number 2 in my little “books i like: the memoir” series… again, not in any particular order.

2. Fighting the Lamb’s War: Skirmishes with the American Empire by Philip Berrigan and Fred A. Wilcox

I first encountered this book my sophomore year of college in REL 423: Religion and Politics in America. I would say that this course and another course I took that semester (History of the Modern Middle East) were pretty ground breaking for me personally. That might seem dramatic, but whatever. Anyway, I had to read this book for this class and it totally captured my attention. It’s about a radical activist Catholic priest - his service in World War II, his work for racial and social justice, his activism during the Vietnam War, and his activism against nuclear weapons. He also talks about (activist-based) intentional communities and his struggle with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. He also fell in love with a nun and married her, which got him excommunicated. so he was pretty much a badass.

you might also like:

The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton - Admittedly, I have yet to finish this book. I started it, oh, 7 or 8 years ago? It much more tame than Berrigan’s autobiography, but if you are interested in Catholic social activism, social justice, the Vietnam-era, you might enjoy this book.

The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist by Dorothy Day - Another goodie for sure. SO GOOD, that this book makes my list.

Disarmed And Dangerous: The Radical Life And Times Of Daniel And Philip Berrigan, Brothers In Religious Faith And Civil Disobedience by Murray Polner & Jim O’grady

anything by Howard Zinn

number one