The C. S. Lewis Readers' Encyclopedia

C S Lewis wrote extensively on society, politics, philosophy and government, as well as on Christianity. This book gives the reader access to the breadth of Lewis's thinking on this vast territory, and hundreds of starting points for further investigation.

This is simply a great "readers' encyclopedia" for the C.S. Lewis reader. All of his material is dealt with; but this book is so worth the low price because it goes beyond the usual commentary about what influenced Lewis with this book or that poem. Instead, the editors took pains to ensure that the C.S. Lewis fan would see how, whether negatively or positively, other people and ideas affected his writings, lectures, thoughts, and positions.We read how Sigmund Freud, Thomas Aquinas, G.E.M. Anscombe, William Shakespeare, Hume, and of course J.R.R. Tolkien played into his thoughts and discussions. Further, how he viewed such ideas as evolution, capital punishment, democracy, and tradition are also discussed. The list goes on and on. This book is also a steel - economically speaking. There are not many hardbound books of this quality going for such an inexpensive price.This book is just a wealth of information and a joy for any C.S. Lewis fan.

C. S. Lewis would doubtless have scoffed at the idea of a reference book about himself, just as he disapproved of university courses devoted to modern authors on the sensible ground that "helps" to reading them are not needed and come between the writer and his audience.Nonetheless, students and "fans" of the great Christian apologist and literary scholar now are offered two thick compendia on his life and work. Each has its virtues and faults, and both are worthwhile investments - though not a substitute for the straight, unfiltered Lewis.The "Readers' Encyclopedia", reviewed here, contains articles by 44 contributors, many of them very prominent in the world of C. S. Lewis studies. The one striking absentee is Walter Hooper, Lewis' semi-official literary executor and solo author of the rival work, "C. S. Lewis: Companion and Guide". This omission is, as the saying goes, not accidental.In more than 400 pages, consisting of a 57-page biography followed by topical entries, the Encyclopedia covers the full scope of Lewis' life, work and thought. The "work" draws the greatest attention. There are articles not only on the major books but also on virtually all of Lewis' shorter pieces, including even letters to newspapers. In addition to summarizing content, most of the contributors consider its significance, respond to the views of critics or advance criticisms of their own. They may admire their subject, but this volume is not the production of a fan club.Weighing the Encyclopedia against the Companion, the latter is heavier (almost twice as many pages), but the former is wider in scope, with more attention to CSL's career as a scholar and more systematic coverage of his entire body of work. It makes room by treating topics more succinctly. Epitomes are shorter, there is less biographical detail, and quotations from the Lewis canon are less extensive. Unfortunately, one space saving idea was the omission of an index, the need for which is distinctly not obviated by putting articles into alphabetical order.Often both works are excellent, though many times in different ways. The Companion's life of CSL's close friend Owen Barfield tells much about the man but is rather imprecise on his ideas and how they influenced Lewis. The Encyclopedia's fine article fills those gaps.Elsewhere the Encyclopedia is clearly superior. The Companion's discussions of "An Experiment in Criticism" and "The Personal Heresy" leave out the context in which Lewis developed his critical theories. The Encyclopedia gives him a place in the debates occasioned by the "New Criticism".The Companion has its innings, too. Its introductory biography is fuller and less given to unsupported psychological speculations. The Encyclopedia writer, curiously, accepts the conjectures of the anti-Christian polemicist A. N. Wilson on major issues (e. g., Lewis's relationship with Mrs. Moore and the impact of his debate with Professor Anscombe), even while pointing out that Wilson

If you can have only one reference work on Jack Lewis, this is the one to have. This volume is well edited, well written, and complete. You can find allmost as much about some of Lewis' obscure essays as about the Chronicles of Narnia and the Screwtape Letters. Most of the entries include suggestions for further reading. There is also short but reasonably complete biography included, written by John Bremer.