5For nearly 2,000 years, Christian mystics, martyrs, and sages have documented their search for the divine. Their writings have bestowed boundless wisdom upon subsequent generations. But they have also burdened many spiritual seekers. The sheer volume of available material creates a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. Enter the Upper Room Spiritual Classics series, a collection of authoritative texts on Christian spirituality curated for the everyday reader. Designed to introduce 15 spiritual giants and the range of their works, these volumes are a first-rate resource for beginner and expert alike. In the early centuries of Christianity, thousands sought new insights away from cities and towns. They sought simplicity, solitude, and community in the deserts of Egypt and Syria. Although these desert dwellers rarely wrote anything, sayings and stories about them began to circulate. This volume offers a collection of rare wisdom and pointed advice, refreshing and inspiring in its simplicity.