Product Description
Here's a delightful collection of G. K. Chesterton quotes from 1900 to 1911, one for each day of the year--all selected by Chesterton himself. Every word of his 1912 classic is in this newly typeset edition. There are also newly created notes shedding light on events from his day that have been dimmed by the passage of time. In addition, there is a bibliography of sources and a detailed 17-page index to guide you to the quotes you need. Finally, there are several humorous sketches by Chesterton.

This book was previously published in the U.K. in 1911 as A Chesterton Calendar and in the U.S. in 1912 as The Wit and Wisdom of G. K. Chesterton. It includes Chapter 13, "The Movable Feasts," which was left out of the U.S. edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Lost in a different generation
I bought this book because I had been enthralled by my, admittedly brief, introduction to some of Chestreton's work.

"Day by Day" provides many pearls of wit and wisdom yet there are many also that are so couched in his time and culture that they are lost to a different generation.

The quotes were selected by Chesterton himself, so they represent what he thought was important.
This book serves two purposes. It is intended to be a daily devotional (like Oswald Chambers "My Utmost For His Highest"), focusing on G. K. Chesterton's wit and wisdom.The quotes were selected by Chesterton himself, so they represent what he thought was important, as opposed to reading another person's second-guessings.

One good point is that it has moveable feasts in an appendix, like Lewis's "The Business of Heaven."A down point is that the book lacks an entry for Leap Day.This is a common mistake made by all devotionals I own, except for Chambers's.If you are smart enough to include the Roman Catholic feast days (which you would expect from Chesterton), then why can't you remember Leap Day?It is beyond me!

The second purpose of the book is an unintentional one. This book serves as a de-facto quote book.I love quote books, since they serve as random sampler for a person's thought.C. S. Lewis said, "The only use of selections is to deter those readers who will never appreciate the original, and thus save them from wasting their time on it, and to send all the others on the original as quickly as possible." (The Quotable Lewis, #447)

This book accomplishes both: it is a wonderful daily devotional, and it whets the appetite for more.

G.K Chesterton
I bought this book for my grandmother and she loves it. It's hard for her to sit and read for a lond piriod of time. This book is nice because it has one little reading for every day. I would highly recomend this book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Throughout the 1920 s and 1930 s, Chesterton s travels included Jerusalem, Ireland, North America and Rome. The Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton, Vol. XXI, contains his reflections on his 1921 and 1930-31 tours of North Americaand his 1929 trip to Rome. Readers will enjoy his impressions of cityskyscrapers, rural America, and the politics of Washington, as well ashis views of Pope Pius XI, the Eternal City, Mussolini and Fascism. The appendix gives the newspaper accounts of Chesterton s 1921 trip toAmerica. It contains generous excerpts of the speeches, interviews andcomments G.K.C. made during his tour. Author: G. K. Chesterton Contents: What I Saw in America, The Resurrection of Rome, Sidelights Format: 700 pages, paperback Publisher: Ignatius Press ISBN: 9780898702729 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Deeply embarrassing for Chesterton admirers
Few writers of the last century deserve a more drastic upward revision in their reputations and popularity than Chesterton. His magnificent prose, humanity and gift for paradox shine through his writings. His account in this volume of American culture and society exemplifies these strengths, and is the reason for my awarding it a second star. Yet this volume also includes his worst book by a long way, namely his first-hand account of Italy under Mussolini. This book doesn't approach the mendacity of some starry-eyed intellectuals who travelled to the Potemkin Villages of the Soviet Union and came back with glowing accounts of happy and fulfilled proletarians - Shaw and the Webbs, Henry Wallace (Roosevelt's Vice-President), and their equivalents (Susan Sontag, Noam Chomsky) who travelled as political pilgrims to China, Vietnam, Cuba and Nicaragua more recently. But it is still indefensible, and we admirers of Chesterton will just have to admit it. The author is massively confused; he goes on for pages and pages skirting round the question of whether he's for or against the Fascists. I'm afraid he even explicitly commends to his readers' attention the system of Fascist Syndicalism in preference to capitalism ("[A] policy ... which is worthy of a sharp and close attention which it has hardly received. It is not Socialism; it is not Distributism; but it is distinguished and divided in a most startling manner from anything to which we are accustomed as Capitalism.") All in all, this volume shows us a good and gentle man out of his depth; I'm sorry the book is in print and cannot recommend it.

Timeless assessment of American culture
Though Chesterton died in 1936, his What I Saw In America presents ananalysis of American (and British) life and culture which is as pertinenttoday as ever.Delivered with his delicately delightful wit, only his mildtendency toward wordiness keeps this book from a 5-star rating. ... Read more

