G. K. Chesterton Books

Out of the thousand or so books I have read in my life, if I were to put the Bible aside (since the Bible speaks with a special authority to believers and cannot really be compared to other books), I have read no more than five or six books that I would call truly great. That means there are only five or six books I would rate at five stars. This is one. Yes, it is that good.

I have never read any author who could make the English language sing the way Chesterton does in this poem -- for over a hundred pages. In contrast to contemporary "poets" whose "poems" consist of a bunch of strange words scattered apparently at random on a page, whose meaning, if there is one, is far beyond obscurity, Chesterton had apparently unlimited ability to create rhyme and alliteration, and then he bound it all tightly in the sing-song ballad style that carries it all swiftly along. The words of this poem are glorious to hear, and really, this book should be read aloud, so that one might hear the music of the words.

And few have ever been able to match the way Chesterton paints pictures with words. I will quote one passage, and hope it is not to long, to illustrate this. The scene here is Alfred's army making one final charge against the Danish camp:

Then bursting all and blasting
Came Christendom like death,
Kicked of such catapults of will,
The staves shiver, the barrels spill,
The waggons waver and crash and kill
The waggoners beneath.

Barriers go backward, banners rend,
Great shields groan like a gong,
Horses like horns of nightmare
Neigh horribly and long.

Horses ramp and rock and boil
And break their golden reins,
And slide on carnage clamorously,
Down where the bitter blood doth lie,
Where Ogier went on foot to die
In the old way of the Danes.

It would be hard to imagine anyone anyone describing such a violent scene in so few words any better than Chesterton does in that passage. And this passage is but one of dozens of glorious word-pictures that Chesterton's poetry paints in this book.

Beyond its magnificent use of the English language, this book also contains much philosophical insight -- insight that, although first published in 1911, is directly and clearly applicable today. Chesterton expresses very clearly the way that Christianity has formed the heart of Western culture over the ages, and the way that Christian faith -- which seems all about self-denial and thus sadness -- leads to unconquerable joy.

The book, of course, is not perfect; no work of literature can be. There are places where it gets a bit too preachy for my taste. But the book's flaws are few and minor, while its good points are many and glorious.

How good is this book? I have read it at least 50 times in my life, and I still enjoy reading it. In my opinion it is one of the truly greatest works written in the English language. It is one of the few books I have read that truly deserves five stars.

Anne Perry, the enormously popular writer of historical fiction, just recommended this ballad by G. K. Chesterton as one of five must read tales of historical fiction. (See the Wall Street Journal's online Opinion Page for April 21, 2007 in an article entitled "Past Tense.") Here's part of what she said:

"This is the story of the English King Alfred's desperate stand against invading Danes in 878. England is conquered, and Alfred is a fugitive when he sees a vision of the Virgin Mary that bids him call together the remnants of his people for a final battle. "The Ballad of the White Horse" is an epic poem of courage, passion and unsurpassable beauty."

If you'd like to read other tales and poems by Chesterton, you might want to get "The Ballad of the White Horse" as part of a collection of his poetry that I edited for not much more money. It's called G. K. Chesterton's Early Poetry and has "The Ballad of the White Horse," along with two other books of Chesterton poetry under one cover. That means you'll also get his best humorous poetry, "Greybeards at Play." No less a writer than George Orwell ranked Chesterton as one of the three best writers of funny poetry in twentieth century England. The poems are a riot of the ridiculous and are accompanied with equally funny sketches he did.

And although Anne Perry and I have the same last name, as far as I know we're not related. Her's is a pen name. Mine is a real name. I guess I'm not creative enough to invent a name for myself.

G. K. Chesterton's Early Poetry: Greybeards At Play, The Wild Knight And Other Poems, The Ballad Of The White Horse

Mr. Chesterton has a masterful skill with the pen; _Orthodoxy_ and _The Napoleon of Notting Hill_ are wonderful books--but _The Ballad of the White Horse_ is heartbreaking in its power, beauty, and nobility. With a stunning use of alliteration, rhythm, and imagery, Mr. Chesterton teaches the reader about true hearts, true faith, and true sacrifice. I have bought a few copies of this book to give as gifts to friends, and I eagerly recommend it to anyone who will listen. This book is a must-have for any individual interested in expanding their knowledge of great poetry!

I had read some of Chesterton's fictional books, most of which contain poems which he has written, and I very much enjoyed his poems, so I decided to get a book of his poetry. This too I really enjoyed, so I decided to get another book of his poetry, this time it was The Ballad of the White Horse, and this book simply blew away all of the rest of Chesterton's poems. In fact, it simply blows away most poems by anyone. I have read Dante's Divine Comedy, Milton' Paradise Lost, Eliot's Wasteland, Chaucer's Canturbury Tales, etc., but I can honestly say that I enjoyed this epic far more than any of them. I am not saying that it is a better written poem or that it should be ranked above these classics, but I am saying that it is much more exciting to read than the others. Somehow Chesterton makes his poem involving: you are drawn into it and cannot put the book down until you have finished the chapter. He wrote it in such a way that the verses beg to be read quickly, and as I read I found myself reading faster and faster, until I was stumbling over the words and had to slow down again. Chesterton, like no other poet whom I know of, paints a picture of glory, honor, bravery, and captures the true spirit of an idealized Medieval War. The poem resounds with the drums of doom, the cries of angels, the hordes of invading barbarians and great deeds of heroes of old. If I were to recommend owning one epic poem, this would be the one.

Overall grade: A+

A stirring epic poem with a message important for the future of western civilization...to act on hope when there is no longer any hope... The outcome is always, finally, in God's Providence. "The Ballad of the White Horse" should have great appeal for young men who can dream impossibilities because they are firmly grounded in the eternal verities. The battles scenes will fire the blood!

