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Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis
by
George Sayer
As I walked away from New Buildings, I found the man that Lewis had called "Tollers" sitting on one of the stone steps in front of the arcade.
"How did you get on?" he asked.
"I think rather well. I think he will be a most interesting tutor to have."
"Interesting? Yes, he's certainly that," said the man, who I later learned was J. R. R. Tolkien. "You'll never get to the botto ...more
"How did you get on?" he asked.
"I think rather well. I think he will be a most interesting tutor to have."
"Interesting? Yes, he's certainly that," said the man, who I later learned was J. R. R. Tolkien. "You'll never get to the botto ...more
Paperback, 457 pages
Published
June 20th 2005
by Crossway Books
(first published June 1st 1988)
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(showing 1-30)
Derek Brewer, one of Lewis' onetime pupils, records that a Cambridge professor once said that Lewis was "a very good man to whom goodness did not come easily." This biography seconds that opinion: it presents Lewis as having a troubled life, but one that was continuously offered up to the Lord as a sacrifice. In the appendix, written a decade after its intial publication, Sayer addresses several alternate biographies that had appeared of Lewis since: he says that the very real ugliness of much o
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I have been reading this book on and off since Thanksgiving. I love C.S. Lewis and was excited to read this biography. However, the author dwells too much on Lewis's sexuality and assumes too much about Lewis's writing. The personal tidbits were interesting. I can't say I cared much for the other analysis, however.
Overall, a book I wanted to enjoy but can't really say I did. I definitely want to find something else on Lewis now.
Overall, a book I wanted to enjoy but can't really say I did. I definitely want to find something else on Lewis now.
I liked the latter half of this better than the first. This biography was well done and it felt like it was written with love and respect for C. S. Lewis.
The first half dealt with his childhood and his entrance into the adult world. C.S. Lewis, aka Jack, had some difficult things to endure. I've heard that he is the most oft quoted person in Christian religions. So I was kind of surprised to hear that he actually walked away from religion because of some things he was dealing with. But he came b ...more
The first half dealt with his childhood and his entrance into the adult world. C.S. Lewis, aka Jack, had some difficult things to endure. I've heard that he is the most oft quoted person in Christian religions. So I was kind of surprised to hear that he actually walked away from religion because of some things he was dealing with. But he came b ...more
Not much new here, but I wanted to get more personal info about Mr. Lewis and from someone other than himself (see Surprised By Joy).
C.S. Lewis and his great friends have done an excellent job of keeping certain details of his life private, even decades after his death. Can't say that I blame him for his discretion (Louisa May Alcott, for example, entrusted her diaries and letters to a friend with the instruction they be destroyed upon her death. Well, yeah, you can read them all in various publ ...more
C.S. Lewis and his great friends have done an excellent job of keeping certain details of his life private, even decades after his death. Can't say that I blame him for his discretion (Louisa May Alcott, for example, entrusted her diaries and letters to a friend with the instruction they be destroyed upon her death. Well, yeah, you can read them all in various publ ...more
C.S. Lewis was first known to me through his children's books on Narnia. I've since become introduced to him as a Christian philosopher. As a biblical theologian, Lewis, by his own admission, was an amateur. As a thinker, he has few rivals.
All biographies or books on history will be necessarily limited to the knowledge, perspective, and biases of the author. George Sayer was a close personal friend of Lewis. While his observations and comments on Lewis and his friends/family are fascinating, it ...more
All biographies or books on history will be necessarily limited to the knowledge, perspective, and biases of the author. George Sayer was a close personal friend of Lewis. While his observations and comments on Lewis and his friends/family are fascinating, it ...more
Jack is an affectionate biography of CS Lewis by George Sayer, once a student, then a friend, of Lewis. This is an engaging, and warm look at Lewis and his writing. Sayer lays out Lewis life, and books, but what ultimately comes across is the joy and faith that characterized so much of both the public and private man. Reading this I felt that I knew something of the man, and not just the dry facts of his life but rather a bit like we had a long chat over tea on a rainy day. Strongly recommended.
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Our Sunday School Class has used this book for a base of study of the many effects that CS Lewis has had on the Christian. It is the most comprehensive biography of CS "Jack" Lewis written by someone who actually knew him and spent time with him for over 30 years. Not only does it give the reader an understanding of what and why Lewis wrote like he did. It also gives a perspective of life during the early 20th century in England. I also gained a better understanding of much classical literature
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A good general biography of Lewis, though perhaps a little obessessed with Lewis' sexual habits. I swear there was a whole chapter on whether or not Lewis and his wife had sex before they got married.
