C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies [Paperback]

Richard J. Wagner (Author)

Book Description

Explore C.S. Lewis's life, works, and the world of Narnia the fun and easy way.

Curious about C.S. Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia? This plain-English guide provides a friendly introduction to the master storyteller and Christian apologist, revealing the meanings behind The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters as well as his other works. You'll also discover why Lewis went from being a confirmed atheist to a committed Christian and how he addressed his beliefs in his writings.

Discover
* How his life influenced his writings
* His friendship with Tolkien and the Inklings
* The parallels between Narnia and Christianity
* His use of allegory and symbolism
* Resources for further exploration

Editorial Reviews

Review

“….an exception…gives a clear, unbiased introduction to Lewis’s work…” (Glasgow Sunday Herald, 27^th November 2005)

From the Author

C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies is a guide and traveling companion as you journey into the life of C.S. Lewis, the enchanted world of Narnia, and his other classic fiction and Christian apologetics works.

This book illuminates the underlying symbolism in Narnia and examines the many parallels between The Chronicles of Narnia and Christianity. C.S. Lewis didn’t dream up a master theological plan and then set about writing fairy tales to fit into that framework. Instead, he simply aimed to tell a good tale. However, because his Christian faith was such an integral part of him, the Christian gospel "came bounding into it." As a result, all the major questions in Narnia are answered by Lewis’s Christian faith: How did Narnia begin? How is sin introduced into the enchanted world? How can traitorous Edmund be restored? How do the children and Narnians live "by faith" in Aslan? How active is Aslan in the lives of his followers? How is Narnia going to end? In this book, I explore these questions and many more.

Beyond Narnia, the book also tackles other great fiction and apologetic books, such as The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, and The Abolition of Man. I don’t merely survey or summarize these works. Instead, I dive into these meaty and often challenging writings and make them approachable and accessible to normal readers.

Finally, the book explores the fascinating life of Lewis, his relationship with Tolkien and the Inklings, and the story on how this died-in-the-wool atheist was transformed into arguably the most influential Christian spokesman since Martin Luther.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (July 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764583816
• ISBN-13: 978-0764583810
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.8 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #878,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I have authored several books, focusing on two very different aspects of my life and professional focus. On the faith front, I am author of "The Expeditionary Man", "The Myth of Happiness", and several "For Dummies" books designed to make meaty truth easily approachable for postmodern readers. These books include "C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies", "Christianity For Dummies", and "Christian Prayer For Dummies".

On the technology front, I have authored several web tech books as well, such as "Adobe AIR For Dummies", "XSLT For Dummies" and "Building Facebook Applications For Dummies".

I work as Senior Developer for Maark, a strategic and interactive B2B marketing firm in Boston. Previously, I was V.P. of Product Development at NetObjects, an Internet software company, as well as inventor/architect of NetObjects ScriptBuilder.

I graduated from Taylor University and pursued graduate studies at American University. Though a native Hoosier, I now live in Princeton, Massachusetts with my wife and three boys.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A celebration of recognition, September 14, 2005

By 

J. vd Hoef "Jeene van der Hoef" (Wijk bij Duurstede, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies (Paperback)

Being rather fond of both the novells and the essays of C.S. Lewis reading books on his work often turns out to be a rather disapointing experience. However interesting to a certain extend, most of them do not catch the reader, dryasdust as they are written.

"C.S. Lewis and Narnia for Dummies" is a good exception to that rule. Taking advantage of the proven "For Dummies" concept Wagners enthousiasm for the work of Lewis really is contageous. Appearantly Wagner has read a lot from Lewis. Without falling into the trap of being to over-detailled he uses his knowledge about Lewis to draw the big lines and add just enough extra information to make it interesting for other "fans" without alienating those for whom even "The Lion, the Wich and the Wardrobe" is a totally new experience.

For me, considering myself as a lover of most of the work of Lewis, "C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies" was a celebration of recognition. I can not judge for those who are not into Lewis yet - I do not dare to call them dummies - but I can imagine for them this book is appealing to get lost in the wonderful fantasy world of Lewis or even try one of the many essays Lewis has written. At least they won't be frightened by a writer who is to seriously. Wagner obviously likes to make a little fun about himself making it more pleasant to follow his argumentation. I couldn't read the book without a smile.
"C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies" is a book only to be surpassed by the original work of Lewis himself. In the light of the actual interest for fantasy in general and C.S. Lewis in particular consider this book as a must if you are not familiar with Lewis yet. And if you are, there is a good chance that you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glimpse of Greatness, July 19, 2005

By 

zoomer "goldrocket" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies (Paperback)

This is a well written and thoughtful introduction to C.S. Lewis. The author walks you thru the life and accomplishments of C.S. Lewis (Known as "Jack" by his friends and admirers).

I plan to re-read the Narnia books, then I will explore some of Jack's other writings.

The second half of the book explores The Chronicles of Narnia, and then discusses some of the deeper writings of C.S. Lewis.

For anyone who wants to better appreciate the writings of C.S. Lewis, this is a great place to start.

I really enjoy using this book as a guide to better understand C.S. Lewis and his life's work.

This book would make an excellent Christmas gift !!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reacquainting Myself with Lewis, April 22, 2006

By 

A. Jaleel (Naperville, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies (Paperback)

I read "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" when I was 9. I think two years later I read, "The Last Battle." I enjoyed both of them. For a long time, I forgot about Narnia, but when the movie version of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" came out, I started thinking about Narnia again. I saw the movie and thought it was quite faithful to the book, as I remember it.

Wagner's book helped me reacquaint myself with Narnia. He also showed me levels of symbolism in Lewis' books that I never saw before. In addition, Wagner talks about the other works of fiction and non-fiction that Lewis wrote. One of the most famous works of fiction by Lewis outside of the Narnia series is "The Screwtape Letters" which is a series of letters from one devil to another on the subject of tempting humans. After reading Wagner's introduction to the book, I really want to read "The Screwtape Letters."

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about C.S. Lewis and his books.