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G. K. Chesterton: A Biography 1st Edition

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Ian Ker (Author)
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Ian Ker (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 18 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0199601288
ISBN-10: 0199601283
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 736 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (May 12, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0199601283
  • ISBN-13: 978-0199601288
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 1.8 x 6.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #639,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsEncyclopedic
By James G. Bruen Jr. on September 30, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Ian Ker's written an encyclopedic biography of G.K. Chesterton, and therein lies both its strength and its weakness.

The book is extensively and exhaustively researched, easily the most factually thorough biography of Chesterton. Ker throws everything at the reader, sometimes entertainingly and insightfully but at other times the book drags and Ker doesn't distinguish between the forest and the trees such that, for example, the reader almost expects the extended recitation of which towns Chesterton visited on which days to be supplemented by recitation of the daily fare on the menus of the inns, restaurants, and hotels he visited.

Ker painstakingly and seemingly gleefully corrects factual, interpretative, and transcription errors in prior biographys of Chesterton, so it's a bit jarring to see him give erroneous titles to some Chesterton works and render names incorrectly (e.g. George MacDonald's name is sometimes rendered as McDonald).

Most strikingly, Ker quotes from correspondence from George Bernard Shaw concerning the possibility of Shaw reviewing GKC's Irish Impressions in The Irish Statesman: "Shaw wrote to say that it was 'too late' as a printers' strike had meant that the 'first number had to be sent in long ago so as to leave time for setting it up by hand.'" Ker then comments: "Posterity may be entitled to bear those striking printers a grudge for preventing Shaw from reviewing Chesterton on his native land." (p. 398) Posterity need not hold a grudge, however. Shaw did review Chesterton's Irish Impressions in The Irish Statesman. That review is reprinted in G. K. Chesterton: The critical judgments (Antwerp studies in English literature), a book Ker lists among those he consulted.
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5.0 out of 5 starsFine Work
By Gregory on May 27, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition
I prefer to avoid big books -- an aversion which I picked up when I tried to swallow Grant's Memoirs some years ago. So although I'm a Chesterton fan, I picked up this 729-page book with some trepidation. But I found that good things sometime come in big packages -- like this book and its subject. Ker writes well; the material is lively and well organized. I thought I knew everything about GKC -- or at least everything important. But Ker introduced me to features of the Chestertonian landscape which were either new to me or had been hitherto under-appreciated. Unlike some books about saintly people, this one is not sentimentally fawning. But it is sympathetic -- Ker recognizes sanctity and he recognizes genius, both of which reside in the great Gilbert G. Chesterton.
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4.0 out of 5 starsGood book, fantastic subject, with one reservation...
By Benjamin R Marsh on February 11, 2012
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This biography is thoroughly researched and well-written. The author's purpose - promoting Chesterton to a more respectable literary rank than he currently holds in public opinion - finds sufficient support throughout the work. No Chesterton fan or fan of literature in general should skip this one.

I have but one reservation. The author relied so heavily on in-line quotations that I thought the world would run short of quotation marks by the middle of the second chapter. I wish the author has trusted his readers to read Chesterton's works for themselves rather than stuff the book with so many words from the man's works (especially his autobiography). Mr. Ker even notes his extensive usage of quotations in the introduction, as though he knew he used more than he ought.

This may seem like a minor quibble but for fans of reading quickly, the appearance of so many punctuation marks is off-putting. (There is a reason James Joyce hated them!)
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4.0 out of 5 starsHalfway through...
By Canuck Monk on January 4, 2013
Format: Paperback
I admit, I have not yet finished reading this massive biography of this massive writer. However, though I am only halfway through, I feel as if I can still offer an adequate review.

Ian Ker's new biography of G.K. Chesterton is a thorough record and exploration of the life of work of this exceptional Catholic writer. Many Christians today know C.S. Lewis as a brilliant apologist and storyteller but Chesterton (whose book "The Everlasting Man" helped lead Lewis back to faith) was just as good. With this scholarly biography of Chesterton now available, hopefully there will be a resurgence of interest in Chesterton.

Ker offers a detailed recording of Chesterton's life, recounting his childhood, his education and his conversion to Christianity as a young man and his entrance into the Catholic Church in particular later in his life. I have only yet arrived at the chapter on his conversion to Catholicism. Ker also writes about his trips abroad to the Holy Land and to the United States. Several key events in Chesterton's life, like the Marconi scandal, the First World War and the death of his younger brother are also recorded, along with Chesterton's rise in English society and his relationships with his contemporaries such as George Bernard Shaw and Hilaire Belloc. A few of the chapters focus exclusively around Chesterton's work, such as "Orthodoxy" and "The Everlasting Man"; here, Ker quotes extensively from Chesterton's work, demonstrating how Chesterton viewed the world and offering analysis of Chesterton's thought. Spread sporadically throughout the book is commentary and engagement with Chesterton's minor works such as "What's Wrong With The World" (which is one of my favourite GKC books).

I rate this biography 4/5 for several reasons.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA wide view of a very wide subject.

This is a fresh exposition on a vast subject. Chesterton wrote an enormous amount and led an active social life. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Mr. C de Barra
5.0 out of 5 starsOne of the Very Best Biographies of the Great Chesterton

Ian Ker is a wonder. His biographies of G.K. Chesterton and John Henry Newman are pretty near definitive.

Published 2 months ago by Robert J. Hutchinson
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A wonderfully detailed biography about a wonderful personality.

Published 10 months ago by Anne
5.0 out of 5 starsHaving read with great pleasure Ian Ker's biography of Newman I was...

Having read with great pleasure Ian Ker's biography of Newman I was looking forward to a similar experience this time. I was not disappointed. Read more

Published 14 months ago by Pablo Leizaola
5.0 out of 5 starsIan Kerr has written an excellent biography of G

Ian Kerr has written an excellent biography of G.K. Chesterton. It is, and most assuredly, a work that we can trust for its accuracy and fidelity regarding both the thought and... Read more

Published 15 months ago by Ben Yonan
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great Book, fascinating. Excellent condition, but I wish that I had bought a Hard Cover.

Published 15 months ago by drp
5.0 out of 5 starsA Personal Biography

This biography, it seems, fits the character of the man. It is light without being dismissive. It is detailed without being oppressive. Read more

Published on June 18, 2014 by B. Marold
1.0 out of 5 starsDisappointment with Kindle version

Having read the glowing reviews of this biography, I must submit a contrary opinion. This book is the first Kindle version that I have read that did not "translate" well. Read more

Published on January 4, 2014 by Niki B
5.0 out of 5 starsAll You Ever Wanted To Know About GKC

A very thorough and scholarly book as I would have expected from Ian Kerr. It is a book to be read slowly in order to get the full effect of this extraordinary man, - PJM

Published on July 7, 2013 by Patrick J. McCormick
5.0 out of 5 starslove it

I must admit this is the best biography of G.K. Chesterton I have read. It is insightful, inspiring and entertaining. Read more

Published on February 6, 2013 by will

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