Books like C.S. Lewis by John Lawlor

C.S. Lewis’ radio talks, later published as three books, are compiled in "Mere Christianity," a clear apologia that explores core Christian beliefs and ethics across denominations.

The Screwtape Letters is a satirical theological work where a senior demon writes advice to his nephew on tempting a newly converted Christian, revealing insights into temptation, faith, and moral struggle.

C. S. Lewis’s classic allegory, The Great Divorce, follows a bus journey from a hellish realm to Heaven, exploring themes of good, evil, grace, and judgment.

C.S. Lewis’s personal journal of grief following his wife’s death, offering reflective meditations on loss, faith, and the quest for meaning.

C.S. Lewis narrates his early life, detailing the emotional and spiritual path that led him from Christian faith to atheism and back to faith.

C. S. Lewis argues for the necessity of universal values such as courage and honor in modern life, warning against the erosion of objective moral standards.

C.S. Lewis explores the four distinct loves—friendship, eros, charity, and self-love—in a thoughtful analysis rooted in Christian theology.

"Professor Lewis believed that literature exists above all for the joy of the reader and that books should be judged by the kind of reading they invite. He doubted the use of strictly evaluative criticism, especially its condemnations. Literary criticism is traditionally employed in judging books, and 'bad taste' is thought of as a taste for bad books. Professor Lewis' experiment consists in reversing the process, and judging literature itself by the way men read it. He defined a good book as one which can be read in a certain way, a bad book as one which can only be read in another. He was therefore mainly preoccupied with the notion of good reading: and he showed that this, in its surrender to the work on which it is engaged, has something in common with love, with moral action, and with intellectual achievement. In good reading we should be concerned less in altering our own opinions than in entering fully into the opinions of others; "in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself". As with all that Professor Lewis wrote, the arguments are stimulating and the examples apt"--Publisher description.

Nine wartime sermons by C. S. Lewis that offer clear and compassionate guidance for believers facing uncertainty and fear during World War II.

At first glance, it seems difficult to imagine two more different literary personalities than Noel Coward and Radclyffe Hall. Coward's writing is playful, sarcastic, absurd; Hall's is brooding and melancholic, rife with misery and suffering. Where she throws her head back in despair, he merely lifts an eyebrow. Yet as Terry Castle displays in her provocative new study, the two had much more in common than critics have been willing to concede. The first look at the literary and biographical link between these influential contemporaries, Noel Coward and Radclyffe Hall recounts a forgotten literary friendship and shows that Coward and Hall even make subtle, "ghostly" appearances in each others' works. This captivating tale is brought to life in a series of 45 illustrations, including photographs of Hall, Coward, and others in their social circle, along with cartoon renditions of the two from the popular press. Through its imaginative juxtaposition of two major literary figures, this provocative work illuminates how traditional ideas of the differences between male and female homosexuals shield from view a vast arena of cultural understanding. Castle pushes past stale definitions - the tragic lesbian and the witty, urbane gay man - to present a broader picture. In the process, Noel Coward and Radclyffe Hall provides a rich critical vocabulary for bridging the experiences of gays and lesbians in history, casting light upon deep-rooted stereotypes that have long separated the two.

"J.R.R. Tolkien responded to critics who saw The Lord of the Rings as a reaction to the Second World War. Tolkien and the Great War tells for the first time the full story of how he embarked on the creation of Middle-earth in his youth as the world around him was plunged into catastrophe. This biography reveals the horror and heroism that he experienced as a signals officer in the Battle of the Somme and introduces the circle of friends who spurred his mythology into life. It shows how, after two of these brilliant young men were killed, Tolkien pursued the dream they all shared by launching his epic of good and evil." "This is the first substantially new biography of Tolkien since 1977, meticulously researched and distilled from his personal wartime papers and a multitude of other sources." "John Garth argues that the foundation of tragic experience in the First World War is the key to Middle-earth's enduring power. Tolkien used his mythic imagination not to escape from reality but to reflect and transform the cataclysm of his generation. While his contemporaries surrendered to disillusionment, he kept enchantment alive, reshaping an entire literary tradition into a form that resonates to this day."--BOOK JACKET.

A richly illustrated catalogue that gathers the largest collection of original J.R.R. Tolkien materials—manuscripts, drawings, maps, letters, photographs and unpublished papers—presented with essays on his medieval influences, languages, visual imagination and the Inklings.

"The immense amount of interest in C.S. Lewis, one of the foremost writers and thinkers of the twentieth century and its greatest popularizer of the Christian faith, shows no sign of abating. His inimitable way of combining reasoning and imagination - capturing your mind and taking you into a richer world of thought and experience - is revealed in the great variety of his writings." "This volume lays out in an easy-to-follow encyclopedic format essential information on Lewis's life, relationships and beliefs. The main themes and characters in his work are explored, and many entries are cross-referenced to make it easy to follow through on ideas and subjects that capture your interest." "Whether you wish to know more about Lewis's religious writings or his fictional classics, his close friends or those who found him rather more formidable, this book will prove to be a rich and satisfying source of information."--Jacket.

Describes the life of J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of Middle Earth and author of "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings."