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The Quotable Chesterton: The Wit and Wisdom of G.K. Chesterton [Paperback]

Kevin Belmonte
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)

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Book Description

January 4, 2011

G. K. Chesterton was a literary giant of his age. With an exceptional intellect, he wrote about history, politics, economics, philosophy, social and literary criticism, and theology. He published essays, novels, biographies, short stories, and poetry, and the Christian classics Heretics, Orthodoxy, and The Everlasting Man, which C. S. Lewis credits as instrumental in his conversion to Christianity.

With much of his finest material out of print or hard to find, modern readers have long needed a standard collection of his best thoughts. Kevin Belmonte’s The Quotable Chesterton brings them to you arranged alphabetically by topic, with complete original source documentation.

There are entries from Adventure to Cheese, Politics to Émile Zola, interspersed with essays about Chesterton’s life and times. Hundreds of passages drawn from Chesterton’s fiction, poetry, essays, and other books showcase a man the New York Times hailed as a “brilliant English essayist” and George Bernard Shaw called a “colossal genius.”

Endorsements:

“There isn’t a writer who gets me pacing and smiling and thinking like G.K. Chesterton. His every paradigm shift is an adjustment to my mental compass, and so a gift.” —DONALD MILLER, author of the New York Times bestsellers A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and Blue Like Jazz

“Over the years, I have delivered thousands of lectures, speeches, talks, and sermons; I have written hundreds of articles, essays, books, and reviews; it is an exceedingly rare occasion when any of them should fail to contain the words ‘Chesterton once said.’ Kevin Belmonte here reveals that fountain of wit, wisdom, and wonder, G.K. Chesterton, in all his irresistibly, irrepressibly, quotable splendor.”—GEORGE GRANT, Pastor, Parish Presbyterian Church, and Chancellor, New College Franklin


Frequently Bought Together

The Quotable Chesterton: The Wit and Wisdom of G.K. Chesterton + Defiant Joy: The Remarkable Life & Impact of G.K. Chesterton + The Wisdom of Mr Chesterton
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kevin Belmonte holds a BA in English Literature and two MA's in Church History and American and New England studies. He is the author of several books including William Wilberforce: A Hero for Humanity and winner of the prestigious John Pollock Award for Christian Biography.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 4, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1595552057
  • ISBN-13: 978-1595552051
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 7.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #634,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Chesterton, the Epitome of Quotability January 4, 2011
Format:Paperback
"Brevity is the soul of wit," wrote Shakespeare; "but it would be quite as true to say in such cases that lengthiness is the soul of satire," added G.K. Chesterton. In Chesterton we have a master of satire, and as he would later come to be known, the Prince of Paradox. This is a fine collection of Chesterton quotes, from both his fiction and non-fiction. The author has even interspersed short articles describing Chesterton's various authorial hats that he wore throughout his lifetime. These can be interesting, though they seem to be a little out of place, landing in between a slew of Chesterton quotes. As far as catholicity of the included quotes, the author has done a fine job, although I was sad to see some of my favorite quotes absent. Considering, however, the enormous task of compiling a compendium of quotes from this enormous author, Belmonte has done well with the amount of pages he has dedicated to the task. I would love to see this volume as a springboard for a more thorough and elaborate collection to be arranged in the future.

The format of the book is quite nice, as the quotes are sequenced alphabetically. This is most suitable due to the vast subject matter that Chesterton addressed, and makes for quick reference during debate, conversation, or soiree. Entertain your friends and become the life of the party as you channel Chesterton's brilliance, but be prepared to be misunderstood, as many of his thoughts require reflection and explanation. Better yet, read his books; but then again, if you've bought this collection of quotes in the first place, odds are you are already a Chesterton fan.

If you have not yet had the pleasure of reading anything by Chesterton, I would suggest starting with "Manalive" as far as his fiction goes, or "Heretics"/"Orthodoxy" for non-fiction. Also, be sure to check out the American Chesterton Society's website, chesterton.org, for tons of information about this literary and philosophical giant. My gratitude to Booksneeze for providing me with this ARC.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Quick breeze through Chesterton's summary statements January 3, 2011
Format:Paperback
If you're like me, your first question was: Chesterwho? Well, Belmonte has another book out right now that's a biography of Chesterton, so I'll just give you a short bio. Chesterton was primarily a literary critic at the end of the 19th Century and beginning of the 20th. He was also a Christian. He wrote, spoke, and was renowned for his insights into a great many things. The main thing I remember his name attached to was that, when a London newspaper asked the question "What is wrong with the world? Who is to blame for our problems?" and Chesteron replied: "I am." (or something of the sort.) Wit, wisdom, and writing make for the three parts of Chesterton, from what I can tell.

