Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams writes frankly on belief, Christianity and the place of religion today.

Apart from being a scholar and theologian, Rowan Williams has also demonstrated a rare gift for writing plainly and clearly about essentials of the Christian faith. In Holy Living, he writes with profound perception about the life of holiness to which we are called. The range of Williams' frame of reference is astonishing--he brings poets and theologians to his aid, he writes about the Rule of St Benedict, the Bible, Icons, contemplation, St Teresa of Avila and even R. D. Laing. He concludes with two chapters on the injunction "Know Thyself" in a Christian context. Throughout, Williams points out that holiness is a state of being--it is he writes "completely undemonstrative and lacking any system of expertise. It can never be dissected and analysed."