If you were to recommend to Oprah Winfrey one spiritual book published in the twentieth century for her to push on her television show, what would it be? Philip Za-leski, Lecturer in Religion at Smith College, has a book to suggest, though one not familiar to me.

He was recently asked by the publishing  house, HarperCollins, to choose the one hundred most outstanding such books. Wisely, he assembled a group of prominent advisors who helped him with the task. Their list makes fascinating reading in itself.

The one book that Professor Zaleski would choose from among the one hundred was written by a French woman, Simone Weil. Called “Waiting for God,” this spiritual classic “offers an inspiring message of hope for the future,” as Zaleski says. I have not read the book myself but plan to do so on the strength of this recommendation.

Other books among the ten most often suggested by Professor Zaleski and his advisory group are Dorothy Day’s, “The Long Loneliness,” Annie Dillard’s “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,” Martin Luther King’s, “I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World,” and Teilhard de Chardin’s, “The Phenomenon of Man.”

These works I have read and would enthusiastically recommend to readers. How-ever, those who read Teilhard de Chardin must be prepared for a challenge. This French Jesuit priest-scientist had a highly original vision of the spiritual world that owes much to his field of anthropology. A new translation from the French original has just appeared done by the Boston-area scholar, Sarah Appleton-Weber.

Some favorite authors of mine have also been included. The Trappist monk Tho-mas Merton appears for his “Seeds of Contemplation” and also for his “Seven Storey Mountain,” a book that had a big impact on me when I was twenty.

I welcome the inclusion of two of my favorite Jewish spiritual writers. Martin Buber is listed for his collection, “Tales of the Hasidim,” a work I frequently consult for stories both charming and spiritually profitable.

Also Rabbi Abraham Heschel makes the list for two of his books. One of them, “The Sabbath,” speaks to me as a person who appreciates the spiritual power in having a sacred day once a week.

Another favorite author listed here is Graham Greene for his “The Power and the Glory,” a novel that centers on a whiskey priest who manages to serve God and God’s people despite his failings as a person. The same author’s “The End of the Affair,” a cur-rent Hollywood film, could also have been chosen.

I also relish the southern writer Flannery O’Connor whose short novel “Wise Blood” is included. Presenting often bizarre characters, she shows divine grace breaking through the world of flawed people.

Two other works that much influenced me earlier in life were Gandhi’s memoir, “My Experiments with Truth” and the Swiss psychologist Jung’s, “Memories, Dreams, Reflections.” The great Indian apostle of non-violence taught me the value of peaceful protest and the inner search for truth. Jung helped me to pay attention to dreams and sift them for their meaning in my life.

An author not included who has a large following at the present time is Henri Nouwen. A Dutch priest who died two years ago, Fr. Nouwen wrote a series of books that have given inspiration to a great many people who take  the spiritual life seriously. Among those works I can recommend my favorite – “Aging: the Fulfillment of Life.” It may well be that the cult of Fr. Nouwen will grow during coming decades and something of his will be included on future lists.

I also find myself returning often to Frederick Buechner, a writer based in Vermont and Florida, who has published thirty books, many of them works of spiritual depth. His most recent, “The Eyes of the Heart,” is a work filled with hope despite the grief experienced by him and so many others.

Many of the other writers on the list deserve honorable mention in the spiritual history of the century just past. C. S. Lewis, Mother Teresa, Elie Wiesel, Pope John XXII,  Pope John Paul II, and T. S. Eliot are all included.

For the reader interested in pursuing spiritual life, here is God’s plenty. The list can be found online (perhaps at your public library) at www.harpercollins.com/imprints/harper_sanfrancisco/spiritbooks.htm. [link no longer active]

Richard Griffin