Book review: C.S. Lewis

Book review from The Movie Snob

C.S. Lewis in a Time of War, by Kevin Phillips (HarperCollins 2002). The subtitle is The World War II Broadcasts That Riveted a Nation and Became the Classic Mere Christianity, and that pretty well sums up what the book is about. It starts off a little slow, describing where the BBC came from and sort of how it works. But it picks up when WWII breaks out, and it is unfailingly interesting when focusing on the famous C.S. Lewis himself. The book chronicles Lewis's agreement to try his hand at broadcasting for the BBC, presumably as his way of trying to contribute something to the nation's war effort against the Nazis, and then summarizes the content of the broadcasts themselves. Eventually, Lewis collected all the broadcasts, modified them a little, and published them as the best-selling book Mere Christianity. The book also includes some interesting tidbits about Lewis's home life during the war, such as the fact that he took in a teenaged girl as an "evacuee" from London during the Blitz. She even contributes some of her unique perspectives on the famous theologian in this volume. Warmly recommended to anyone with an interest in the man behind The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.