Product Description
An annotated edition, with an introduction and notes, of the classic defense of Christianity by one of the most influential writers of his or any generation. Orthodoxy speaks directly to the controversial issues facing society today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Chesterton's Orthodoxy
Few new books rival old ones!G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy (Image Books edition, 1959) was first published in 1924 and deserves repeated re-readings.In it he seeks "to state the philosophy in which I have come to believe.I will not call it my philosophy; for I did not make it.God and humanity made it; and it made me" (p. 9).After, trying, as a young man, to be avant garde and daringly original, the mature Chesterton simply "discovered what had been discovered before" (p. 11), orthodox Christianity, the tenets of the Apostles' Creed.Had Tom Oden read, as a youngster, and heeded, Chesterton's message, he might have avoided some lamented dead-end pathways.
As a young man, an agnostic by the age of 16, Chesterton cheerfully embraced the reigning notions of modernity.He had no grounding in Christian philosophy; he naively accepted what educators and publicists said concerning "certainties" such as Darwinism.His journey to orthodoxy came when he read the alleged authorities (Huxley, Spencer, et al.) and found them advocating learned nonsense.
For all their intellectual sophistication, Chesterton found "moderns" in his day befuddled by "the suicide of thought."Thinkers doubted there's truth to be found, though they never doubted the truth of their personal thoughts.Espousing materialism, they insisted everything (thought included) flows from rigidly determined sources, making free will and personal decision meaningless.Yet, of course, they passionately argued their views and insisted you change your mind and accept their mechanistic interpretation of events!
One thing struck me, noting the intellectual heavyweights Chesterton debated:most of them today are utterly passe.The most advanced thinkers fifty years ago have largely slipped into the wastebaskets of intellectual history!More current champions now dominate the academy and the media, though their ideas, differently dressed, haven't changed much.Yet the orthodoxy championed (if not Chesterton himself) remains continually contemporary.
For example, Christian dogma gives one reason to believe in both the dignity and depravity of man:created in the image of God we have a right to assert human dignity, but fallen in Adam we find it necessary to seek forgiveness and grace.At the heart of Chesterton's message is an abiding awareness of the necessary truth of original sin, "the only part of Christian Theology which can really be proved" (p. 15).Modern thinkers, then and now, prefer to evade this truth, but accepting it enables one to make sense of oneself and one's world.
In addition, Chesterton found himself amazed that anti-Christian polemics seemed so contradictory.(One critic would complain that Christianity was too complex, the next would accuse it of being too simple.)So Chesterton turned to Christian sources to discover for himself exactly what was being attacked.There he found the key which re
claimed for him the world he'd hungered for since infancy, the "romance of orthodoxy."
Like C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, Chesterton's Orthodoxy is one of those slim treatises we may rightly deem a "classic."It helps bring us back, with delightful style, to the substance of historic Christianity.
# # #

Chesterton Nails It!
Orthodoxy is probably Chesterton's best work and a deep read. His attempts at giving modern humanism a proper burial are well thought out, although it is worthwhile for the reader to get some historical background to the debate that Chesterton was having with McNabe.

Chesterton's both/and approach to the need of incorporating mystical beliefs and reason rather to understand truth, beauty and faith are timeless.

Chesterton is back
Chesterton is one of the most influential writers in Christian history. His works (about 100 books & thousands of articles) are becoming important again to the Christian community. We are finding his world views to be timeless and his insights critical to understand the issues facing us in our world today. I recommend this book to anyone searching for answers about the problems we face today.

Circle Talk at its Best
This book is both dull and magnificent. Chesterton's writing style is brilliant even though often his writing is pointless. Like a trial lawyer engaged in circle talk he says a mouthful but at the same time, although eloquent, it is a mouthful of nothing. Much like a gorgeous flower it is best to view it than ingest it. So this book too is better lightly read than seriously studied.

incredibly brilliant and original
G.K. Chesterton is the intellectual father of greats like C.S. Lewis and Josef Pieper...that's really enough said, but this particular work is my favorite...after reading it 3 or 4 times, I am still blown away each time by his brilliance. ... Read more

Product Description
Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, even the gruff Sam Spade all owe a great deal to G.K. Chesterton's beloved amateur detective Father Brown.Through five books armchair sleuths have followed the frumpy little priest through a jubilee of stories, near half a hundred delicious mysteries perfectly suited to lazy mornings, warm afternoons -- or dark and stormy nights.Chesterton's plots never fail to satisfy his readers, and in this collection of the entire original Father Brown library you will find hours of enjoyment.

Chesterton never stooped to mere violence to advance his stories, making this collection as suitable for younger mystery fans as it is for older fans.Like his creator, Father Brown combines practical wisdom with a sparkling sense of humor.If you love a mystery, you owe it to yourself to spend some time with Father Brown. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

good read
These are nice mystery short stories.It is really good to be able to read these on my Ipod Touch.

A classic that is great fun
G.K. Chesterton was a writer with theological and philosophical leanings. He wrote several serious tombs as well as fiction. The Father Brown series is of course one of his fiction endeavors. If you like mysteries, lighthearted story telling or both, than you will enjoy this book. This Kindle download contains the entire collection of short stories that are the Father Brown Mysteries, and therefore is a bargain. Chesterton was a brilliant writer and thinker, and this is a great introduction to him. ... Read more

Product Description
"All Things Considered" features more than thirty columns that G. K. Chesterton wrote for the London Daily News in the years before World War I. Covering a variety of themes, each is written with the same high quality that readers have come to expect of Chesterton. In an essay on canvassing, Chesterton ponders some unusual double standards. In another, he writes about daily annoyances. Another covers literature. But regardless of the topic, each of the essays in "All Things Considered" is the usual Chesterton masterpiece, tempting the reader to track down even more of the 4,000 newspaper columns penned by Chesterton during his career. G. K. Chesterton is well known as a novelist, essayist, storyteller, poet, philosopher, theologian, historian, artist, and critic. He's less well-known as a journalist these days, yet all evidence indicates that he viewed his work for the various newspapers as his primary raison-de-etre. Therefore anyone interested in exploring the works of this colossal genius should include a sampling of his newspaper columns, as featured in "All Things Considered," along with all of his other brilliant books. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Fiction / Mystery ... Read more

Product Description
Number�3 in the series of Father Brown books. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Father Brown across the pond
"The Incredulity of Father Brown" could just as easily have been called "Father Brown Goes To America," because the first half of this third short-story collection is saturated with America and Americans.

