Category: Book Reviews

Lewis & History Finds a Publisher

  

Readers of this blog know that I have been working (along with my co-author Jamin Metcalf) on a proposed book dealing with C. S. Lewis’s views on history. One begins researching and writing an academic book usually without any promise that it will see publication. We academics don’t normally receive any up front funding based on future royalties principally because royalties for such books are not equivalent to royalties earned by “popular” authors. We write from a deep desire to… Read more »

The “Extras” in Out of the Silent Planet

  

I have just this week completed teaching Out of the Silent Planet to a dedicated small group in person at my church while a larger number watch on Zoom, and a much larger number than the first two groups watch the video later. It’s a privilege that I don’t take for granted. Now that I have finished that book and will enter into Perelandra next, I would like to take a few moments to note that one of the benefits… Read more »

The “Inner Ring” Theme in That Hideous Strength

  

That Hideous Strength is a complex book. It’s not merely one story-line that carries through the work: there are many such lines, along with many themes that C. S. Lewis wanted to implant in his readers’ minds. One such theme is the lure of the “inner ring.” Mark Studdock, the academic who longs for acceptance into what he considers the “real” power group in his college and at the National Institute for Coordinated Experiments—the N.I.C.E.—is a prime example of how… Read more »

Abolition of Man & That Hideous Strength: The Connection

  

I have been working consistently—and joyfully, I might add—on my course on C. S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy. As I prepared to tackle the longest, most intricate, and, in my view, the best book of the series, That Hideous Strength, I had to be sure that those taking the course have a grounding in the philosophy Lewis was exposing in the novel. Thus, an overview of The Abolition of Man was essential before delving into the final book. As Lewis himself… Read more »

America Is Still Discovering Lewis

  

It’s hard for me to believe that my book, America Discovers C. S. Lewis: His Profound Impact, was published more than five years ago. I’ll always be grateful for the sabbatical I received in 2014-2015 that allowed me to concentrate on Lewis and develop the book. Once I did the research, the writing practically flowed. Gratitude also goes to the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College for all the help provided there. Not only did I receive guidance, but… Read more »

Perelandra: Genesis & Impact

  

I’ve been hard at work developing my course on C. S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy, and just completed my preparation for teaching the second book, Perelandra. This mythical novel, which at least one critic said should have been written as a poem rather than in prose, tells the story of an unfallen world (which we call Venus), a temptation for its first inhabitants to follow in Earth’s fateful path of rebellion against the Creator, and the attempt by a chosen earthling… Read more »

The Silent Planet Is Silent No Longer

  

Some tasks are more pleasant and gratifying than others, to be sure. One of the tasks that I enjoy is developing courses for adult education at my church. And when I can develop a new one on a C. S. Lewis topic, I do it with relish. That’s definitely the case with the latest course. After developing and teaching “The Screwtape Letters,” “Mere Christianity,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and “C. S. Lewis on Life, Death, and Eternity,” I now have… Read more »