Ahlquist's introductory text to Chesterton was a delightful, witty, and quick read which set me afire once again to read an author whom the contemporary world has lamentably forgotten - and not accidentally. I have before fallen in love with Chesterton and hope to continue to fall in love with this humble intellectual giant, the apostle of the people, of "common sense" as Ahlquist says. This text functions very well to whet anyone's appetite for Chesterton.

One of the marks of a great mind is a unity in thought, particularly over time - even when time realizes various conversions, like the life of Chesterton. In Ahlquist's bird's-eye view of Chesterton's major works, the general theme of Chesterton's levity and love for the obvious, simple paradoxes of life shines forth as a glorious beacon to the majestic thoughts of this man. The text on the whole is a delightful, yet not too serious, admixture of the author's musing with quotes of varied length from Chesterton. It is a joy to leap from subject to subject in this short overview, for that was the way that the physically massive writer would write, like the most free of angels, floating humbly above the fray of grave intellectuals. I highly recommend this text to all, from the complete Chesterton novice, to the junior who perhaps needs a re-expansion of his Chestertonian horizons, to the scholar of Chesterton who too can only benefit from stepping back to look at the great masterpiece that is collected works and mind of Chesterton.

No one will accuse Dale Ahlquist of being detached and objective about Chesterton's work. I don't think there is a serious word of critique in this whole volume, so if you are looking for a broad view of Chesterton, with perhaps even some suggestions that he might be lacking in some regard, then this book is not where you will find it. What Ahlquist does very well is bring the essential arguments that Chesterton makes across the spectrum of his writings together in a concise, accessible and enjoyable book.

This is a book you can pick up and peruse, read a chapter, put it down, pick it up a month later and begin again. The title says it all. Chesterton is presented as the Apostle of Common Sense so the things that you read sound like common sense whenever you read them. You don't have to remember a sustained argument that has gone before.

As a convinced Calvinist I flinch when Chesterton (and Ahlquist) oversimplify significant positions on free will, God's sovereignty and ultimately the quality of life associated with those who hold to different views on it. I don't get upset though because the principles that Chesterton is ultimately arguing for are actually inherent within Calvinism also. What he really says are basic principles of Christianity, not Catholicism, though Chesterton and Ahlquist equate them.

Chesterton's work is worth reading for his arguments on the family and distributive social economy alone. These are words our society needs to hear and we really ought to pay attention.

So, read the book - enjoy the wit and the superb command of the language that truly great intellect can muster - and learn.

This is a terrific introduction to a giant of the 20th century literary world. If you have any doubt as to the pertinence of Chesterton in the modern world, take a few moments to browse through this book. G.K. Chesterton's writings are still vital and alive today, and this book introduces you to the author's works. Well worth the investment of time to read this intro to Chesterton, and then delve into the books of Chesterton with great gusto. Enjoy!

This introduction of GK Chesterton should be a required reading for every High School Senior before graduation into a College Curriculum or as part of a required beginning College Liberal Arts Curriculum. My vote is par excellence for this soft cover issue*****!
It is truly "An Amazing Prophesy of Pertinent Issues of Our Modern World Today". It is a very easy to read beginning collected synopses ofG. K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense of GK Chesterton by Mr. Dale Ahlquist.

Friends, do you know who G. K. Chesterton. is? If the answer is no or if you only know a little about him, then it is time to buy this book. It is time to learn about the champion of the common man. It is time to learn about the champion of common sense. It is time to learn about the champion of life, liberty, and property. Chesterton fought for truth throughout his life using the most powerful weapons possible: truth, common sense, and laughter.

Dale Ahlquist is one of the foremost Chesterton authorites in America, and although you did not know it before now, he has done you a tremendous favor by writing this book. Chesterton wrote over a hundred books in his life, and for the beginner it can be a daunting task to figure out where one should start. Ahlquist provides a nice description of Chesterton's works in this book and how they fit in the larger scheme of Chesterton's philosophy and writing. If you are about to take the plunge into the writings of Chesterton, or if you have just started to read the writings of Chesterton, then you need to buy this book. You won't regret it.

Chesterton's genius is unquestionable - not because of the topic(s), but because his' logic is irrefutable.

This volume contains essays revolving around GK's conversion to Catholicism. As always, GK is illuminating and entertaining--several parts of these essays had me laughing out loud. GK has a marvelous talent for utterly dismantling an argument, an attitude, or a belief, while remaining so good natured about it that even his intellectual enemies must have liked him at least a little. Here, he mainly takes on Protestantism, modernism, secularism, Liberalism, and several other "isms" of the day that challenged the Catholic Church--some of which at one time or another had even attracted GK himself. In the end, he makes as convincing an argument for Catholicism that anyone could make. In the process, he throws much light on many political and social trends that were just gearing up in the 1920's, like birth control, divorce, moral relativism and secular humanism. GK offers grave predictions for these insufficient ideas, many of which sadly have come true beyond probably even his imagination.

Well worth the price to have ,The Catholic Church & Conversion,The Well And the Shallows & The Thing: Why I am a Catholic,all in one volume. Chesterton's writings on the Catholic faith was one of the reasons I came back to the Church.With common sense,humour & erudition Chesterton will convince you of the Truth of the Catholic Faith. Chesterton like all prophetic writers speaks to our time as much as his own.

G.K. Chesterton has "disturbed" this reviewer again. This reviewer has read Chesterton's books with the view of critisizing his books and ideas. Yet, each time this reviewer has found Chesterton's books a joy to read and "food for thought." Volume III of Chesterton's works is yet another book that thoughtful people should enjoy.

One of the arguments that Chesterton uses in these essays is that Catholic ideas and tradition have lasted while "modern" fads have quickly become dated. One of the agruments that Chesterton uses against Puritanism is that in the early 20th. century, Puritanism was something that no reasonable person would touch with "a barge pole." One of Chesterton's theses in this book is that while Catholcism has remained consistent for 2,000 years, Protestantism has become passe and has changed into meaningless modernism.