But whatever side of the pond G.K. Chesterton writes about, his gnomish little priest-detective is still a font of psychological and theological know-how. "The Incredulity of Father Brown" is a bit more religiously-tinged than Chesterton's prior mystery stories, but the core of his stories is still the same -- a kindly little priest who effortlessly unravels bizarre and seemingly unsolvable mysteries.

While working in a South American mission, in an unspecified country about to erupt in a revolution, Father Brown becomes a figure of interest to the United States media (mostly due to an atheist reporter's work). Shock is widespread when the little priest is clubbed to death by an unknown assailant -- only to rise from his coffin, very much alive and annoyed. Is it a miracle, or something much more mundane?

His American adventures continue in the United States, when the little priest is present when a millionaire is killed by an Amerindian arrow -- supposedly caused by a cursed relic. It's not the only curse he has to deal with: a golden cross and an embalmed body pursued by a murderous stalker, a "doom" on a rather inbred aristocratic clan, and a vengeful man who seems to have demonic powers -- and a hysterical potential victim intent on using "silver magic."

He also deals with a few cases that are less supernatural in theme, but still pretty befuddling -- such as a trio of millionaires murdered with a connection to communism, a seaside hotel whose disbelievers are baffled by a murder, and a dog that may (or may not) hold the key to a murder.

G.K. Chesterton liked to write mysteries that were a lot simpler than they appeared to be, or else had some sort of bizarre twist at the end. Both kinds of mysteries show up in this collection of short stories, but only occasionally can readers guess what is going on, until Father Brown spells it out with some little detail of human nature, historical inaccuracy, or a simple fact of reality ("Real mystics don't hide mysteries, they reveal
them").

And Father Brown is a likable little guy, who looks like an everyday, shabby little rlceric and doesn't have to overwork himself to solve mysteries. It's his shrewd brain and rather childlike straightforwardness that carries him through, as well as his uncanny knowledge of human nature and and his humble religious principles ("I believe in miracles. I believe in man-eating tigers, but I don't see them running about everywhere..")

If there's a flaw, it's the rather dated racial descriptions, although those were typical of the time. Chesterton's writing is absolutely exquisite, like poetry rendered down into prose ("... the pale green bitter waters of the sea, and the flowers would be drowned and strangled in seaweed"), especially in Father Brown's expeditions into ice-encased mansions, moonlit ruins and wild South American jungles.

The little old priest has a lot to be amazed by in "The Incredulity of Father Brown," a short but genuinely bewildering collection of Chesterton's mysteries. Definitely worth reading, whether for the insights or the whodunnits.

More terrific tales of Father Brown's logic
In "The Incredulity of Father Brown," G.K. Chesterton treats us to another set of bizarre crimes that only his "stumpy" Roman Catholic prelate has the wisdom and mindset to solve. As usual, Chesterton loves playing with early 20th century class distinctions, "common-sense" assumptions and the often anti-Catholic biases of his characters. He loves showing, through his characters, how those who hold themselves superior to the "fantasies" of Brown's Catholic faith themselves devolve into superstitious blithering when faced with the tiniest of mysteries.

Brown finds himself as the main event at his own funeral (The resurrection of Father Brown), contemplating the possibility of death from the sky (The arrow of heaven), piercing the mystery of a dog's "prophetic" behavior (The oracle of the dog) and facing off against a curse hanging about a medieval burial (The curse of the golden cross). In each story, Brown's ability to see past the assumptions that stymie his companions can seem facile and repetitious. But Chesterton provides such a bevy of social insights and beautiful prose that these small annoyances are easily forgiven.

Tom Whitworth ably read the audio version that I listened to, which is sadly out of production. Listen to Whitworth on audio versions of other collections of Father Brown stories. ... Read more

Product Description
G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown may seem a pleasantly doddering Roman Catholic priest, but appearances deceive. With keen observation and an unerring sense of man’s frailties–gained during his years listening to confessions–Father Brown succeeds in bringing even the most elusive criminals to justice.

This definitive collection of fifteen stories, selected by the American Chesterton Society, includes such classics as “The Blue Cross,” “The Secret Garden,” and “The Paradise of Thieves.” As P. D. James writes in her Introduction, “We read the Father Brown stories for a variety pleasures, including their ingenuity, their wit and intelligence, and for the brilliance of the writing. But they provide more. Chesterton was concerned with the greatest of all problems, the vagaries of the human heart.” ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

beautifully written, with various insights into human nature
Father Brown: The Essential Tales is a wonderful collection of stories; each one is original, beautifully written, and rich with insight into human nature.

Father Brown is an unassuming country priest, generally underestimated because of his odd appearance and quiet, pleasant manners.At the scene of a crime he often wanders in the background, out of people's notice; he watches for reactions, slips, little details that hardly seem important but are actually crucial.He observes people's characters and gently penetrates through lies, half-truths, dissembling and disguises.His years of listening to people's confessions have given him a lot of experience with varying human desires, impulses and motives.

