"This story of Notre Dame’s library, built by and named for Father Ted Hesburgh, the university’s president emeritus, provides fascinating information about the impressive building and the great man who built it. The book is a must read for anyone associated with Notre Dame and others who come on fall Saturdays to see 'Touchdown Jesus' on the library and the Fighting Irish on the field." —Jack Colwell, South Bend Tribune
"The story behind the Hesburgh Library’s The Word of Life mural speaks volumes about Notre Dame’s development and advancement as a university with a uniquely distinctive mission not only in America but also in the world. Through carefully chosen words and pictures, Words of Life documents how a single work of art came to symbolize the dreams and achievements of the school where it commands its warranted attention." —Robert Schmuhl, author ofThe University of Notre Dame: A Contemporary Portrait
“This is a book for all members of the Notre Dame family because so much of what’s beloved about the university, its mission, its traditions, and its vision for the future can be found somehow represented in the Hesburgh Library and its dynamic life of fifty years and counting. As with his previous book about Fighting Irish football gameday experiences, Bill Schmitt makes the connections that Notre Dame celebrates—connections between faith and fun, yesterday and today, and great learning and great living." —Chuck Lennon, retired executive director, Notre Dame Alumni Association
"The lessons I hope will be drawn from the story of this Library and from my role in its fifty-years-and-counting lifespan are a mixture of past, present, and future. I wanted in 1963, and still desire today, for the Memorial Library literally to stand for the future of Notre Dame as a place of unmatched intellectual achievement, free inquiry, and providential contributions to mankind. But I wanted, and still desire, that this be in the context of a distinctive pursuit of truth that is recognized in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and in Our Lady atop the Golden Dome. The muralist Millard Sheets captured this pursuit in the Library’s Word of Life mural, too, showing that the pursuit is a legacy passed along since the dawn of human history, a legacy that has generated countless treasures of wisdom, many of which are preserved and accessible here." —Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., from the foreword
"The library at the University of Notre Dame has a rich history—from Father Ted Hesburgh who built and named the library to “Touchdown Jesus.” Words of Life shares the keys to the development and advancement of the university’s mission and traditions throughout the world." —USCatholic.org
“Informed and informative. . . . Highly recommended reading for anyone who has admired this beautifully crafted and maintained academic library, Words of Life would also serve well as a template for memorializing the history and achievements of other academic libraries elsewhere in the country.” —Library Bookwatch
