before fully understanding them. In the introduction, T.S. Elliot suggests that one reading of the book is insufficient, and he may be correct. Anyone who thinks they have grasped this book fully after reading over it once is either lazy, or, if they are correct, a freak of nature. However, the hard work required to tap into Simone Weil's stream of thought is well worth it. This is truly one of the most inspiring and provocative books I have read. While it was written in 1943 and adressed specifically to the state of France under the Vichy government, much of this book still remains crucially relevant today, perhaps even more so. If this book is read with discernment, rather than in the casual mode in which we often read, I guarantee that a permanent tatoo of Weil's deep passion for humanity will be left on the soul. Two major contributions to the analysis of the modern society can be found in Weil's works. In his "Essay on the causes of freedom and oppression" of the early 1930s she had given a vision of why we are left unsatisfied by progress, substituting social oppression for natural one. Here, while in London just before dying, she gets to such a deep understanding of contemporary social and spiritual problems that has very few comparisons in this century. We needs roots, she assumes, and we find them belonging to alive communities feeding our souls. An entire programme of reform of modernity is developed from