The crimes themselves are absorbing and often multi-layered; the characters are also sharply drawn and often given unexpected depths or surprising facets and traits.The insights into human nature are also not conventional or obvious - Chesterton doesn't stop at basic greed or rage, leaving those as the relatively simple explanations.He explores different elements of human behavior, the psychology and circumstances that underlie certain thoughts, complexes, and feelings.

I also have to add that the writing is beautiful.There are so many instances of wonderful imagery, of metaphors that make the most ordinary objects vibrant and laden with meaning.It's the kind of writing that can be savored; it's delicious.The substance of the stories and the beauty of the writing engage the mind, the heart, the moral imagination and the senses.

A perfect introduction to Father Brown
This relatively new compilation, taken from the first two collections of Chesterton's Father Brown mysteries, is a perfect introduction to these tales.The lead story, "The Blue Cross," is rightly regarded as a classic.Contrary to the assertions of other reviewers, these stories havewithstood the test of time and are more popular than ever.What others call "moralizing" are merely Chesterton's insights into human nature, which reflect the once taken-for-granted belief that we are fallen creatures capable of great evil -- and great good.Each of these tales should take no more than an hour to read and indeed make excellent read-aloud stories for older children.Buy this book and discover what you've been missing.

Dated and a bit hackneyed
If Chesterton had been a member of the Church of England, his brilliant amateur detective, Father Brown, might have been an Anglican priest, a vicar or rector, perhaps, and possibly married with children.But Chesterton was Roman Catholic, so his protagonist turned out to be an eccentric Roman Catholic priest, resident in England.I myself am an Anglican (a U.S. Episcopalian), but I have no issues with Father Brown as a character.There's nothing he says or does that offends me in any way.

The problem I have at age 55, nearly 56, is that I have a more critical eye than I did in the 1960's when I first read Father Brown, having discovered it in the library of my junior high school.I had just discovered Sherlock Holmes, which I loved.The thing is, I can re-read a Holmes story and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writing is still readable and enjoyable.Somehow, it seems fresh and viable.For that matter, even Agatha Christie's oldest mystery novels still have liveliness._The Mysterious Affair at Styles_, say, or _The Secret Adversary_ still entertain, even though I've read them before.

Somehow, for me, Father Brown nowadays lacks something.The style is a bit stilted, I think, and many references Chesterton makes are obscure and puzzling.His writing is nonetheless okay, but not exactly exciting.I find it interesting that Father Brown hasn't shown up in movies or on TV, as far as I know.Perhaps I missed something that was done in Great Britain at some point, but perhaps not.I find that Chesterton's murders aren't that interesting and his solutions aren't either.

We get to know little of Father Brown other than the fact that he's a bit of an eccentric fuddy duddy, or at least he strikes people that way.He's a pudgy, nondescript little man who would go unnoticed if it weren't for his clerical garb and distinctive hat.Beyond that, little is communicated about him that I recall, and in the end he seems a sort of stock character, an amateur detective of great ability and little personality who offers the novelty of being a Roman Catholic parish priest.We don't even know much of his life as a priest.He doesn't seem to be associated with a particular parish.

He's not nearly as interesting or entertaining as Horace Rumpole or Jane Marple, both of whom show up in short stories as does Father Brown.The dialog isn't even particularly entertaining with Chesterton's sleuth -- and with Rumpole or Marple, the dialogue is a great part of the fun.

I've read worse things, but I've also read better, even in the genre of what the Brits call detective fiction.In the end, I have to interpret this as Chesterton's way of moralizing with not all that much charm.

If you have a layover at an airport or a train station with time to kill, reading these stories will help pass the time.But there are other mystery stories I'd rather read for a good many reasons.Father Brown is just too ho-hum for me to lavish praise here.

A Man Of God?
In the twenties, British author Gilbert Keith Chesterton. created the Father Brown stories.A Man of the Church of Rome (Catholic), he became Chesterton's immortal detective.Listening to confessions came in handy in his sleuthing.The many and varied stories were about every conceivable subject under the sun; with religious overtones.In THE INCREDULITY OF FATHER BROWN, "The Resurrection of Father Brown (like Jesus?) leads off and contains "The Arrow of Heaven" all the way to "The Ghost of Gideon Wise."In this volume, you can find "The Blue Cross" and many others of that genre.

In thirty-five years, he wrote one hundred books about politics, philosophy, history, etc. as a form of social criticism.That was quite popular during this time.He declares that the most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen at all.In his MISCELLANY OF MAN, he informs us that appearances are deceiving; all men have their individual frailties.Men -- who needs them?You find one you think you can trust and he turns out to be an old miser with his affections; and yet he shares your messages with all his "friends" -- nothing was private with him.

