“Fascinating and charming--The web woven here, in the wisest and most charming of styles, is intricate indeed.” —Kirkus Reviews


“Lyrically poetic . . . The tone is intimate but the content - which includes politics, history, art, poetry, and religion - is impressively broad and rich.” —Dana Gioia, San Francisco Magazine

“Splendid . . . Milosz's ABC's is a benedictory text, an alphabetical rescue operation, a testimonial to those who have suffered and gone before us, a hymn to the everlasting marvel and mystery of human existence--Milosz [is] arguably the greatest living poet.” —Edward Hirsch, The New York Times Book Review

“Eloquent . . . A remarkable fusion of passion and balance.” —Richard Eder, The New York Times

“The book captures what is perhaps most characteristic and attractive in Milosz's entire literary output. His writing can be simultaneously a protest against the disappearance of people, objects and images from the physical world, and a celebration of time's unstoppable forward motion . . . Few writers in our time can rival Milosz's ability to render justice to the strange spectacle of the world. We should be grateful for the wisdom of his extraordinary life.” —Jaroslaw Anders, Los Angeles Times Book Review

“A remarkable testament to the place of memory in the definition of a conscious self . . . As the two brief entries 'truth' and 'time' eloquently suggest, a life shaped by the terror of political instability and institutionalized brutality relentlessly goes on seeking that order which is the natural desire of every human mind.” —Harold Isbell, Commonweal