Woehoee! Had deze van Christijn geleend en stond al minstens een jaar in de kast. In de maanden voor vertrek toch begonnen en de weken ervoor aan speedreading gedaan, maar net niet uit. En iedere keer als ik een boek updatete zag ik deze titel erbij staan, dus mijn vreugde was zeer groot toen ik 'm in de Karabieb zag staan. Uit!
The beauty of his mind is what captivates people who read anything by C S Lewis. Reading his biography is like trying to see how and where that beauty came from. This biography, written by an intimate friend, shows that C S Lewis had a very unextraordinary life. He grew up, went to school, served in the military, hired on as a professor, gave lectures and wrote. None of these events show the beauty like the books he wrote. What they do show is that he was injured by an abusive teacher right afte
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I can't imagine a better biography of C S Lewis. George Sayer was a pupil of Lewis at Oxford and came to be one of the author's best friends. Over the years Mr Sayer even became a sort of advisor to Lewis and assisted him through his illness is later years as well as estate matters.
George Sayer, also a professor, came to know Lewis's friends such as J R R Tolkien and others. He Researched and fully describes his childhood, his brother Warren's childhood and subsequent alcoholism, and everything ...more
George Sayer, also a professor, came to know Lewis's friends such as J R R Tolkien and others. He Researched and fully describes his childhood, his brother Warren's childhood and subsequent alcoholism, and everything ...more
I found the book itself dry and boring, but the subject is interesting so I skimmed through much of it.
Sayers's book is insightful, informative and at times, funny. For someone interested in literature and literary interpretation, and especially of classical and medieval literature, this is a must-read, because of how Sayer highlights Lewis's literary influences and scholarly conversations. Sayer draws upon numerous first-hand experiences, conversations, and letters, but writes in a way that immerses the reader in Lewis's world. In fact the experience for me evoked the "longing" so central to Lew
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Great book written by a friend of C.S. Lewis that is really helpful in understanding the man, C.S. Lewis. Although he would reject this kind of literary criticism (calling it "the personal heresy), his biography sheds light on some of Lewis' writings for me.
As a biography, this book seems mostly unbiased and does, in fact, cover some of Lewis' shortcomings and addresses all the main moral issues that are generally brought up regarding him.
There are certainly things that I wish Sayer would have ...more
As a biography, this book seems mostly unbiased and does, in fact, cover some of Lewis' shortcomings and addresses all the main moral issues that are generally brought up regarding him.
There are certainly things that I wish Sayer would have ...more
A fascinating biography written by a student/friend of Lewis. I appreciated the fact that Sayer portrays Lewis with warts and all, not hesitating to point out his virtues and his flaws. At times, the book gets a bit bogged down describing in detail trips that Lewis took, the layout of his house, and stories he wrote as a child. Those things are probably only for the die hard Lewis fan. I'd have preferred more information on other things, like his friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien, for instance. Rea
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Of the several bios of Lewis that I've read, this is my very favorite. For some inexplicable reason, I feel like reading it every fall.
Sayer was a student of Lewis's at Oxford, and the two became good friends until Lewis's death. Over the years, Lewis would periodically come stay with Sayer and his wife at Malvern so that the two men could take walking tours in the Malvern hills.
Sayer includes a lot of great anecdotes. One of my favorite aspects of the book is that Sayer records in detail the ...more
Sayer was a student of Lewis's at Oxford, and the two became good friends until Lewis's death. Over the years, Lewis would periodically come stay with Sayer and his wife at Malvern so that the two men could take walking tours in the Malvern hills.
Sayer includes a lot of great anecdotes. One of my favorite aspects of the book is that Sayer records in detail the ...more
This book offers a pretty thorough biography of C. S. Lewis. I thought quite a bit of attention was paid to the dysfunctional aspects of his personality and it was a trifle disconcerting to think that someone so widely admired could have deep--and rather unresolved--psychological issues. However, it's also comforting to think that someone of the stature of C. S. Lewis managed to contribute a great deal to the world in spite his limitations. I would recommend it as one good biography of Lewis, bu
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Written by a former student and lifelong good friend, this biography was a sheer pleasure to read. Where other bios (McGrath's is excellent) do a great job of laying out the facts and timelines and settings and details of Lewis's life, this one allows the reader to know the man through the eyes of a friend. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of his daily habits and routines, his love of walking and nature and ale and cheese, his take on relationships, and the thought processes behind his bo
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This is one of my favorite biographies written about one of my favorite authors. One of the most fascinating parts is how he came to write the Narnia series. He was very proud of his logical argument to defend the existence of God (i.e. that naturalism is self-defeating) but was shattered after he lost (or so he felt) a debate with Cambridge philosopher. After that, he stopped writing apologetics, giving up on logic as a way to lead people to God and turned instead to reaching the heart through
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I really enjoyed this book and even though I am not a literary expert by any means, I was able to keep up most of the time. It is very thorough and because the author was a friend of Jack's, it felt very authentic and gave quite a view of some private issues of his life. I will keep this book and while reading more of C.S. Lewis' writing, I plan on returning to each section of his life that led to writing each particular work. Highly recommended.
