DWD's Reviews

  Published in 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Read by Dave Hoffman. Duration: 6 hours, 38 minutes. Unabridged A Hobbit, a Wardrobe and a Great War is a decent introductory history of World War I from the point of view of the common English soldier, a decent (but incomplete) look at the philosophical and religious trends of the West before and after World War I, decent introductory biographies of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and really kind of a pleasant mess of a book. Tolkien (1892-1973) and Lewis (1898-1963) All of these topics are thrown into the mix in a willy nilly. If that concept bugs you, this is not your book. I found it to be a pleasant enough listen, even if not particularly deep.  I think the author makes his best points about the complete and utter waste and despair of a World War I battlefield when he compares it to the waste and desolation of Tolkien's Middle Earth battlefields and its heroes. The heroes are not generally the big leaders - they are flawed. They refuse...

Originally Published in 1944-1945 Published by HarperAudio Read by Robert Whitfield Duration: about 3 hours. First published as a newspaper serial in 1944-45, The Great Divorce  is a fictional look at heaven and hell. The story is not so subtly built to be a vehicle for Lewis to discuss his major themes, including God's forgiveness, the pride of men and women who chose to remain in hell rather than accept heaven and the respect and power accorded to those with strong faith in heaven.  C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) This short book (160 pages in print, 3 hours as an audiobook) starts with the narrator riding a bus away from a disagreeable grey suburban town. The town is not really a bad place but its residents are all difficult in some way and they squabble and then move away from each other.  Later, the reader learns that the grey town is purgatory or hell, depending on the person. From time to time a free bus comes to the town and its residents can ride to a new...

C.S. Lewis' most famous work of fiction. Originally published in 1950 I f you are familiar with Lewis non-fiction writings ( Mere Christianity , etc.) were all that Lewis had written he would have left a wonderful legacy. However, Lewis has a large library of fictional works as well. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is my only my second piece of Lewis fiction (the other being The Screwtape Letters ) and I found it to be a quick, enjoyable read. The characters are likeable but not particularly well-developed, but that is understandable considering that he intended it to be a fairy tale. How much character development is there in a fairy tale? Christian themes are very strong throughout the book, but the story can be read without any previous study into Christianity. If you are unsure of the themes or want to make sure that you are not missing any, I would recommend that you pick up any of the half-dozen or more companion study guides that Amazon offers. There are...

Fantastic. A most interesting book. C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) The Question of God is a fascinating book. I heard it is an audiobook. I listen to audiobooks as an interesting diversion during my commute to work and I found this book to fit the bill perfectly. It is narrated wonderfully by Robert Whitfield. Fans of Freud have complained about the book because they think that Lewis comes out of these debates much stronger than Freud. I agree. But, I do not think Freud was disparaged or misrepresented in these "debates." Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Large, generous quotes from both men are the main feature. Both men speak for themselves with Nicholi adding relevant supporting information with occasional discussion of his own research. The arguments flow naturally and I cannot recall a time when the discussion seemed forced. Lots of biographical material is included as well. The reader (or, in my case, the listener) does not need to be an expert on either ...

I saw the ads for the Inkheart DVD and decided to read the book first because, as everyone knows, the book is almost always better than the movie. Anyway, the book in built upon a fairly unique premise - the people and characters from a fantasy novel come to life. I say fairly unique because both Dean Koontz and Stephen King explored this idea 20 years ago and several movies have jumped on this same idea in the last year. I do not give the book 5 stars. The book is a dark piece of fiction - relentlessly so. The mood is nearly always somber and I found the book compelling but often depressing. Cornelia Funke The plot is fairly simple and the bad men in the book do a lot more threatening than real evil, but they do evil things - mutilations, burning people out of their homes, kidnappings, blackmail, and so on. I have no problem with books that depict that evil exists in the world. As C.S. Lewis noted: "Those who say that children must not be frightened...

Written in 1910, still relevant a century later. G.K. Chesterton's What's Wrong With the World is not a bit of light reading. There are heady thoughts throughout and the reader is invited to do some of the heavy lifting as well. I don't agree with all of Chesterton's conclusions either but he does have a wonderful way with words. Have you ever had an argument with someone in which you thoroughly disagreed with some of their points but admired the way they laid them out and their turns of the phrase? That is my experience with G.K. Chesterton in a nutshell. I only picked up this volume because I read somewhere that C.S. Lewis was a devoted fan of Chesterton. G.K. Chesterton Be prepared, there is no one thing that is wrong with the world - it is a collection of things. Of course, any thinking person knows that there are always a collection of problems that are inter-related and cause all sorts of things to be wrong in the world. Chesterton is strongly pro-C...