Chesterton has an interesting comment on page 280. To paraphrase part of this page, Chesterton remarks that modern Protestantism has replaced predestination with suggestion. The Catholic theologians have defended the Faith (The Catholic Faith) with reason. Along these lines, Chesterton effectively argues that Catholic authorities and theologians helf the beliefs of the Faith in a careful balence. The Protestants and modern agnostics have distorted both their own ideas and concepts by exaggerating parts of religion at the expense of everything else. This has led to distortion.

Chesterton gives reasons for his conversion to Catholicism. He proceeds to explain why other ideas and religious views were not reasonable. He also explains the distortions historians have made regarding the Faith. Chesterton's own intellectual curiousity led him to the Faith which he viewed as more sane and more reasonable.

Chesteron demonstrates historical insight in this volume. This reviewer gets the impression that Chesterton is holding something in reserve in making his historical arguments. He may have been inviting his critics to question his historical knowledge whereby he would give the historical details and knowledge. Readers should note that Chesterton was very knowledable of history.

Another interesting aspect of this book is Chesterton's concern over distoritions of language. He comments that some of the moderns were demanding a universal language and that they got was "journalistic jibberish." Chesterton remarks that Europeans had a universal language-Latin. Chesterton remarks that Latin was a precise language which had been neglected in favor of bad thinking and poor writing.

Chesterton did not engage in ad hominem arguements and was usually generous to his critics. He did not object to comments about his size and appearance. He could laugh at himself. Yet, he offer fierce cefesne of truth and honesty when they were attacked.

Volume III of Chesteron's works is well worth reading. As this reviewer wrote before, some may consider me as skeptic. However, Chesterton's writing, knowledge and reason is enough to make anyone pay attention and read his books to learn and to understand clear thinking.

This particular volume in Ignatius Press' collected Chesterton series pulls together his specifically Catholic books. Widely read in his own time, they were later praised by Hillaire Belloc and other writers during the Catholic revival in Britain. Yet they are little read in our time. One reason is that Chesterton converted fourteen years after writing his masterpiece, Orthodoxy, in 1908, and the current Chesterton revival is fueled largely by his novels.

My introduction to these books came in the brief overviews in Dale Ahlquist's G.K. Chesterton: Apostle of Common Sense, which whetted my appetite to read them. One in particular stood out: "The Catholic Church and Conversion." As with Orthodoxy, it's a lively book with a dull title. I was shocked reading his account of the three stages of conversion: 1. Patronizing the Church, 2. Discovering the Church, 3. Running from the Church. But for me, the book was full of shocks of recognition.

I generally don't like Omnibus type volumes such as the Collected Works, and would like to see Ignatius issue this book on its own, but if this is the only way to read it, I highly urge curious readers to obtain this Ignatius edition (Volume Three of the Collected Chesterton). All of the books in this volume were originally issued individually nearly a century ago, and are eminently worth reading. One of them is interesting because GKC wrote it late in life, and reviews some of the ideas in his earlier books. Were these books available individually now, they no doubt would all have reviews on Amazon. As with Orthodoxy, this volume showed me that Chesterton's non-fiction can be as startling and fresh as his fiction.

In the opening chapters Dale Ahlquist gives a vivid and rich description of the captivating character that is G K Chesterton. Ahlquist, an admitted Chesterton fan, provides a guide to the world 'through Chesterton's eyes' with the focus on the question - what is really important in life? There are some hard questions asked and some blunt answers given. Not a book for those who feel wish to remain comfortable with atheist, Darwinian, Marxist, Freudian or even scientific beliefs. If you are happy to challenge your beliefs and are willing to ask questions of yourself and others, Ahlquist and Chesterton offer a wide range of ideas to debate. Easy to read, entertaining and challenging.

"This is not a book about Chesterton," Ahlquist writes. "It is a book about everything else from a Chestertonian perspective. It is an attempt to get inside of him and inhabit him like a large house so that we can see the world through the windows he provides. . . Chesterton wrote about everything. An ocean of words poured out of his pen. . . It is deep, it is dangerous, it is delightful, it is refreshing, it is full of suprises, it is full of life" (9-10).

Dangerous and delightful indeed. In this unusually written but suprisingly well executed book, we see the genius of Chesterton at work on nearly every level. From poetry to capitalism to catholicism Alhquist extracts and applies the Chestertonian "essence" almost as if he were the man himself. He does this through substantial (but not overbearing) excerpts from Chesterton's volumous writing and careful commentary.

Alhquist seemingly pulls off the impossible: He offers a comprehensive introduction to Chesterton, includes enough direct excerpts from Chesterton's writing to effectively convey his wit and stytle, manages to apply his thinking to the present era, and does it all in under 300 pages. A remarkable feat.

Whether you come to Chesterton from his Father Brown fiction or from 'Orthodoxy' there is something for everyone here. I was repeatedly suprised by his timeless wisdom and grace. Of the half-dozen books I've read about Chesterton, Ahlquist's is the most well-rounded and interesting.

Highly recommended.

At six foot four, weighing in at 300 pounds, Chesterton was certainly the biggest writer of the Victorian/ Edwardian era. But why was he always laughing? "I suppose I enjoy myself more than other people because there's such a lot of me having a good time." If that doesn't make you want to read this book, nothing will. But that's only from the Introduction of this 300 page book, the tip, if you will, of the iceberg.

As with Ahlquist's earlier book, The Apostle of Common Sense, this book is collected from TV shows that played on EWTN. However, the reaction I continually had when watching the first series on video was "Ah! Let me write that down!" The great thing about that book (and this one) is that it is written down. Not only that, the book ends with a biography of all the books by Chesterton, with brief and very helpful annotations (notes) on each book. Most of the Chesterton I've read I found out about either from Dale's other book or his notes on books sent out by the American Chesterton Society, of which he is president.