Touching and personal, like hearing of a good friend over a glass of port. George Sayers nearly 30-year friendship with "Jack" gives us a window into "the patron saint of evangelicalism" that no other biography does. It shows the warm, richly gracious man who is often seen as an untouchable intellectual giant.
Along with Douglas Gresham's Lenten Lands, which isn't actually a Lewis Biography anyway, this is probably the introduction to CS Lewis most beginners should start with. Accurate, thorough, and well written. More detailed review later.
This biography of C.S. Lewis appealed to me as a former student of literature and as a Christian. I learned a lot about C.S. Lewis, but above all I was amazed at his humility and kindness when he had such an awesome intelligence.
If you're going to read a biography on CS Lewis, this is the book to read! Written by a close friend who shares intimate details about his life, you really feel as if you know who CS Lewis was.
Sayer knew Lewis well, was a student of his and then became a friend. This gives great insight into all of Lewis' character.
The author dwelt too much on C. S. Lewis's faults. It also seemed pretty dry and boring and depressing.
Over the years, I have read most of the works written by C.S. Lewis. However, I realized recently that I knew little of the man himself. My favorite writer, the man I wish could be my grandfather and tell me the very stories he wrote, was mostly a mystery to me. So I began the work of finding a suitable biography to describe the author behind the words I love so much. I settled upon George Sayer’s, Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis.
Sayer was a student at Magdalen College, a member of Oxford University, ...more
Sayer was a student at Magdalen College, a member of Oxford University, ...more
JACK
This is a very good book about an amazing man.
I learned a lot about CS (Jack) Lewis from this book. It was nice to read a book written by someone who knew him personally.
I learned:
- He loved poetry.
– He grew up in Ireland.
- He did not own his main home, the Kilns. It was owned by Mrs. Moore, but he was able to live in it until the end of his life.
- He had many friends and he was very witty.
– He was very close, throughout his life, with his brother Warren.
– His brother Warren was an alcohol ...more
This is a very good book about an amazing man.
I learned a lot about CS (Jack) Lewis from this book. It was nice to read a book written by someone who knew him personally.
I learned:
- He loved poetry.
– He grew up in Ireland.
- He did not own his main home, the Kilns. It was owned by Mrs. Moore, but he was able to live in it until the end of his life.
- He had many friends and he was very witty.
– He was very close, throughout his life, with his brother Warren.
– His brother Warren was an alcohol ...more
I believe it was Douglas Greshem, Lewis' stepson who wrote in the preface to "A Grief Observed" that this biography by George Sayer was the best that he knew of. Being an accomplished literary man surrounded by plenty of other accomplished literary friends, it seems chances were high that we'd get an insightful, readable and thoroughly-researched set of reminiscences and biography from somebody. As a former student, but even more importantly, as a longtime friend of C.S. Lewis Sayer does a wonde
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Dec 30, 2009
Nathan Eilers
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
Lewis fans
Shelves:
proof-i-read-nonfiction
I'm not a big biography guy. I don't think the number of biographies I've read is in the double digits, so I don't feel super qualified to discuss this book's merits as a biography per se. There are certain things a biographer must do: decide what to include, give personal anecdotes of the subject, and shape the subject's life in a (hopefully accurate) certain way. I think Sayer does those things.
I suppose any critic would say that Sayer is simply a Lewis apologist. Whatever controversies exist ...more
I suppose any critic would say that Sayer is simply a Lewis apologist. Whatever controversies exist ...more
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“And once when we were walking on Bredon Hill, we met a bedraggled and exhausted fox. 'Oh, poor thing,' Jack said. 'What shall we do when the hunt comes up? I can already hear them. Oh, I know -- I have an idea.' He cupped his hands and shouted to the first riders, "Hallo, yoicks, gone that way," and pointed in the direction opposite to the one the fox had taken. The whole hunt followed his directions. There followed a long discussion about when lying was morally justifiable, but he boasted delightedly later to my wife that he had saved the life of a poor fox and showed no trace of guilt.”
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“He valued these experiences of joy more than anything else he had known, and he desired, as all who have experienced them desire, to have them again and again. It was this mystical quality that set him apart from other boys. He was surprised by joy. He spent the rest of his life searching for more of it.”
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