"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