In between these two bookends, as it were, I expected quotes from GKC, but it's more than that, with our host providing what are likely slightly revised transcripts of the shows. So you get a cornucopia of Chesterton, with footnotes of where it came from so you can track down those books, but also Dale's engaging writing. In my view, he is the Boswell if Chesterton is Johnson. It's as if he were introducing us to a particularly zany uncle or grandfather who afterwards we can not wait to visit.

Rock savvy readers will place my title as a spoken aside from "Stairway to Heaven", but this book gives the answer. "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly," quipped GKC. For all his poundage, so did he. Ahlquist invites us to that forgotten realm where easy laughter is part and parcel of common sense.

This book should be required reading for all people who wish to understand more fully the true nature of the human experience. Ahlquist, the head of the American Chesterton Society and publisher of Gilbert Magazine, does a lovely job of presenting Chesterton to the 21st century reader. Although Chesterton died in 1936, his words are as compelling now as they were then. An excellent primer on Chestertonian wisdom and a refreshing affirmation of the Roman Catholic Church. A splendid read.

If there is anyone one the planet qualified to write this book, it is Dale Ahlquist. I have never had the privilege of reading, or seeing on TV, anyone more deeply rooted in Chesterton's thought than Ahlquist. As this book is essentially "Chesterton Updated," Ahlquist is certainly the man to do it. If the academy were not in free fall due to political correctness and liberalism, Ahlquist would be a respected and tenured Chesterton scholar tasked with teaching students Chesterton's works.

What Ahlquist has done here is remarkable. He was taken Chesterton's thoughts, and often his words verbatim, and put them together in one volume that is cohesive and addresses our age. It is an easy, but riveting, read that hooked me right from the beginning. If you are a serious Catholic, rest assured, any thought you have EVER HAD, is likely not original. Chesterton already had it; eighty years ago. He is prophetic, correct, and intimidating. After reading Chesterton you would not be alone if you concluded that no further apologetics for the faith were necessary. If people of good will read Chesterton, they will become Chestertonian Catholics.

This is a great introduction to Chesterton's thought. If one is interested in reading Chesterton, I would start with this book, and Ahlquist's "Apostle of Common Sense." Then, I would dig headlong into the master himself.

I enjoyed this collection of short mystery stories very much. It is especially satisfying if you are of the same faith as the writer - Roman Catholic.

There is no better way to get that vital first experience of G. K. Chesterton than by reading his famous "Father Brown" mystery series, and short of buying the whole set, there is no better selection of Fr. Brown stories than that provided here by John Peterson and Ignatius Press. Peterson's choices were excellent, and his discreet footnotes and commentary make the subtlety, richness, and humor of GKC shine through undimmmed by the passage of 75 years since they were first penned. Clean, intelligent reading for kids, too! I did as full review of Peterson's excellent collection in the "National Catholic Register", 15 February 1998, p.8.

There is no better way to get that vital first experience of Gilbert Keith Chesterton than by reading his famous "Father Brown" mystery series, and, short of buying the whole collection, there is no better selection of Fr. Brown stories than that provided by John Peterson and Ignatius Press. Peterson's choices were excellent, and his discreet footnotes and commentary make the subltety, richness, and humor of GKC shine through undimmed by the passage of 75 years since they were first penned. Clean, intelligent reading for kids, too! I did a full review of Peterson's excellent collection in the "National Catholic Register", 15 February 1998, p.8.

I happened upon this collection of short mysteries and got hooked! What unconventional and creative mysteries for Christians or non-Christians, Catholics or Protestants. My boyfriend (catholic) and I (protestant) tossed out our television sets in search of more constructive entertainment. We started reading these short stories to each other--fun evenings of mystery!

Read Chesterton because he is a great master of language and will raise your standard of good writing and good mystery! I'm online now looking for more Chesterton....

G.K. Chesterton's writings are often compared to those of John Henry Newman in their beauty and eloquence; Chesterton's "Edwardian" prose is particularly amazing and tends to focus more on Divine mirth than on Divine sorrow (as does J.H. Newman in his wonderfully Victorian way). "Father Brown and the Church of Rome" is a perfect example of Chesterton's love of Divine joy, and is a wonderful playground of the imagination. His various stories of the exploits of Fr. Brown are beautifully written, and his prose is unbeatable. Children should read (or be read) this and other volumes on Fr. Brown, for Chesterton writes as an artist paints, and will greatly influence their use of the imagination. A definite winner!

An endearing if imperfect collection of mysteries from G. K. Chesterton. This was the last work of fiction he ever wrote. Certainly all of his trademarks are still here: clever plot twists, seemingly impossible paradoxes, philosophical discussion mixed in with the story, and endearing comedy mixed in with the philosophy. But with that said, this particular set of stories is a mixed bag.

At the top of the heap (and the top of the order) is "The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse". This tale takes us to Poland, where a headstrong German general fails because he has two loyal Prussian servants. If he'd had only one, he would have succeeded. How can this be? Mr. Pond narrates out of the apparent contradiction in fine fashion, complete with unforgettable characters, creepy setting, and a titanic clash of wills.

On the other hand, other stories in the collection are definitely lacking some real Chestertonian zing. Some of them are frankly predictable, others seem arbitrarily constructed just to build up to a clever punch line. One hesitates to suggest that Chesterton's talents were failing at the end of his life. After all, he wrote some of his best books in the 1930's, including his towering autobiography. Nevertheless, he certainly let some substandard material slip through here.

Even so, "The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond" is well worth reading for anyone who appreciates a good mystery or just a little fun. Further, all the stories are still packed with the unflagging spirit that is G. K. Chesterton. Even when his literally skills slipped a notch, he remained committed to principles, and determined to fit important statements into all his works. In particular, both the first and last story in this collection contain echoes of the horrors of the Nazi regime. With the Holocaust beginning in earnest shortly after this book was written, it's worth considering how much a seemingly innocent collection of tales could tell us about the human condition. Perhaps we should pay a bit more attention to the messages in our popular writings today.

