This book is invaluable as an introduction to the writings and spiritual beliefs of Teilhard de Chardin and has inspired me to read some of Teilhard's essays. I also enjoyed the format, which offers a generous number photos and quotations in the margins. As a biography, however, it's not particularly gripping. There's a fair amount of repetition and the tone is more of an encyclopedic overview than an attempt to help us truly understand the experience of a great thinker and mystic.