Father Brown was such a man; in all these fateful mysteries and supernatural tales, he was truly incredible as he came up with solutions.As a man of God, he was considered eccentric.Some of the other volumes included 'The Innocence of Father Brown,' 'The Wisdom of Father Brown,' 'The Secrets of Father Brown,' and "The Scandal of Father Brown.'P. D. James praises him and his creator most highly.James Agee, at another age, an American, wrote "Now Let Us Praise All Men." ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
In The Collected Works Of G. K. Chesterton, Vol. XVIII, Chesterton exhibits his perception of character and motive through literary criticism and biography. Chesterton s warm affection for Stevenson and Chaucer is evident in his volumes on them. He was heavily influenced by the manliness, courage, and hope in Stevenson s romances. Polemical literary criticism flourishes in Chesterton s Chaucer, a tribute to medieval England and Chaucer s literature. His monographs on Tolstoy and Carlyle reveal keen insights into two very different writers, thus providing four unique studies that teach the distinctions between normality and abnormality in literature and life. Author: G. K. Chesterton Contents: Robert Louis Stevenson, Chaucer, Leo Tolstoy, Thomas Carlyle Format: 450 pages, paperback Publisher: Ignatius Press ISBN: 9780898703740 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Mostly about Chaucer and Stevenson.
The title is a little deceptive.In fact, this book is mostly about Chaucer and his era, 220 pages worth.Stevenson gets a fair shake at 106 pages.But Carlyle gets only 12 pages, and Tolstoy only four, and those arather simplistic critique of his philosophy.So only buy the book ifyou're interested in the former two writers.

As in most of Chesterton'sbiographies, the story of the subject's life is of minor interest here,compared to a philosophical and artistic description of the subject's worksin the context of his time and "modern times."Chesterton isinterested in the writer as a thinker, as a creator, and as a moral agent. In defending Stevenson and Chaucer, he argues for his view of Christianity,poetry, love, and artistic humility.If you want his religious views in apurer form, go to the brilliant Orthodoxy or Everlasting Man. If you want adetailed narration of the lives of the writers in question, look elsewhere. And even for this style of biography, I think his book on Dickens was thebest I've read.But I found his opinionated description and defense ofChaucer and his times also very interesting.And while he does not scatterbrilliant sayings like rose petals at a wedding, as in his best books,(reading Everlasting Man, I wanted to copy every other sentence) a fewblossoms do flutter down, like the following, which also explainChesterton's method:

"The truly impartial historian is not he who isenthusiastic for neither side in a historical struggle. ..The trulyimpartial historian is he who is enthusiastic for both sides.He holds inhis heart a hundred fanaticisms."

"The greatest poets of theworld have a certain serenity, because they have not bothered to invent asmall philosophy, but have rather inherited a large philosophy.It is,nine times out of ten, a philosophy which very great men share with veryordinary men.It is therefore not a theory which attracts attention as atheory."

Author, Jesus and the Religions of Man (July2000)

d.marshall@sun.ac.jp

Chesterton!
G.K. Chesterton, best known for his Father Brown detective stories, also stands out as a remarkable literary critic.He is most astute on Stevenson, his greatest influence, rightly seeing him as the first greatwriter to find beauty in a modern city.A must! ... Read more

Product Description
This study links the concepts of patriotism, Christianity, and English national identity in the journalistic writings of G. K. Chesterton. It is the first work on Chesterton to explore in full the English attachments that were central to his political and spiritual persona, and their roots in a wider movement of English national consciousness in the early-twentieth century. ... Read more

Product Description
The Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton, Vol. 3 is a collection of essays in defense of Catholicism and theCatholic Church. Though most of his writings do not deal specificallywith religion, here he directly addresses the teachings of the Churchand objections to them. It includes his inspiring commentary on theStations of the Cross, with the drawings of the stations he used forhis meditations. Another essay explains why he converted toCatholicism. He presents the Church s best face to an antagonistic andindifferent world. Author: G. K. Chesterton Contents: The Catholic Church and Conversion The Thing: Why I Am a Catholic Where All Roads Lead The Well and the Shallows The Way of the Cross and others Format: 550 pages, paperback Publisher: Ignatius Press ISBN: 9780898703115 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The Best Collection of Chesterton's Catholic Apologetics
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 youof the Truth of the Catholic Faith. Chesterton like all prophetic writers speaks to our time as much as his own.

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

An Intelligent Guide of Reason, Tradition, and Catholicism
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.

The undiscovered Chesterton
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.

Simply Magnificent
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. ... Read more

Product Description
Father Brown is the most unlikely detective - a short, round-faced priest who is modest and kind. However, he has an astonishing insight into the criminal mind. It is through his astute wisdom that he solves the twelve cases. Read The Blue Cross and find out how Father Brown helps to catch the famous French criminal, Flambeau, who later becomes a most incongruous friend. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Classic Mystery
This compilation is a classic collection of short-story murder/mysteries. Father Brown is a compelling figure throughout. The collection is large enough to spend days reading, if you like, but arranged in such a way that you can sneak in little bits of Father Brown as you are able.

Innocent little Father Brown
Father Brown is first introduced to readers as a kindly, clumsy little priest who prattles naively about the valuables he's toting, and keeps dropping his umbrella.

But appearances, G.K. Chesterton reminds us, are deceptive. "The Innocence of Father Brown" is the first collection of stories about the kindly, eccentric detective who has an uncanny cleverness that nobody guesses. Chesterton wraps each story in his warm, sometimes entrancing writing and a very odd assortment of crimes.

The first story opens with French detective Valentin on the hunt for the great thief Flambeau, and along the way encounters a little priest who is telling people about his "silver with blue stones." Turns out that the little priest is the target of Flambeau's crime, and the priceless sapphire cross he's carrying is about to be stolen -- but Valentin discovers that Father Brown is a lot cleverer than he seems.

