The Prophet of Cuernavaca

Reviews / Votes

Hartch captures Illich's rare intellect and passion- as well as his Catholic faith- without succumbing to the ideological commentary that mars so many analyses of one of Western culture's most incisive social critics. I strongly recommend this book to young readers who seek an introduction to Illich, as well as to those like me who thought they already knew him. * Timothy Matovina, author of Latino Catholicism: Transformation in America's Largest Church * Illich was an enigmatic Catholic figure, a polymath who saw himself as a prophet of revolution. He viewed missionaries as tools of cultural occupation, saw schooling as detrimental to real education, and the medical system as harmful to health. Along the way he denounced the Church hierarchy as a betrayal of Christ, was suitably tried for heresy only to turn the tables on his inquisitors. Yet he left a large footprint that Hartch has traced with diligence and care. * Lamin Sanneh, author of Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity * Todd Hartch, a prolific analyst of religious cultures and institutions of Latin America, provides a thoroughly original and engrossing interpretation of the life of Ivan Illich, one of the region's most provocative social thinkers of the second half of the twentieth century. By focusing on Illich's priestly calling, which endured long after he abandoned his public ministry, and by decoding the often-camouflaged theological underpinnings of Illich's thought and action, Hartch provides an illuminating portrait of one of the last century's most influential, yet misunderstood, critics of western modernity and the Catholic Church. * Gilbert M. Joseph, Farnam Professor of History and International Studies, Yale University * Well researched and accessibly written, this is an important study of a major late-20th-century social critic. * D. Jacobsen, CHOICE *