So, this book is actually a collection of quotes from Chesterton's various writings. They are organized by topic and listed alphabetically. A few of them are more than two paragraphs, but most of the quotes are a paragraph or shorter.

Strengths? The first is by nature of the book: the short quips and condensed wisdom are there to be found without having to read the whole books. The second is that Belmonte has endnoted each quote for reference purposes. There can be no question if Chesterton wrote each thing attributed to him, since it can be easily referenced.

Weaknesses? Just a couple that I noticed. 1.) Context issues. Just as an observation, Chesterton lived in England, and much of his commentary comes from the perspective of a lifelong Londoner. I'd like to see a few footnotes to clear up historical context where the quotes reference a definite geographic location or current event in Chesterton's time. 2.) Also a type of context issue, and that is there are some quotes lifted from Chesterton's novels. Having not read them, it's hard to place the character names referenced. Now, I recognize that this is the fault of my own barbaric lack of reading, but many other readers might have slipped in this manner as well. I'm not sure how Belmonte could have remedied this short of providing synopses of each novel, so it's probably just going to remain a drawback. Instead, since many Chesterton's complete works are free on Kindle, I'll be catching up that way.

The question of usefulness of this book is kind of a toss-up. If you're looking for a good quote or two to fill in a speech or spice up your writing, it's a good source. However, in some circles, you'll be met with the same opening question you had for me: Chesterwho?

If you've got time to enlighten your audience, though, it's worth it for them to know him, because it's well worth you reading him.

Doug
Note: Free book received from publisher through their review program in exchange for review. No money, no influence, just a free book. Check with Booksneeze for more details.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on Chesterton January 3, 2011
Format:Paperback
Kevin Belmonte has paid an amazing tribute to G.K. Chesterton in his book `The Quotable Chesterton'. I just wish I was intelligent enough to appreciate it as much as my husband does, being that he's a huge fan.

The entire book is first class, beginning with the Introduction, through the quotes (which are incredibly varied and meaty), and to the end with the Notes section. Belmonte has done a beautiful job of sharing Chesterton's faith and talent in a way that's rarely seen anymore. The thing is, the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century gave us writers of a quality who are a rarity these days. Chesterton is one of those treasures, and the more we can be re-introduced to him, the better.

And while I can't even imagine the man behind the words, being that I hold Chesterton, Lewis, and MacDonald in such high regard, I would like to share my favorite and maybe Chesterton's simplest quote,

"Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese."

I concur.

(i received this book free to review from thomas nelson/booksneeze)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars The Quotable Chesterton
Kevin Belmonte's The Quotable Chesterton is a collection of quotes from the writings of the late great Christian writer G. K. Chesterton. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Aisling Ali
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Brilliant
G. K. Chesterton is a name that may not be familiar, but I would encourage you to get to know him and his writings. Read more
Published 4 months ago by The Simple Life
4.0 out of 5 stars Wit & Wisdom
"The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost." Wisdom from Chesterton

This book is especially pertinent today, when less people are reading the works of... Read more
Published 13 months ago by dyllon
4.0 out of 5 stars GK Chesterton
This book, The Quotable Chesterton: The Wit and Wisdom of G.K. Chesterton by Kevin Belmonte is a compilation of some of G.K. Read more
Published 19 months ago by TheWiffs
4.0 out of 5 stars The Quotable Chesterton - A Review
The Quotable Chesterton, The Wit and Wisdom of G.K.Chesterton by Kevin Belmonte is a must have book if you have any interest at all in life, wisdom, the Bible, the Christian faith... Read more
Published 20 months ago by L. Marsh
5.0 out of 5 stars awesome book through booksneeze...
Lately I have been reading "The Quotable Chesterton" by Kevin Belmonte. I absolutely love this book. It is in alphabetical order with topics that start with "A" to "Z". Read more
Published 21 months ago by rainydaywriter
4.0 out of 5 stars Quotable Chesterton- worth quoting!
Editor, Kevin Belmonte has assembled over 850 passages from many of Chesterton's brilliant books and published letters. Read more
Published 22 months ago by diane h
4.0 out of 5 stars The Quotable Chesterton: A Review
G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was a sharp-witted British author famous for his genial sense of humor and unconventional way of stating truth. Read more
Published 22 months ago by wisewoman
4.0 out of 5 stars Best Thoughts from the Prince of Paradox
The man had a way with words. An inexhaustible store of clever sentences poured from his lips and his pen. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Missions Catalyst
4.0 out of 5 stars The Quotable Chesterton, edited by Kevin Belmonte
This volume contains quotes from G. K. Chesterton on every imaginable subject. Belmonte did an excellent job of selecting quotations from many genres of Chesterton's work. Read more
Published on May 14, 2011 by A. Gubbins
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