In the stories that follow, Father Brown is involved in a series of strange crimes -- a cold-blooded beheading from religious bigotry,"a cheery cosy English middle-class crime" for Christmas, an Italian prince's invitation ends with revenge, a mysterious fall, a murderer in the open that nobody sees, precious gems, headless skeletons, and a suicide note that reads: "I die by my own hand; yet I die murdered!"

Chesterton's mysteries are often ignored next to Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, which is odd when you consider his uncanny knack for making mysteries that are simple, yet incredibly hard to figure out. And each mystery is accompanied by little insights into human nature -- such as the one man whom you could see going to a crime scene, but wouldn't notice.

The mysteries are usually written very casually and a little humorously, but with an oblique wall of clues that don't make sense until Father Brown reveals the motives. And Chesterton's crowning achievement is a writing style is absolutely exquisite ("Between the silver ribbon of morning and the green glittering ribbon of sea"), something that not many mysteries have.

Three characters are really important here: little gnomish Father Brown, whose innocuous appearance hides a shrewd knowledge of crime and evil. There's Flambeau, a master thief who is impressed by Brown's intelligence and understanding, and the rabidly bigoted French detective Valentin, whose dislike of Brown takes an unexpected turn early in the book.

"The Innocence of Father Brown" is a solid little collection of Chesterton's detective stories, starring one of the least likely detectives you could pick. Definitely a good read for mystery buffs.

Delightful tales of good, evil and answered riddles
What an absolutely delightful set of stories! Each is gem of superb writing that is clever and perceptive. G.K. Chesterton serves up short detective stories, each of which is solved by the insightful intuition and logic of his Catholic priest hero, Father Brown. The situations Brown finds himself also illuminate 19th-century British class distinctions and pre-occupations. The characters are well drawn and intriguing. The 12 Fishermen is an aristocratic men's club with no apparent purpose other than to meet yearly in an exclusive restaurant. Inspector Valentin, the "greatest detective in the world," is an avowed atheist who is repelled by Brown's religiosity and irritated by his cleverness. Flambeau the exquisite thief starts out as a fairy-like phantom figure before becoming Brown's confidante. The murders and killings in the book are varied and fantastic -- everything from beheadings to duels to suicides are trotted out for us to decipher. But though Chesterton lays out his clues in the open, no case has an obvious solution, and all involve twists of identity. Red herrings abound, mostly of the reader's own conjuring. It's a wonder to read how the simple priest is able to see clearly where others see not at all.

Chesterton's evident humanity and views on life fairly leap off the page. His heros and villains are of the upper classes and include an odd menagerie of soldiers, doctors, poets, socialists and aristocrats. Chesterton sympathizes (to a point) with the socialist young, the romantic and even the repentant ne'er-do-well. He finds amusement at those who dabble in foreign religions. But he is wary of atheism, the occult and the anti-clericalism. Yet whatever his feelings, he gives to each of his characters the Christian opportunity to change and the very human reluctance to do so.

Worth reading or listening to over and over to appreciate GK's craft!

Beauifully written, fun collection of mysteries (4.5 stars)
This collection is comprised of 12 mysteries featuring Father Brown, a Roman Catholic priest who uses his knowledge of human nature and his intellect to solve the mysteries that seem to pop up around him.At times the solutions to the cases seem a bit fantasic and a little bit out-of-the-blue.However, all the solutions are logical and make sense when you think about them.

Furthermore, Chesterton's writting is brilliantly descriptive and really helps the the reader visualize the scene.As one of the other reviewers said Chesterton's writing ability really is extraordinary.

My personal favorite in the collection was "The Sign of the Broken Sword."

I would recommend this collection to any fan of mysteries and especially those who enjoy Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's Poirot.

A wonderful collection of stories
G. K. Chesterton had a writing ability that is nothing short of extraordinary.He could craft landscapes, settings, and locations with vivid textures, and possessed a cunning knack that made the ordinary seem thoroughly outlandish and the peculiar rather tame.This collection of short mysteries aptly shows off his skill as a writer; whereas most authors would use an entire novel to build tension, cultivate atmosphere, and weave a complex mystery, Chesterton could do all that in a few brief pages - and at a much higher level of quality too!Reading this book is like reading twelve beautifully crafted novels in one, such is the quality.

I won't spoil the stories for you; reading this book is a rewarding journey for the imagination, meeting many characters fantastic in their normalcy or surprisingly believable and realistic in their peculiarity, visiting locations stunningly brought to life with a writing skill that is second to none, and delving into mysterious events that are often confusing, complex, and entertaining for the brain.Don't pick this book up if you want some pedestrian tales; pick it up if you want first-class storytelling that will keep you both guessing and thinking. ... Read more

Product Description
The Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton, Vol. X Part I is the first of two volumes of Chesterton s poems, many of which havenever been published before. Chesterton was the poet of the ordinary,denying that anything was or could be uninteresting his versecelebrates lamp-posts and daisies and railway stations. Above all hegives unceasing thanks for The Great Minimum, that gift of mereexistence. As in his other writings, Chesterton s poems carry barbslaunched at the planners, politicians and self-appointed reformers of hisday. Author: G. K. Chesterton Contents: Collected Poetry, Part I Format: 608 pages, paperback Publisher: Ignatius Press ISBN: 9780898703917 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A delightful collection... (Vol. X of the series)
Chesterton lovers and lovers of poetry in the classical English forms will enjoy this collection of poems by one of the 20th century's greatest stylists, G.K. Chesterton.

