G.K. Chesterton was a master essayist. But reading his essays is not just an exercise in studying a literary form at its finest, it is an encounter with timeless truths that jump off the page as fresh and powerful as the day they were written.
The only problem with Chesterton’s essays is that there are too many of them. Over five thousand! For most GKC readers it is not even possible to know where to start or how to begin to approach them.
So three of the world’s leading authorities on Chesterton, Dale Ahlquist, Joseph Pearce, and Aidan Mackey, have joined together to select the “best” Chesterton essays, a collection that will be appreciated by both the newcomer and the seasoned student of this great 20th century man of letters.
In Defense of Sanity is stocked with a variety of topics: barbarians, architects, mystics, ghosts, fireworks, rain, juries, gargoyles and much more. Plus a look at Shakespeare, Dickens, Jane Austen, George MacDonald, T.S. Eliot, and the Bible. All in that inimitable, formidable but always quotable style of GKC. Even more astounding than the variety is the continuity of Chesterton’s thought that ties everything together. A veritable feast for the mind and heart.
Dennis Mincey (verified owner) –
In a world that is increasingly going totally insane, this book is a real breath of fresh air and sunshine. If GKC was anything, he was one of the most “balanced” men of modern times, and balance is a key to many things, especially in times like ours just now. His subjects herein are varied (not exactly a surprise, since he connects everything to everything else, much like Einstein’s Theory of Relativity), deeply perceived and very easily and pleasantly described in a most palatable way. One simply cannot read him without being edified, touched by Truth and humbled before God.
I guess you could say I recommend this book very highly.