"Paradox has been defined as 'Truth standing on her head to attract attention.' Paradox has been defended; on the ground that so many fashionable fallacies still stand firmly on their feet, because they have no heads to stand on."
- "When Doctors Agree"

As Chesterton's fellow members of the Detection Club, Sayers and Christie, could tell you, his chief tool in the gentle art of misdirection - getting the reader running the wrong way - was the paradox. The Pond stories are only a few of the many examples of Chesterton's tricks in that line. Several have opening statements about paradoxes in general that are worth reading, over and above the cleverness of the mysteries or Chesterton's lyrical touch with language. (Like Lord Dunsany, Chesterton likes to illuminate the romance and poetry of quite ordinary settings and prosaic-seeming people.)

Mr. Pond is a bureaucrat who, wanting to cut his stories short, often produces odd paradoxical statements, which defeat the purpose as everyone then badgers him into telling the whole story. His closest friends are a pair of extremes. Sir Hubert Wotton, a colleague in Pond's nameless department, has no nonsense about him. Gahagan, on the other hand, has a robust '18th century' turn of phrase, and plays up to the image of a colorful Irish wit as definitely Wotton plays to that of English stolidity.

"The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse" The Prussian marshal had both feet firmly on the ground, espousing the principle that the world is affected not by what people believe or say, but by what is *done*. Observing the practical effect of a great poet and musician upon the conquered citizenry, the Marshal paid his greatest compliment to the arts in sending a courier with a sentence of death. His plan might have worked just fine, if he hadn't had not one, but *two* soldiers who obeyed orders.

"The Crime of Captain Gahagan" Gahagan is popularly supposed in love with Joan Varney, but he's been spending an awful lot of time hanging around Olivia Malone Feversham, the actress. Her husband is 'something worse than an unsuccessful actor; he was one who had been successful'. In sort, Feversham doesn't bother with his career anymore, but only cares about suing people in the law courts for spoiling his chances. Not a good man to cross - and someone fatally stabbed him in his own garden. What looks worst for Gahagan is that 3 young ladies - among them the Varney sisters - have reported 3 different stories he told them of where he was bound that night.

"When Doctors Agree" Talking shop - international politics - with his friends, after Gahagan chaffs Wotton, saying he thinks everyone who isn't English is as alike as Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Pond steps in, saying that how lucky it is that people generally go on disagreeing, and how he once knew two men who came to agree so completely that one murdered the other.

"Pond the Pantaloon" The background of this story is very cool: a conspiracy aiming at a coup d'etat, which was so widespread that Pond and company had to smuggle important documents from a northern port to a government department in London, while on the surface life was just as usual. In an unusual turn, Gahagan, after becoming entangled in Pond's talk of red pencils leaving black marks, goes to Wotton for the story. Pond, in charge of seeing that the documents arrived safely, said he shouldn't show any particular care in this case.

"The Unmentionable Man" Mr. Pond recollects a visit to one of those little monarchies that, when it became a republic, didn't magically solve all its problems. In fact, they acquired a lot of Marxist revolutionary types that the government tried to suppress, including some almost professional agitators. One of the government's most troubling problems was that they couldn't deport a desirable alien. 'You mean an *un*desirable alien.' Here we go again...

"Ring of Lovers" Gahagan tells of an incident at a stag party he attended the previous night, where the distinguished guests appeared to have nothing in common, involving the disappearance a valuable ring bearing a romantic inscription. The incident would be enough for a story, but here it is wielded beautifully to make Gahagan realize that he's taken a wrong turning in his life. (He doesn't lose his sense of humor, thank God.)

"The Terrible Troubadour" This, the third time Gahagan is mixed up in a mess, shows Chesterton's talent for dealing with continuing characters: talk is beginning to spread about Gahagan's suspicious previous history. :) The incident happened some years back, when Gahagan was on leave from the Great War - a holiday from hell, as he puts it - and flamboyantly competing with a rival to impress a vicar's daughter, climbing balconies and so on. The rival disappeared...

The biologist Paul Green, an expert on natural selection, is a recurring type in Chesterton's stories - G.K., speaking through Pond, disagreed with the science on religious principles.

"A Tall Story" This begins with an echo of the oncoming Holocaust; the story itself is set in a major seaport, like Brighton, during the WWI rather than WWII. Mr. Pond had an office there, and kept track of secret plans and possible spies. The paradoxes here are that a man too tall to be seen murdered one of Pond's colleagues, and that a tiresome woman, seeing spies under every bed, provides the key clue. The German governess in the story is contrasted with a certain type of Latin; the other half of the comparison can be found in the beautiful young Italian actress in "The Actor and the Alibi", in _The Secret of Father Brown_.

It should be quoted more often among the greatest Chesterton's books. Mr. Pond is no less likable as a character than Father Brown (most other characters are charming as well). Each short story revolves around a paradox stated in earnest by Mr. Pond, such as "naturally, he was so tall that no one saw him" and things like that. (All is wonderfully explained later). Great crime stories (with no serious crimes involved) for those who consider "whodunits" too gory.

G. K. Chesterton, a contemporary of Sir Conan Doyle, is known today for his delightful short stories, especially those involving Father Brown, a priest with a penchant for solving crimes.

Like myself, most readers of Father Brown stories are less aware of Chesterton's other collections of mystery tales. Following the advice of previous reviewers, I recently introduced myself to Mr. Pond and his friends, Captain Gahagan and Sir Hubert Wotton, in "The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond".

Once again Chesterton pleasantly surprised me. Mr. Pond, a quiet, mild mannered, obscure English bureaucrat relates an odd mix of adventures. All stories are initiated by some paradoxical comment that he unwittingly utters. After some confusion, Mr. Pond is persuaded to explain himself. The tales are usually a little convoluted, but in the end we have a solution that is logically possible, but not necessarily probable. (Many Sherlock Holmes cases share this characteristic.)