After a section of juvenalia, the poems are arranged by broad subject. My only complaint with the volume is that it is not complete, and that Ignatius Press has not yet released Part 2 of the Collected Poetry.

But you will find many things in this volume in no other collection of Chesterton's poetry, including his poem about Notre Dame football. So if you enjoy Chesterton, or poetry, or both, check out this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Mr Pond was a small, neat civil servant. There was nothing remarkable about him at all - except a pointed beard. However, he tells the most fascinating stories and has the most unorthodox way of solving crimes and mysteries. These eight short stories include the extraordinary 'The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse' about a Marshal's plans which go tragically wrong because, paradoxically, his soldiers obey him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond
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.

Still waters run deep
"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_.

Another Enjoyable Mystery Collection by Chesterton
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.

A must for all Chesterton fans
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 otherso completely that one of them, naturally, murdered the other, but as ageneral rule...." The story that follows is convoluted, thanks toPond's digressions on society hostesses and what he calls 'the sanctity ofreally futile conversation,' but more than lives up to the high promise ofthat opening paradox. "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" isnearly as good and just as clever; the rest of the stories are good andclever, and would shine in nearly any other collection, but those two areso outstanding that they make the merely good look ordinary. Buy it! Readit! Read parts of it out loud to your helpless friends and convert them!

As good as the best Father Brown's
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 aparadox stated in earnest by Mr. Pond, such as "naturally, he was sotall that no one saw him" and things like that. (All is wonderfullyexplained later). Great crime stories (with no serious crimes involved) forthose who consider "whodunits" too gory. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Drama / General; Fiction / Fantasy / General; Fiction / Humorous; History / General; ... Read more

Product Description
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was an influential English writer of the early 20th century. His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy, and detective fiction. Chesterton has been called the "prince of paradox. " He wrote in an off-hand, whimsical prose studded with startling formulations. He is one of the few Christian thinkers who are equally admired and quoted by both liberal and conservative Christians, and indeed by many non-Christians. And in his own words he cast aspersions on the labels saying, "The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected. " Chesterton wrote many books among which are: All Things Considered (1908), Alarms and Discursions (1910), The Ballad of the White Horse (1911), The Appetite of Tyranny (1915), The Everlasting Man (1925), The Secret of Father Brown (1927) and The Scandal of Father Brown (1935). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

The Ballad of the White Horse
This story is epic!G.K. Chesterton is a good author, and many of his works have deeply impressed me.This story not least of all.If you are a Christian, this book will encourage you, and by that I mean it will give you courage.The story isn't new.It's the classic tale of a dreadful battle, with unbeatable odds .The end hardly matters, of course, and the journey is brilliantly narrated by Chesterton.

Faux Pas on Cover
I'm not sure what the publishers were thinking when they chose a picture of a white horse and a cowboy as the cover illustration for this great poem about the ninth-century Anglo-Saxon king, Alfred the Great.It sets the wrong mood for the story.

Alfred the Great for Home School and Christian Schools
I purchased this 1950 edition of *The Ballad of the White Horse* used and recommend it for home schooling families and Christian schools because it contains a 39-page teaching guide, three articles ("Living Values in the Ballad," "Historical Background of the Ballad," and "The White Horse in Reality and Symbol") as well as a biographical sketch of G. K. Chesterton.As a Roman Catholic, Chesterton approached his topic from the Catholic perspective, but the basic theme of the ballad should resonate with all Christians.Though Chesterton died before World War II and the cultural wasteland that followed in Europe and the United States, he correctly anticipated in this ballad the triumph of Freudianism, nihilism, atheism, evolution, fascism, communism, neo-paganism and theories of racial superiority that dominated twentieth-century Europe and have not yet run their course. If you think a young reader might respond better to a copy with new binding, let me report that I had this book on my coffee table while I was reading it, and more than one visiting student picked it up and thumbed through it, which tells me that serious young readers are not put off by the somewhat outdated drawing on the cover.Perhaps it was even the drawing that drew them to the book.The language and theme of the book shine in any edition, but as far as I can determine, only this edition has the ancillary material.

One of the greatest books I have ever read
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.

Popular Fiction Writer Anne Perry recommends this ballad.
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

... Read more

Product Description
It is with diffidence that anyone born into the Faith can approach
the tremendous subject of Conversion.Indeed, it is easier
for one still quite unacquainted with the Faith to approach
that subject than it is for one who has had the advantage of
the Faith from childhood.There is at once a sort of impertinence
in approaching an experience other than one's own (necessarily more
imperfectly grasped), and an ignorance of the matter.
Those born into the Faith very often go through an experience
of their own parallel to, and in some way resembling,
that experience whereby original strangers to the Faith come
to see it and to accept it.Those born into the Faith often,
I say, go through an experience of scepticism in youth,
as the years proceed, and it is still a common phenomenon
(though not so often to be observed as it was a lifetime ago)
for men of the Catholic culture, acquainted with the Church
from childhood, to leave it in early manhood and never to return.
But it is nowadays a still more frequent phenomenon--
and it is to this that I allude--for those to whom scepticism
so strongly appealed in youth to discover, by an experience of men
and of reality in all its varied forms, that the transcendental
truths they had been taught in childhood have the highest claims
upon their matured reason.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Catholic Church and Conversion
As a child I learned that the Roman Catholic Church was a very evil organization.The reasons for this fact were so many and so obvious that it was never necessary to actually list what those reasons were.The badness of Catholics was known and accepted by all intelligent people, hence why bother explaining the reasons for it?One might as well write books on why the earth is round or why basic arithmetic is true.To this day, I've seen much written against the Catholic Church but very few reasons for being against the Catholic Church.Most of those reasons were written by G. K. Chesterton in "The Catholic Church and Conversion".

