​When I chose to write a research paper on the life and works of C.S. Lewis, I sought out the best resources that were available to learn about his life and his works. Through that research, I discovered that Lewis’ stepson had written a biography of his stepfather. While many biographies have been written about Lewis over the years, I knew that one written by someone who knew him personally would be one worth reading. Even now, this is one of my biographies of Lewis to reference. This is definitely one worth checking out. ~ Bethel

​In his book Jack’s Life, Douglas Gresham shares the story of the life of C.S. Lewis, his stepfather and mentor. You start with the story of a boy with an active imagination who would lost his faith after losing his mother at a young age. Then he grew up, fought in a war, took in a late friend’s mother, and eventually rediscovered his faith, going on to become one of the most renowned authors and theologians of his time. Gresham reveals this through the lens of his admiration for a man who endured similar struggles in his younger life and loved him through his own difficulties. His grasp of Lewis’ writings and how his life experiences influenced them is profound, as he does a great job of summarizing some of Lewis’s concepts through the book. Including a DVD with an interview with Gresham, this book is a must have resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the life of C.S. Lewis.

To read my review of Gresham's personal biography, click here

​I’ve been a fan of C.S. Lewis since I read The Chronicles of Narnia when I was in junior high. But I was surprised when an older friend from my church gave me a copy of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and Lenten Lands by Douglas Gresham. Prior to receiving this book, all I knew about Gresham was that he was C.S. Lewis’ stepson and that he was the executive producer of Narnia films by Walden Media. When I can to write a paper on C.S. Lewis my senior year, I drove into Gresham’s story and was intrigued. So grateful to have received a copy of this book. Whether you are familiar with the life and works of Lewis or not, you will enjoy this autobiography ~ Bethel

​In his autobiography, Douglas Gresham recounts the story of his childhood and how he eventually became the stepson of beloved author, C.S. Lewis. Facing anything but a carefree childhood, you follow his story from New York to Australia to England. It will draw you into the story of his life, even before it intersected with Lewis. But once they came to England, his life became extraordinary for him and his brother. You see an honest side to the difficult parts of his past. Between having a renowned stepfather, his mother dying from cancer, and eventually his stepfather pass away. Through it all, you not only discover the story of young man (at least the time he wrote the book) who learned how to overcome the difficulties he faced, but you also get an up close and personal look at C.S. Lewis, especially at the joys of his marriage and his struggles after his wife’s death as he faced the challenge of caring for two orphaned boys. If you are interested in learning more about the life of C.S. Lewis, this is definitely a book worth checking out.

To read my review of Gresham's biography of his stepfather C.S. Lewis, click here

I have been a fan of Narnia since I first read the series when I was in junior high. I eventually became a fan of the other works of C.S. Lewis as well as the story of his life. Then my senior year of high school, I was assigned a research paper in my English class that was both a biography of an author as well as a literary analysis of one of their works of literature. When I decided to do this paper on C.S. Lewis, I went through some of the books I already owned about C.S. Lewis and discovered this book. I came to realize that this book went a step above most books that merely talk about the spiritual values in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – this book did the work of literary analysis for me while keeping the language understandable and the spiritual values at the forefront. This book was so rich in the details I needed, I didn’t have to reread The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to complete my paper. If you a huge fan of Narnia or need help with a research project like mine, I cannot recommend this book enough ~ Bethel

​The Chronicles of Narnia is one of the most beloved fantasy series in history. With seven books written by the well-loved author C.S. Lewis, the first book of the series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, is probably the most beloved. This book, full of biblical parallelisms and practical life themes, has had many books written about it that try and get to the bottom of all of them. While some of them do a good job, others struggle with diving deep enough while also being understandable to the average person. However, there is one (or rather a series) that stands out above the rest by examining the book in a whole new way.

​In Inside Narnia, author Devin Brown dives into a compelling analysis of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, the first book released in The Chronicles of Narnia. Instead of just reviewing the spiritual themes or values in the story, Brown takes deeper by exploring the interesting symbols, deeper meanings, and fascinating details that often get missed. You also learn details about the life of C.S. Lewis that contributed to the story. While some books that do this type of literary analysis would be considered dry or uninteresting, this book makes the analysis engaging and understandable (as long as you have a basic understanding of literary analysis). As this book breaks down The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe chapter by chapter, you will come to see this beloved story in a whole new light and see how this fantasy world can teach us spiritual truths about our own world. If you are a fan of The Chronicles of Narnia or you have a research paper involving these topics, this is a book I highly recommend. 