In "The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse" Mr. Pond mentions that a Prussian Marshall Van Grock failed his mission "because the discipline was too good". His plan failed "because his soldiers obeyed him. Of course, if only one of his soldiers had obeyed him, it wouldn't have been so bad." Failure couldn't be avoided "when two of his soldiers obeyed him".

Mr. Pond's statements were equally incongruous in "When Doctors Agree". "Funny things agreements. Fortunately people generally go on disagreeing, till they die peacefully in their beds. Men very seldom do fully and finally agree. I did know two men who came to agree so completely that one of them naturally had to murder the other."

Chesterton's stories move at a more leisurely pace than many readers are now accustom, often involve improbable events and unusual characters, and occasionally digress to consider a moral issue.

If you are already an admirer of Chesterton, definitely acquire this inexpensive Dover edition. If you are new to Chesterton, consider also acquiring Chesterton's famed Father Brown detective stories.

Each story in this collection is the gradual and entertaining explanation of some paradox stated by Mr. Pond, such as this one from "When Doctors Agree:" 'I once knew two men who came to agree with each other so completely that one of them, naturally, murdered the other, but as a general rule...." The story that follows is convoluted, thanks to Pond's digressions on society hostesses and what he calls 'the sanctity of really futile conversation,' but more than lives up to the high promise of that opening paradox. "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" is nearly as good and just as clever; the rest of the stories are good and clever, and would shine in nearly any other collection, but those two are so outstanding that they make the merely good look ordinary. Buy it! Read it! Read parts of it out loud to your helpless friends and convert them!

Like many English majors upon graduation I was sick to death of Enlgish lit and sold my books off at the local used book store. As "classic rock" seems to be whichever moldy oldies a radio station wants to play, so "classic lit" is similarly a mixed bag of whatever gets shoved into the Norton Anthologies.

Much later I found out how politically motivated such anthologies are (especially the non-fiction ones) and as usual, the Oxford Press ones proved to be far better collections. But reading Chesterton's autobio, I realized how little I got out of my one Victorian lit class, and how much more there was to this era than Thomas Hardy and George Eliot.

Being more and more known as a Chesterton fan-atic and having garnered three pages of notes, bon mots and one-liners from this book, why do I give it four stars? Simply because I require Randall P. or some other competent commentator to provide far more copious footnotes of all things Victoriana. A great deal of history and literature (Victorian pop culture)is herein lightly touched on or briefly referred to by G.K.C. as if readers actually knew what he was talking about.

A friend listened to this book on tape and his take on it was that unlike Orthodoxy and other Chesterton works which continually dazzle the reader, this one is concerned more with enlightening them. Rather than quote the whole book, as one may be tempted to do, I'll confine myself to this reflection on World War One, which Chesterton calls the Great War since this book from 1936 falls before WW II:

"What would the Kaiser, with his mailed fist and his boasts of being Atilla and the leader of the Huns, even in time of peace, have been like if he had issued completely victorious out of a universal war?...What has come out of the War?(?) We have come out of the War, and come out alive; England and Europe have come out of the War, with all their sins on their heads, confused, corrupted, degraded, but not dead....The only defensible war is a war of defence. And a war of defence by its very definition and nature, is one from which a man comes back battered and bleeding and only boasting that he is not dead."

Chesterton has done this reader a great service of actually making him interested in the Victorian era, and rekindled something of that spark for reading that being an English major plodding through a Norton Anthology nearly inevitably kills. He's done something more than breathed life into an oft-dismissed and dusty age, in his lust for life he holds out the promise of breathing life even into our own.

Let me begin by saying that this is really not so much of an autobiography as the title Autobiography implies that it is. Chesterton, being a very humble man, chose not to talk about himself during good portions of this book. Of course, there is a lot of discussion of himself (otherwise it would not be an autobiography at all), but there is much that is simply about the world at his time and the thoughts that he has. It is almost more like Augustine's Confessions that a real autobiography (by this I mean an autobiography of his ideas rather than his actions).

In this outstanding book, Chesterton gives us his life story, starting with his childhood, leading into his slight involvement in occultism, then to his conversion (when he realized that all the things he thought he had discovered by thinking were what Christians had believed all along), and into his literary career and political activities. Along the way we get his views on materialism, determinism, naturalism, educations, science, Catholocism, evil, art, the common man, ethics, war, politics, truth, writing fiction, optimism and pessimism, nature, human rights, etc. You get the picture. Chesterton talks about just about everything that was a major issue when he wrote this (1936). He finished it right before he died and it was published posthumously. I personally liked it more than Orthodoxy, which I liked very much. This book is almost like an expanded version of Orthodoxy with some of Chesterton's life story mixed in. Definitely worth reading. It is probably one of my ten favorite books that I have ever read.

His discussion of optimism and pessimism near the end of the book was especially good. This was a major issue then, as modernism's Idea of Progress was clashing with the despair following the World War and the Great Depression. He ended up concluding that neither is the correct stance. He states that "The two sins against Hope are presumption and despair." He goes on to say that what we should really be doing is not presuming that things will go right, or despairing that they will go ill, but rather we should be appreciating what we have. Some things are perhaps hard to appreciate, but this book is not one of them.

Overall grade: A+

As always, Chesterton here weighs in with mountains of brilliant insights and poetic experiences. This is a very broad book, covering the whole range of Chesterton's interests, which spanned literature and politics and myth and orthodoxy, among other things. As I progressed from chapter to delightful chapter, I found myself chuckling now and scratching my head again and racing to jot down my thoughts at the end. Few authors I have read carry such a solid understanding of so many areas as Chesterton, and certainly even fewer present it as accurately and as beautifully as Chesterton.

