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Rating: 
Summary: Like a brownie: hard to resist one last crumb!
Review: I've always been a bit surprised and suspicious of the C. S. Lewis industry: the fact that I like reading Lewis, doesn't mean I like reading about him. (Though, if push comes to shove, I have to admit I do. Just no slobbering, please.) Fortunately this is a collection of essays by colleagues, students, and friends of Lewis who, even while writing about Lewis, have other things on their minds -- the purpose of English teaching, Oxford, redemption, even (in the gardener's case) his own bad jokes. There are even a few critical stories. Most of the essays are well written and insightful, and gave plenty of Boswell-like anecdotes not only of Lewis, but of other peculiar denizens of Oxford as well. Graham could have saved himself the occasional bone thrown to evangelicals, though, as far as I'm concerned. I really don't care how Bob Jones reconciles the work of the Holy Spirit and beer. Billy Graham and J. I. Packer didn't seem to have much to say. Also, the editor protested a bit too much about "hero worship." There's no need to apologize for this book, otherwise. The book arrived in the mail on Friday afternoon. By Saturday afternoon I was chewing on crumbs. To me, one of the most interest comments was the suggestion by one writer that Lewis had been influenced by the marvellous chapter "The Ethics of Elfland" in G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy. I am beginning to suspect that Wilhelm Grimm was a very clever, and also successful, evangelist, and that there might be a secret link between the Seven Dwarves and Trumpkin. author, Jesus and the Religions of Man
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not very dynamic
Review: Intrigued by the look and feel of the book, and by a few of the essay titles and their authors, I purchased this book. I was hoping for an enjoyable collection of personal observations on Lewis' life, illuminating his character and how he lived out what he believed. There was a fair deal of this sort of thing in the book, but not near so much as I had hoped, and a lot had been said before, or wasn't even all that fascinating. Overall, I enjoyed this read for the happy moments when I learned something new or charming, but other books on Lewis have been much more substantial and endearing than this one. I particularly recommend Terry Glaspey's biography of Lewis: _Not a Tame Lion_.
Rating:
Summary: Cotton candy
Review: Not bad, but if you were really looking for some real knowledge of Lewis' teaching style this isn't it...it's pleasant reading, but not terribly informative. Also, it does not show the complete Lewis character. Based on sources at Oxford, the real C.S. Lewis was impersonal (even by British academic standards) with some of his students, and could be withering to those whom he felt were not terribly bright or motivated.
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