 1924)

31 Robert "Bob" van Klinken (b. 1919)

November

11 Myron N. “Mike” Ranney (b. 1922)

20 Denver “Bull” Randleman (b. 1920)

December

12 John “Jack” McGrath (b. 1919)

31 Lynn D. “Buck” Compton (b. 1921)

Unknown Date

Joseph P. Domingus

Richard J. Hughes (b. 1925)

Maj. Louis Kent

Father John Mahoney

George C. Rice

SOURCES

Military History Fandom Wiki

Band of Brothers Fandom Wiki

Traces of War

Find a Grave

[phantastische-illustrationen]

Walter M. Miller, Jr. - A Canticle for Leibowitz (1979) (Peter Andrew Jones)

[nightingaelic]

Seeing your post about post-apocalyptic accents and dialects, I think you'd like A Canticle for Leibowitz, if only because for part 2 and 3, and the 2nd book, there's at least three or four major languages in play in what was America. Southwest, Alleghenian, English, which is now to them what Latin is to us, and Latin itself, which has split into two sub-languages, Vulgate and Modern, both of which are apparently different enough it's more like a very early split between today's Romance languages; technically the same language but different enough that someone who speaks one might not be able to speak the other

What a coincidence, I just put A Canticle for Leibowitz on my book club's reading suggestions list 😊