But you can get a lot of this insight in his other books. This book in particular was enjoyable to understand in a small degree how Chesterton lived out what he believed. It was very encouraging to see that all of these wonderful thoughts need not stay bottled up in the head; they must come out in jokes and essays, books and beer. It took Chesterton a number of years to believe in orthodoxy, and he made some blunders and learned many things in a difficult manner. But in the end, Chesterton lived as a manalive, and this was perfectly in keeping with his final philosophy. We would all do good to read this book and take some lessons from the wise man who was Chesterton.

Oh, one minor word of warning. Much of the book deals with rather obscure commentary on even more obscure English events in Chesterton's time. I'm sure all of it is incisive and trenchant material, but many times I couldn't make heads or tails out of what he was talking about. But it was nevertheless fun to read despite the mystery of it all.

Completed only a few weeks prior to the close of the author's long, successful and happy life, The Autobiography of G.K. Chesterton is the life story of one the modern era's most prolific authors, credited with approximately one hundred books on topics ranging from philosophy, theology, poetry, literature, fiction, and history. Written in an amiable, accessible first-person voice, and illustrated with some forty rare black-and-white photographs, The Autobiography of G.K. Chesterton is a "must-have" for researchers and students of Chesterton's literary work, and highly recommended for college and public library collections. A witty, insightful chronicle brimming with wisdom, experience, and more than a few life lessons learned the hard way.

While I could say much about the sundry subjects discussed among the varied essays which were compiled for this small delight, covering topics from the Home to Family to Children to Birth Control, I think it would be more appropriate to give my lauds for the single theme which seems to run through all of the collected essays. Namely, like so much of Chesterton's works, these selections are wholly united on common sense and a realization of awe for the simple beauty of the world as it is given to us. Through all the essays on the family, Chesterton asserts the panoply of human interaction which is concomitant with the fairy-tale which is the family, an institution over which we have little control (much to the disdain of many moderns and post-moderns). Additionally, in a greater way, he attributes this sense of awe and majesty to the very inception of our lives, a sense which is most poignantly presented in his poem, "By the Babe Unborn." Throughout his considerations of the ideas of modernity which plagued his day, Chesterton continuously makes witty remarks which seem to only back his assertions of the ludicrous nature of those against whom he is writing. This light-hearted approach - so very standard to the Chestertonian corpus - coupled with the editor's excellent selection of texts of a great variety (yet revolving around the aforementioned central themes of awe and common sense) , make this a delightful read for anyone who desires a light-hearted, no-nonsense set of reflections on the institution of the family. I highly recommend it.

This is a collection of Chesterton's musings on family life, etc. He is a mater of language, and therefore it is delightful to read. His stance on many things is not for the faint of heart.

Unless I'm mistaken, this most be the english language edition of spanish writer Alvaro De Silva's book called "El Amor o la Fuerza del Sino", one of the most fascinating books about Love, Family, and Marriage ever written.

This is basically a compilation of genius G.K. Chesterton's essays, poems and chapters that deal with those matters.

In a world where families continually live under the attacks and pressures of modern society, the timeless truths expressed by these selected works by Chesterton (and some of those published here are extremely hard to find) bring a touch of comfort and fresh air that will be heartily welcomed by any real free-thinking reader, or any family for that matter.

A must buy for any Chestertonian!

A compilation of G.K. Chesterton's writings on men and women, children, sex, divorce, marriage, and the family, Chesterton's essays are as appropriate today as they were when they were written.

Chesteron, as only Chesterton can, defends the sacredness of marriage and the home so desperately in need of salvaging today.

Broken into short chapters, the book is easily read and very enjoyable.

Thomas Peters does an excellent job of presenting G.K. Chesterton's thoughts and observations on imagination and the arts. This book is a wonderful and much needed antidote to today's cultural climate, in which the arts establishment seems to value ugliness and outrageousness above all. Here are a few of GKC's countercultural opinions: Fashionable nihilism and pessimism are among the greatest threats to the free and fruitful imagination; humility and wonder enhance creativity, while pride inhibits it; good poetry has rhyme and rhythm; there's nothing wrong with beauty in art; a play should be a treat for the audience, not a realistic slice-of-life; it is not a legitimate use of the arts to make people either bad or unhappy; the "higher frivolity" is better than the "higher criticism" and other pretensions. You'll find all this and more in this well-written book, which includes many quotations (and a few drawings) from GKC himself. And it's all at least as relevant today as it was in Chesterton's time.

Mr. Peters has done a great job at presenting the essence of the creative Chesterton in this short but fulfilling book. While much certainly has been written on Chesterton's brilliant reasoning or his political philosophies, at the root of his thinking was the simple idea that God saw creation as a pleasing thing, and so should we. Chesterton brought not only his firmly-rooted faith, but also a child-like wonder and a fantastic imagination to everything he wrote about, from sociology to satire. Peters' book is a satisfying primer on this idea, and it draws from a diversity of material. Each chapter gives a brief, but not abstract, summary of an aspect of Chesterton or his work. One, for instance, gives an overview of GKC's forays into songwriting, drama and illustration, while another outlines his views on art critics and "bohemians" -- people who Chesterton saw as possessing a distinct lack of imagination. The last chapter serves as an overview of Chesterton's writing career. The book is not exhaustive by any means, but it is complete. Artists and writers will appreciate this book, and I would especially recommend it to those relatively new to Chesterton, as you will find it to be a valuable and informative introduction, as well as an enjoyable read.

This book is essentially a piecing together of GK Chesterton's writings on art. Peters pulls together a fascinating series of concepts from Chesterton about the nature of art and art criticism.

Chesterton is famous for turning concepts on their heads and helping you see things in a fresh and more generous light. He has a way of expanding your world and encouraging you to shed cynicism and modern paralysis.

I read this book with a group of friends over a number of weeks and we had a tremendously good time. It was a true conversation starter. I'd also recommend it for Christian college courses where the discussion of the Christian's role in the arts is in play. It will get people thinking... and talking.

