Tuesday, February 18, 2014

The A - Z of C. S. Lewis by Colin Duriez

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of C. S. Lewis' death. Lewis was a prolific writer. I've read his Narnia books, his space trilogy, and many of his nonfiction books.

While I've read much of him, I was not familiar with all Lewis wrote. This complete guide covers everything Lewis wrote, from literary essays to his science fiction and fantasy. It integrates the fiction and nonfiction so we can get an idea of Lewis' understanding of reality. It also covers his life and thought.

Included in this book are entries describing his major lectures at Cambridge, synopsis of his essays, noted pupils of Lewis, characters and places and themes in his novels, people in his extended family, people he worked with and people who influenced him, books and poems he wrote, books about him, and his beliefs on a number of subjects such as angels, the Bible, and his theology of romance. Included in some entries are suggestions for further reading. At the end of the book is an extensive bibliography.

The writings of Lewis have certainly impacted Christianity in my lifetime. He had a direct influence on how and what we believe as well as how we view the world. This book provides a tremendous amount of information on this prolific author. If you would like to know more about Lewis and his work, this provides a great reference tool for you. You'll be turning to it again and again.

This is an updated edition of The C. S. Lewis Handbook from two decades ago and the original book of this title from over ten years ago.

I am taking part in a blog tour of this book and you can read other reviews here.

Colin Duriez was for many years a commissioning editor at Inter-Varsity Press UK. He has written books on Lewis. Tolkien and the Inklings and has contributed to several reference works relating to Tolkien. You can find out more about him at http://colinduriez.macmate.me/inwriting/Home.html

Kregel Publications, 240 pages. You can purchase the book here.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through the Litfuse Publicity Group for the purpose of this honest review.

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