The literary genres of biography and memoir are challenging to accomplish in their own right, but the prospect of a successful hybrid of both—as the subtitle of James Forest's latest book suggests—would appear nearly impossible. And yet, Forest manages to succeed at precisely this feat. The author of more than a dozen previous books, Forest has honed his skills as an author specializing in both genres, having written earlier biographies of Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton (both of whom he also knew personally) and penning several memoirs about his experience of peacemaking and prayer. This volume on the late Jesuit priest and activist Daniel Berrigan (1921–2016) may very well be Forest's best. He is able to wed historical context with personal experience in interesting narrative ways, having not only known Berrigan, but also worked closely with him for decades in the area of Catholic peace and justice advocacy.

This book is organized chronologically and episodically; it includes hundreds of photographs and places quotations from Berrigan's primary sources in the margins, illustrating the engaging prose Forest provides in building the life story of an important and fascinating figure of twentieth-century American Catholicism. The pacing of the book is even, and one feels adequately informed about each period of Berrigan's life while progressing through the volume. Despite the equal weight given in the subtitle to both biography and memoir, it is mostly the former with occasional first-person narration from Forest about particular events or Berrigan personality traits, which never feel forced or awkwardly situated. In this way, Forest's book is particularly successful given the temptation a writer might face to make such a “biography and memoir” more about the author himself than about his subject.

Forest presents Berrigan as the “priest, poet, prophet” he was well known to be. These three intersecting identities serve as threads binding together not only the chapters of this book, but also the chapters of Berrigan's life. At each stage of Berrigan's faith journey toward activism, this particular kind of tria munera was present, growing, and developing along the way. As a member of the Society of Jesus, the ministerial priesthood was from the beginning of adulthood a central aspect of Berrigan's life and outreach. As a poet, Berrigan was able to express profound, even difficult and challenging, truths in a manner at once creative and inspirational. As a prophet, Berrigan—like the Hebrew prophets of Scripture—initially resisted the call, but eventually found that he could not remain silent in the face of such injustice in the world, and so he spoke out at great personal cost. Forest portrays Berrigan's life as one of integrity even in the face of criticism and, at times, painful consequences, such as extended periods of time in prison for protesting.

In his afterword, Forest writes that “Dan Berrigan changed a lot of lives, mine among them. I expect what Dan did and what he said and the example he gave will continue to change people's lives into the foreseeable future” (300). This book offers an accessible and engaging introduction to the life and legacy of Daniel Berrigan, which will provide future generations with an opportunity also to have their lives changed. Forest has provided us with a resource that should be a staple in any undergraduate course that seeks to introduce students to this towering twentieth-century figure of American Catholic peacemaking and activism.