Poet, social justice advocate, and theologian Thomas Merton (1915--1968) is arguably the most influential American Catholic author of the twentieth century. In his short lifetime, he penned over seventy books and maintained a brisk correspondence with colleagues around the globe. However, many Merton scholars and fans remain unaware of the significant body of letters that were exchanged between the Trappist monk and Victor and Carolyn Hammer.

Unable to leave his home at the Abbey of Gethsemani except on special occasions, Merton developed a unique friendship with this couple from nearby Lexington, Kentucky. Carolyn, who supplied Merton with many of the books he required for his writing and teaching, was a founder of the King Library Press at the University of Kentucky. Victor was an accomplished painter, sculptor, printer, and architect. The friendship and collaborations between Merton and the Hammers reveal their shared interest in the convergence of art, literature, and spirituality.

In this volume, editors F. Douglas Scutchfield and Paul Evans Holbrook Jr. have collected the trio's complete correspondence for the first time. Their letters, arranged chronologically, vividly demonstrate a blossoming intellectual camaraderie and provide a unique opportunity to understand Merton's evolving philosophies. At times humorous, often profound, the letters in this volume shed light on a rare friendship and offer new insights into the creative intellect of Thomas Merton.

The Human Services Delivery System is a comprehensive textbook that provides integrated theoretical and practical coverage of each of the five major systems of human services. Featuring a nationally known expert on each service: S. Richard Sauber on the mental health systemHarold J. Vetter on the criminal justice systemHarold H. Weissman on the social welfare systemMario D. Fantini on the education systemF. Douglas Scutchfield on the health care systemSauber also offers a coherent general systems theory perspective that clarifies the problems of relationships, structures, and interdependencies of dynamic systems -- as well as chapters on self-help approaches, service integration, planning, coordinating, and program evaluation.

Poet, social justice advocate, and theologian Thomas Merton (1915--1968) is arguably the most influential American Catholic author of the twentieth century. In his short lifetime, he penned over seventy books and maintained a brisk correspondence with colleagues around the globe. However, many Merton scholars and fans remain unaware of the significant body of letters that were exchanged between the Trappist monk and Victor and Carolyn Hammer.

Unable to leave his home at the Abbey of Gethsemani except on special occasions, Merton developed a unique friendship with this couple from nearby Lexington, Kentucky. Carolyn, who supplied Merton with many of the books he required for his writing and teaching, was a founder of the King Library Press at the University of Kentucky. Victor was an accomplished painter, sculptor, printer, and architect. The friendship and collaborations between Merton and the Hammers reveal their shared interest in the convergence of art, literature, and spirituality.

In this volume, editors F. Douglas Scutchfield and Paul Evans Holbrook Jr. have collected the trio's complete correspondence for the first time. Their letters, arranged chronologically, vividly demonstrate a blossoming intellectual camaraderie and provide a unique opportunity to understand Merton's evolving philosophies. At times humorous, often profound, the letters in this volume shed light on a rare friendship and offer new insights into the creative intellect of Thomas Merton.

Although health outcomes and other measures of well-being in the United States have vastly improved over recent decades, gains in Appalachia have been more modest than in other parts of the country. The common refrain is that this 'lagging behind' is a result of Appalachia's persistent poverty and bleak labour-market outlook; yet economic explanations reveal an incomplete picture. Appalachian Health explores major challenges and opportunities for promoting the health and well-being of the people of Appalachia, a historically underserved population. It considers the intersections of health and social, political and economic factors to shed light on the trends affecting mortality and morbidity among the region's residents. This edited volume brings together high-profile authors from across academia, public health and government to offer perspectives on a wide range of topics including health behaviors, environmental justice, and pandemic preparedness. This volume also provides updated data on issues such as opioid abuse, 'deaths of despair', and the social determinants of health. Using a multidisciplinary approach, Appalachian Health offers a timely and much-needed optimistic account of health status in Appalachia. By more closely studying Appalachia face=Calibri>- which is, in many ways, emblematic of rural regions across the United States face=Calibri>- this volume both better illuminates the complex determinants of health and offers a more systematic way to evaluate processes affecting well-being in rural places.

Public health refers to the management and prevention of disease within a population by promoting healthy behaviors and environments in an effort to create a higher standard of living. In this comprehensive volume, editor James W. Holsinger Jr. and an esteemed group of scholars and practitioners offer a concise overview of this burgeoning field, emphasizing that the need for effective services has never been greater. Designed as a supplemental text for introductory courses in public health practice at the undergraduate and graduate levels, Contemporary Public Health provides historical background that contextualizes the current state of the field and explores the major issues practitioners face today. It addresses essential topics such as the social and ecological determinants of health and their impact on practice, marginalized populations, the role of community-oriented primary care, the importance of services and systems research, accreditation, and the organizational landscape of the American public health system. Finally, it examines international public health and explores the potential of systems based on multilevel partnerships of government, academic, and nonprofit organizations. With fresh historical and methodological analyses conducted by an impressive group of distinguished authors, this text is an essential resource for practitioners, health advocates, and students.