Chesterton Day by Day: The Wit and Wisdom of G. K. Chesterton (Paperback)

~ G. K. Chesterton (Author), (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Here's a delightful collection of G. K. Chesterton quotes from 1900 to 1911, one for each day of the year--all selected by Chesterton himself. Every word of his 1912 classic is in this newly typeset edition. There are also newly created notes shedding light on events from his day that have been dimmed by the passage of time. In addition, there is a bibliography of sources and a detailed 17-page index to guide you to the quotes you need. Finally, there are several humorous sketches by Chesterton.

This book was previously published in the U.K. in 1911 as A Chesterton Calendar and in the U.S. in 1912 as The Wit and Wisdom of G. K. Chesterton. It includes Chapter 13, "The Movable Feasts," which was left out of the U.S. edition.

About the Author

For any author, much less a 'rolicking' journalist often caught up in the passing controversies of his day, the writings of G. K. Chesterton have shown remarkable staying power. During his life, this talented British writer was the private friend and public foe of writers such as George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells. Two-thirds of a century after his death, the ideas of Shaw and Wells seem curiously quaint and dated, while Chesterton's writings remain fresh as the day they were written. That's why many of Wells later and more political writings are out of print while more and more of what Chesterton wrote is finding its way back onto the shelves of bookstores.

The reason simple. Chesterton is one of the most quotable writers of the twentieth-century. He has an incredible knack for capturing in a few concise and memorable words what other authors labor and groan to say over many pages. Lengthy books have been written to explain the essence of Fascism and its close kin Nazism. Few have come as close as Chesterton did when he remarked that, "The intellectual criticism of Fascism is really this: that it appeals to an appetite for authority, without very clearly giving the authority for the appetite." That is Hitler's "Fuhrer Principle" in a nutshell, and why so many followed the German dictator into madness.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 147 pages
• Publisher: Inkling Books; 1st edition (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587420147
• ISBN-13: 978-1587420146
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #735,491 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars G.K Chesterton, March 14, 2006

By	Mary Katie Marshall "violin girl" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book for my grandmother and she loves it. It's hard for her to sit and read for a lond piriod of time. This book is nice because it has one little reading for every day. I would highly recomend this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lost in a different generation, January 12, 2008

By	Francis J. Foyt (Kennebunk, ME USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Chesterton Day by Day: The Wit and Wisdom of G. K. Chesterton (Hardcover)

I bought this book because I had been enthralled by my, admittedly brief, introduction to some of Chestreton's work.

"Day by Day" provides many pearls of wit and wisdom yet there are many also that are so couched in his time and culture that they are lost to a different generation.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The quotes were selected by Chesterton himself, so they represent what he thought was important., January 16, 2007

By	Kendal B. Hunter (Provo, UT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Chesterton Day by Day: The Wit and Wisdom of G. K. Chesterton (Hardcover)

This book serves two purposes. It is intended to be a daily devotional (like Oswald Chambers "My Utmost For His Highest"), focusing on G. K. Chesterton's wit and wisdom. The quotes were selected by Chesterton himself, so they represent what he thought was important, as opposed to reading another person's second-guessings.

One good point is that it has moveable feasts in an appendix, like Lewis's "The Business of Heaven." A down point is that the book lacks an entry for Leap Day. This is a common mistake made by all devotionals I own, except for Chambers's. If you are smart enough to include the Roman Catholic feast days (which you would expect from Chesterton), then why can't you remember Leap Day? It is beyond me!

The second purpose of the book is an unintentional one. This book serves as a de-facto quote book. I love quote books, since they serve as random sampler for a person's thought. C. S. Lewis said, "The only use of selections is to deter those readers who will never appreciate the original, and thus save them from wasting their time on it, and to send all the others on the original as quickly as possible." (The Quotable Lewis, #447)

This book accomplishes both: it is a wonderful daily devotional, and it whets the appetite for more.