Any fan of G.K. Chesterton would enjoy Peters' synopsis of the Topsy Turvy Giant's thoughts on the arts. Peters provides an excellent synopsis of the subject. His most admirable quality in writing this book is allowing Chesterton to speak for himself.

Peters hit the nail on the head in summarizing Chesterton's opinion of art and how it uniquely qualifies man as children of God. Chesterton argued that the arts show the difference between men and animals to be qualitative and not quantative. A man does not paint more than a monkey! He paints!

Peters accurately states that "in Chesterton's view, the arts are the very essence of humanity, the very thing that differentiates the human from the nonhuman, in that sense the very breath of life from God."

If you have never read Chesterton before, I recommend that you start with Orthodoxy, Everlasting Man or Heretics. Once you get one or more of these under your belt you will not only understand what Peters is getting at, but you will also have a greater desire to find out just what Chersterton had to say on the subject, why it is important to man, and what significance it has for the Christian.

To that end, I recommend this as your second or third Chesterton book. Happy reading!

This volume contains the most important works of G. K. Chesterton, his study of St. Francis, his study of St. Thomas Aquinas, and _The Everlasting Man_.

I have chosen the word "study" rather than biography deliberately. Readers looking to find a strict chronological account of St. Francis or St. Thomas according to the modern or postmodern canons of historiography should look elsewhere. What Chesterton does is get you at the heart of these two saints. He tells you what they were all about. He is somehow able to convey to his readers the very air that these saints breathed.

And then there is _The Everlasting Man_. While it is hard to characterize, this is Chesterton's best work. Period. Written as an answer to H. G. Wells's _Outline of History_, Chesterton gets at what is most important in human history: the fact that God became Man in Jesus Christ. It really is an incredible book.

Chesterton had an amazing knack to cut to the heart of the matter. If you want to see what St. Francis or St. Thomas were all about, or to appreciate more the Lord who inspired these saints, I would highly recommend this book.

If you're a Catholic Christian and want to appreciate your faith more, these books will serve you well. If you're not Catholic or Christian and wish to encounter the most persuasive apologetics, this is an excellent place to start.

Chesterton is a wonderful writer. A poet by nature, Chesterton focuses on the material and concrete in ways that seems both paradoxical and wondrous. In "Saint Francis of Assisi," Chesterton takes the most popular saint, and presents all those details that really make us modern secularists most uncomfortable with him. In another book here, he links St. Thomas Aquinas to Francis, showing that, despite their vast differences in temperament, they both strove to save and present the goodness of creation and nature and to rebuke (in word or action) those who would hold the bodily in disdain.

In a sense, the biographies here are more than biographies. They're filled with diversions, and those diversions all point in the direction of the remaining book, "The Everlasting Man," which is presented between the other two. The central point here is that the Incarnation is the central event of human history; it allows us to joyously celebrate the good of creation and nature, as God has blessed matter with His very being.

Also, Chesterton is a real pleasure to read, as this passage shows: "One of my first journalistic adventures, or misadventures, concerned a comment on Grant Allen, who had written a book about the Evolution of the Idea of God. I happened to remark that it would be much more interesting if God wrote a book about the evolution of the idea of Grant Allen."

His wit shines in the conclusion of this anecdote. To his bemusement, his editor castigates *him* for being blasphemous. "In that hour I learned many things, including the fact that there is something purely acoustic in much of that agnostic sort of reverence. The editor had not seen the point, because in the title of the book the long word came at the beginning and the short word at the end; whereas in my comments the short word came at the beginning and gave him a sort of shock. I have noticed that if you put a word like God into the same sentence with a word like dog, these abrupt and angular words affect people like pistol-shots. Whether you say that God made the dog or the dog made God does not seem to matter; that is only one of the sterile disputations of the too subtle theologians. But so long as you begin with a long word like evolution the rest will roll harmlessly past; very probably the editor had not read the whole of the title, for it is rather a long title and he was rather a busy man."

Chesterton is one of those rare intellects who says things which actually change your perception of the world and alters the way you think. The Everlasting Man is a great book in so many ways. First, as in all books in this volume, TEM is great apologetics. Chesterton challenges arguments in favor of evolution and atheism. He is a tremendously gifted arguer. He has the ability to control an argument, direct where it's going, and reserve his judgment and wisdom until the very last sentence in such a way whereas the reader is more or less at his mercy. Many times, Chesterton was so convincing playing the devil's advocate (when he was giving the opponents arguments), I found myself acknowledging how legitimate some of the evolution's or atheist's points were...until Chesterton demolished all the psuedo-argument he had presented as their opinions as misguided argument or unsound thinking.

The book on Thomas Acquinas is invaluable as well. While only the surface of some of Acquinas' arguments are covered, the ones which are covered are the most powerful and relevant. Also, this serves as a simple, yet very thorough, biography of Acquinas' life.

Chesterton is a deep thinker, but he is also very practical and common sensical. No one can ever accuse him of bringing up irrelevant points or creating unclear argument. He says everything he means to say, nothing more or less.

If you are interested in apologetics and in reading a book which has influenced C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, and not to mention countless other thinkers and writers, you should buy this book. And it's a great deal too.

Ignatius Press has done the world a great favor by releasing their "Collected Works of Chesterton" series. If you can only afford three volumes, get # 1, 2, and 6. If you can only afford one volume, it should be # 2.

Chesterton's book on St Francis is wonderful. Unlike most modern books, it places Francis squarely in Christianity. (Many contemporary books on Francis portray him as a 13th-century hippie, which would have astounded the devout friar!)

The book on Thomas Aquinas is simply the best biography of him ever, and many noted Thomists have agreed with this sentiment.

But "The Everlasting Man" is the true pinnacle of Chesterton's amazing output. In one book he puts "comparative religion" into a new and brilliant perspective. C.S. Lewis listed "Everlasting Man" as one of the reasons he became a Christian, and it really will floor you.

(If you are short on funds you can always buy Everlasting Man as a single volume, too!)