Rating: 
Summary: A rare, intelligent novel.
Review: Canticle impressed me a great deal. It's one of those books that remains with you long after you've finished the last page. It really got me thinking - I even went on a sci-fi message board to read other readers' impressions of the novel. I suggest that future readers search on the internet for some kind of study guide. I found a site that translated the latin phrases and it deepened my appreciation for the novel. I think it would be a study in frustration to read the novel without an understanding of the latin phrases.
Rating:
Summary: Science Fiction With Heart and Mind
Review: Now that it seems most science fiction authors are mainly interested in writing 800-page books (and usually as part of a series of books), "A Canticle For Leibowitz" is that less common form of the genre: a meditation on humanity, science, and character. If you are more interested in story than in overly-detailed pseudo-scientific, engineering-manuals-disguised-as-novels, then this a book worth reading. I read it as a boy, and re-read it 15 years later, and was still deeply moved. Very few of the hundreds of science fiction novels I've read remain with me. This is one I treasure.
Rating:
Summary: As fine a piece of post-apocalyptic scifi I've read in years
Review: I was given a copy of Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s, "a Canticle for Leibowitz," by a design engineer when I was an electromechanical draftsman at the height of the defense/computer boom in the early 1980's. To say that I was delighted to discover the vocation of the Leibowitz of the title is an understatement. But that was only a very small part of what I found to be wondrous about this book. Nuclear holocaust was still uppermost in people's minds since it was pre- the fall of the Berlin wall and the dissolving of the USSR so the story was modern. There is morality and wit in the sanctifying and lampooning of organized religion throughout the text. Miller's writing is as finely wrought and scholarly as any illuminated religious script: "...the abbott's frown, Brother Francis had come to observe, was the causative source of radiant energy which traveled through space with finite velocity and which was as yet not very well understood except in terms of its withering effect upon whatever thing absorbed it, that thing usually being a postulant or novice." Though dark, this novel carries a message of hope and is, above all, simply a good story carrying you along from start to finish. This book is as fresh and fine a piece of post-apocalyptic work as it must have been 40 years ago when it was first published. I am rereading this book for a fifth time now and am enjoying it as much now as I did the first time. I hope everyone else will, too!
Rating:
Summary: A well crafted book designed to be read for generations
Review: When the "Canticle" was first recommended to me the person said "It is Science-fiction that anyone will enjoy". I am not a big fan of the Sci-fi genre. "Canticle" can only be losely defined as Sci-fi. It is more a study of human nature and society than anything else. The book covers very large spans of time which evolve, and yet remain completely unchanged. No matter what genre you prefer, if you are a fan of reading, this book is a must. Enjoy. (ps don't worry about all the latin, it is an aid not the substance of the story)
Rating: 
Summary: You cannot judge this book buy its cover!
Review: TIME magazine, February 22nd, 1960 said Miller's dedication is "a scratch where it itches", and intellectually speaking, so is his book. Also claimed to be "a dull, ashy writer". Doctor George Kumler Anderson, in his "THE LEGEND OF THE WANDERING JEW": too formless to be satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: A book that just keeps getting better with every re-read.
Review: "Canticle" is amazing--from its delicately layered symbolism to its overwhelming waves of sadness and, eventually, hope. This book, enjoyable enough during the first reading, is one that you will want to read over and over. Miller's carefully built metaphors seem to become deeper and more complex with each new reading. You will long to have someone else read it just so you can discuss all the issues that emerge from the novel. "Canticle" is not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best ever...
Review: This book was one of several that taught me what science fiction had the potential to be when placed in the correct hands. There are numerous messages in this book, but the most important to me was how history can repeat itself - so, in the end, what's it all worth if we don't learn? This is one of the few books in my collection which I've re-read numerous times. I stumbled upon it by pure luck about 10 years ago - I was helping my mom dispose of old texts at the school in which she works. Back in the corner of the bookroom was a stack of boxes from what I assume was an english class. Inside was a trove of sci-fi: Canticle, the Perelandra Series, Left Hand of Darkness, etc. After reading them, I was surprised that a high school class possibly studied these. If only schools today put this much thought into their required reading.
Rating:
Summary: I fell in love with Canticle, once I understood its meaning.
Review: I am in Advanced placement english at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, VA. After first reading "Canticle," I had no idea what it was about! However,after discussing "Canticle" in class and reading it again, I loved it! It made me think about human interactions and the possibility that we may annihilate ourselves, creating Armaggedon on our own. Brother Francis is a sweet and funny character, and the Abbots are synomous to world leaders. They were the religious and educational leaders in a world diving headfirst into chaos. With scientists constantly researching and creating biological and chemical weapons, mutations such as Mrs. Grales and her six-legged dog could become a part of everyday existence. While I am here, I just want to thank God for everything and give much love to our troops over in Kosovo, and to everyone who serves in the Armed Forces. I am praying for you and your families, and hope that you return home alive and well. Let us all promote peace and equality not only in our country, but across the world. The society depicted in "Canticle" could easily become a reality if people do not stand up for peace and love for all people. We are all in this world together, so let's love each other. R.I.P. Mr. Miller. Your book has been an inspiration to me, and to millions across the world. Not listening to Mr. Miller's message, could cost us everything, even the world.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but......
Review: I hope this doesn't give people the message science is bad. I think the book says science is a morally ambiguous tool. Need all sorts of voices in this world. This book may weird you out, but celebrate the diversity in the world. Good to hear alll sorts of voices in science fiction, besides techno-worshippers & luddites.
Rating:
Summary: great book!
Review: This is a spooky book set in the post-nuclear holocaust American Southwest was first published in 1959. The holocaust survivors lose nearly all the structure of modern civilization yet retain a bizarre sense of religion, wherein anything from our era becomes sacrosanct. The first half of the book deals with a bumbling desert monk Leibowitz who stumbles upon an old fall-out shelter which is, of course, a holy-of-holies to his confused contemporaries. The second half of the story jumps ahead to a time when civilization and science have been re-established and guess what!? they are at war with nuclear weapons again. Very well-crafted, read carefully or you'll miss the nuances. I re-read it every decade or so. Any Y2K end of the world enthusiasts would probably enjoy this book a little too much.
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