James Stuart Bell (who wrote his master's thesis on Lewis and compiled all the selections) wrote in the introduction, "To truly understand Lewis and his works we need to get behind his role as Christian apologist to his interest in philosophy and literature, in reason and romanticism. Lewis was not a one-dimensional reader. His eclectic tastes ranged over a wide variety of genres and time periods."
That explains the wonderful breadth of writers and excerpts featured in the book. What I loved is the sampling one gets of such a great variety of writers and thinkers. At the end of each excerpt is a paragraph bio on the writer...providing an opportunity to seek out complete works to read. I also loved that you can pick and choose what to read -- it is not a linear book but rather one arranged by topic. In fact, it would be great to enjoy an excerpt each day versus reading it all through at once.
The book is organized into 18 categories:
"Follow After Agape": God's Love
"You Have Transfixed My Heart:" Our Love of God
"How Dearly You Have Paid for Me": The Life and Sacrifice of Christ
"I Will Seek You": Knowing God
"Mutually Christ's": Community and Loving Others
"Constantly Dying": Self and Soul
"The Lack of the Divine": Sin and Temptation
"Fatherly and Forgiving Goodness": Grace and Redemption
"You Shall Find Your Ground in God": Suffering
"Inexpressible Sweetness": Prayer and Contemplation
"The Eyes of Your Heart": Faith
"Divine Influence": Living a Devout Life
"The Most Pleasing Sacrifice to God": Obedience and Will
"Worthy to Receive More": Humility
"A Peculiar Joy": Truth, Apologetics, and Christianity
"Fine Fabling": Fantasy and Imagination
"Borne on the Gusts of Genius": Creation, Poetry, and Writers
"The Gleaming of Divine Brightness": Heaven, Death, and Immortality
If you enjoy reading a variety of authors, you will appreciate and savor the selections in this book.
(Note: WaterBrook Press provide me this book in exchange for an unbiased review.)
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