I AM VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE WRITER'S DEPTH OF THE HISTORY OF THE"COMPANY". I WISH I COULD HAVE READ THIS BOOK WHILE I WAS ATTENDING BOSTON COLLEGE , A JESUIT UNIVERSITY , SOME 44 YEARS AGO. I AM SURE IT WOULD HAVE MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN MANY OF THE EVENTS OF MY LIFE. NOW, I HAVE THE CHANCE TO SEE HOW I CAN FOLLOW THE TEACHINGS OF THE JESUITS IN MY LATER YEARS.

This is an interesting, informative, insightful and inspiring book. Lowney teased out four strands or principles of leadership (self-awareness, ingenuity, love and heroism) from the heritage of St. Ignatius Loyola and has woven a very impressive tapestry based on the history and lives of outstanding Jesuits. The book is not just for organizational leaders and managers, but suitable for anyone who wants to lead a better and more fruitful life. I wish to thank all the previous reviewers for their excellent comments and summaries.
Having been a Jesuit for well over 40 years, I've found the book a timely wake-up call.
I have known personally and indirectly so many outstanding Jesuits who have continued the tradition. Yet there is also room for reflection. In contrast to the early boom and the revival after the Suppression of Jesuits (1750-1773), the Society of Jesus has been declining in numbers very steadily from the peak in the early 60s of 36000+ to just below 20,000 last year. Although the decrease in vocations to the religious life is a fairly universal phenomenon, except in some developing countries, it is still worthwhile for the Church, Christian organisations and Jesuits in particular, to look in the mirror of this book.
Are we are too set in our patterns or have we got off track at times, lacking in 1) self-awareness, 2) innovation, 3) love, and 4) the passionate and heroic desire for the greater glory of God (In Latin, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, Ignatius' motto). (Excuse a digression. St. Iranaeus, whose feast is today, said that the glory of God is the human person fully alive and being alive is the vision of God. One may think of "To love one another is to see the face of God." from the musical, Les Miserables,seemingly based on St. John.)
The value of The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius has been much stressed. But sometimes the transforming effect seems to be still limited and not lasting. Are people just going through the formality and the stipulated hours of prayer without ongoing personal appropriations of the "death and resurrection", or "call, exile and return" that are manifested in so many of the life-stories in the book, or in "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", "The Lord of the Rings" or "Star Wars"?
"Finding God in all things", and being "contemplatives in action" are the hallmarks of Jesuit spirituality. But do we not often just get too involved in action without deep contemplation? How self-aware are we? Are we just being driven along, even in lofty aspirations and zealous busyness, by our own compulsions to save ourselves, as depicted by the Enneagram types? How receptive to grace are we?
From Dec. 3rd this year, there will be the Jubilee Year for the 450th anniversary of the death of St. Ignatius and 500th anniversary of the birth of St. Francis Xavier and St. Peter Faber. May this book continue to inspire and to awaken Jesuits in their life-long renewal and also share the perennial spirit and wisdom of these three giants and the Jesuit legacy with the whole of humankind.