​Inside Narnia was originally released in 2005 to coincide with the release of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe film from Disney and Walden Media. When the film proved to be successful, Devin Brown chose to write more books to coincide with the release of the subsequent films. Inside Prince Caspian was released in 2008 and Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader was released in 2010. They were all republished with new covers by a different publisher in 2013.

​Both of these books use a similar precise to Inside Narnia. While I haven’t either of these books all the way through, I do own them and have read parts of both of them. I believe that they do they maintain a similar quality to the first book and would be valuable if you are interested in learning more about Prince Caspian or The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. 

​However, Brown did not continue the series after the original film franchise was discontinued. Personally, I would love to see him complete this series one day, especially the one that would explore The Last Battle in greater detail. I also wish they hadn’t discontinued the film franchise, but that’s another story for another time.

​This is an intriguing and powerful fiction. I discover that the first time I read this back in high school. At first, I was mostly drawn to it because it was written by C.S. Lewis. I didn’t even know what it was about or that it was fiction, given that Lewis wrote in so many different genres. What started as a reading project for extra credit became a book that taught me powerful lessons about heaven and hell. This book is one that I definitely recommend ~ Bethel

​​In his book The Great Divorce, beloved author C.S. Lewis presents powerful fictional analogies of heaven and hell. When the narrator suddenly finds himself in a joyless “grey town”, he chooses to wait at the bus stop to take the bus out of town. When he gets on the bus and finally arrives at his destination, he discovers that he and other passengers have become ghosts. While they arrived in a beautiful, heavenly country, their ghostly form make it painful to even walk on the grass. The bus passengers are met by people who they had known on earth who try to encourage them to choose heaven. Most of the passengers choose to get back on the bus (and essentially go to hell) by making up all kinds of excuses. The narrator eventually runs into George Macdonald, an author whom he called a mentor, who becomes the guide for the rest of the narrator’s journey. Macdonald helps the narrator to see and understand the excuses others passengers made to not go to heaven, whether or not they realize it before it’s too late. Right at the end, the narrator startles awake, realizing that he was fallen asleep in his study.

​This book has an interesting cast of characters that, even years after its publication, are relevant to its readers. In a similar fashion to his book The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce uses fiction to help them understand the struggles of the spiritual realm and our spiritual well-being. If you enjoy insightful Christian fiction, this is a book that I highly recommend. Get your copy today!

​When I was a kid, I was mostly familiar with C.S. Lewis from the Chronicles of Narnia. I remember being pleasantly surprised when I started learning about the books he wrote and genres he tackled during his writing career. One of the first books I was compelled to read was Mere Christianity. Despite having never read an apologetics book and being a high school student, I was surprised at how well the book was written, how well I understood his arguments as a high school student, and how relevant the arguments and examples were despite being such an old book. I was convinced this was true all the more when I read the book again in college for my apologetics class. If you are looking into reading any of C.S. Lewis’ great works, Mere Christianity is a great place to start ~ Bethel

​It is becoming harder and harder to defend Christianity in our world today. As our world is becoming more and more opposed to morality, objective truth, and objective reality, Christianity is seen as ancient, unnecessary, and even offensive. Most of us, if we are put on the spot, struggle to explain the logic behind our beliefs, which is why don’t bring it up in conversation, hoping we never get asked. Meanwhile, we know we should be able to defend our beliefs, but we don’t know where to start learning how to do so. It makes us ask the questions – how do I better understand why I believe what I believe?

​In his book Mere Christianity, beloved author C.S. Lewis shares his insights on the difficult subject of apologetics as he explains, defends, and persuades in the belief in Christianity from a standpoint of basic logic. Compiled from a series of radio interviews, this book is divided into four books that contain a complete picture of what makes the choice to believe in Christianity a logical decision. Addressing everything from morality to Christian beliefs and behaviors to the Trinity, this book covers a wide variety of topics that will appeal to the well-established believer and the skeptic alike. This book is very well written and is one of the best books available on this subject. Lewis has the incredible ability to take major theological concepts and put them in laymen’s terms but in a way that still satisfies the scholarly mind. The examples and illustrations he uses are written in such a way that they are just as relevant to his audience today as it was when it was first broadcast on the radio. It is also incredible to be reading a book from the perspective of one that formerly claimed to be an atheist. This made his arguments all the more persuasive, since he once convinced of the evidence on the other side. This is evident by the many accounts of many who were once atheists that were influenced by this book. This book is a great apologetic resource that I would recommend this book to anyone.