That's because Chesterton begins the book in the logical way, by tackling common complaints about the Catholic Church.While this book was written almost a century ago, those complaints haven't changed much.Anti-Catholic bigots are as much behind the times as they often accuse Catholics of being.Hence any apologist today could sort Catholic-bashing into two classes, just as Chesterton did.The first class would contain statements like:

"Catholics believe that the Pope is infallible."

"Catholics worship the Virgin Mary."

"The Church has more money (or more land) than any other organization in the world."

"Catholics believe that all non-Catholics go to Hell."

"Catholics believe that all sex is wrong unless it's intended to conceive a child."

etc...

The problem with these types of arguments, as Chesterton says, is that they're untrue.Anyone who has the slightest desire to know the truth could learn it by asking a Catholic acquaintance or reading a book.The problem is that the enemies of the Church would rather not know the truth.

For those who do get the basic truth about Catholicism by one means or another, there are obstacles that an intelligent person could actually take seriously, and those are Chesterton's main focus in this book.The chief obstacle is that the Catholic Church is simply too large.It's claims to possessing the universal truth about God and Man, sin and salvation, life, death and afterlife, are so all-encompassing that it's frightening.Chesterton says:

"To accept that the Catholic Church is right is one thing.To accept that is always right is another thing."

Any thinking person who who decides to investigate anti-Catholic propaganda will determine that it is false, and probably in the course of doing so will see strong arguments for the Church.Actually accepting the full doctrine of the Church is a different class of decision.I would know, since I'm a Protestant who currently wrestles with my choice of church.But anybody in any Christian denomination or none should take the challenge presented in this book by one of the greatest writers of all times.

The conviction of a genius
Due to what might be predominantly attributed to his wit, candor, and jovial tone, Chesterton's work is always enjoyable to read. It might be said that it is when he takes on an apologist's role to convey his convictions that Chesterton is at his best. He has been criticized, however, for being too confident in his own beliefs while intolerant with regard to the beliefs of others. Nonetheless, it is difficult to criticize a man for his confidence in what he perceives to be truth when he is so good at making it almost impossible to deny the truth that he writes of. This is what Chesterton does in The Catholic Church and Conversion; he presents that which is easy to ignore but hard to deny.

As a Protestant that has derived so much pleasure from the works of Chesterton I could not bring myself to overlook even one title, particularly one which I knew would correct the ignorance of any of my personal preconceived perceptions. In The Catholic Church and Conversion, Chesterton points out why it was inevitable that he and so many others have converted and will convert to Catholicism. Again, it is hard to deny the truths this author speaks of, especially when it is coupled with examples derived from common human experience. While Chesterton would probably respond that I only further justify his position by saying so, I must say that this work is not only true in terms of conversion to Catholicism but to Christianity in general. Chesterton's purpose, though, was not to defend all denominations of Christianity but to justify the legitimacy of the Catholic Church as Christianity, and does a magnificent job refuting common fallacies while presenting his case. So much so that one is forced to consider the legitimacy of their personal denomination if it is anything other than the Roman Catholic Church.

Ultimately, The Catholic Church and Conversion is yet another beautiful work of G.K. Chesterton that should be read by all. This might be particularly true of those that perceive Roman Catholicism to be something other than Christianity when compared to any denomination of Protestantism. At least give Chesterton, a passionate Roman Catholic convert, an opportunity to present why it is that he is so passionately so. It is a short, quick read and thoroughly enjoyable at that.

Exciting Book with a Dull Title
Like Orthodoxy, which is arguably Chesterton's best non-fiction book, this is an exciting book with a dull title. Orthodoxy, however, had a somewhat better subtitle: "The Romance of Faith". In his 1936 autobiography, Chesterton admitted that he thought Orthodoxy was a bad title and had always meant to change it but never got around to it. He makes no such comments on this book.

Until now, the only way to get this book was in Collected Works Volume III which collects the so-called and little-known "Catholic" books written after his conversion in 1922. Most have better titles like The Thing, The Well and The Shadows and Where All Roads Lead, but this is the book that knocked me out.

I found out about these books through The Apostle of Common Sense, a book and video series that ran on EWTN by Dale Ahlquist, president of the American Chesterton Society. He briefly describes thirteen of G.K.'s non-fiction works (and the Father Brown detective series), and quotes from them. That last was the clencher, as this book seemed overflowing with bon mots and Chestertonian whimsey. Who but GK would list these as the three stages of conversion: 1. Patronizing the Church; 2. Discovering the Church; 3. Running Away from the Church?

GK said of his brother Cecil that "we often argued but never quarreled". Like much of GK, this book may provoke some lively arguments. But it's not simply for those interested in Rome and conversion, title to the contrary. What Ignatius has done is given us a quick read (under 150 pages) at a great price (under ten bucks) of some nearly unknown Chesterton. And when GK enters the ring, it's certain to enliven any philosophical discussion. ... Read more