C.S. Lewis And Narnia For Dummies

by Richard Wagner

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

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Christian

364 pages, Paperback

First published July 14, 2005

About the author

Richard Wagner is author of The Gospel Unplugged (published as Rich Wagner) and several books in the For Dummies series, including Christianity For Dummies and Christian Prayer For Dummies. He is also publisher of Digitalwalk.com, a Web site for challenging and encouraging Christians living in a digital, postmodern age. Richard has been an avid student of C.S. Lewis’s works for over 20 years.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Own it, read most of it, LOVE IT. It includes many of Lewis's most popular works and explains the symbolism in each. I just wish it included more, and went more in depth with some of the other books the way it does with the Narnia books.

[Danae · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

I enjoyed this one. I even learned a few things. :) It's a good reference for C.S. Lewis' writings.

I like that Wagner acknowledges that his readers will not all be Christians, but doesn't attempt to soften Christian themes. And he explains things that those who are not familiar with Christianity might not understand.

There's a pretty glaring error on page 13. Page 12 ends with a complete paragraph, then page 13 has a picture at the top followed by the end of a sentence... I'm surprised that wasn't fixed in editing.

[Abby Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

They let Wagner do the "for dummies" book about Narnia?



What the...? Ugh!!!

Pass!

Just read the "idiot's guide" instead.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful reference!

[Scott Kenney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great in-depth study and review of the life and works of C.S. Lewis.

[Miss Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to C. S. Lewis, Narnia and many of his major works, filled with plenty of information presented in a simple format. For more in-depth biographies and studies, consult the complete bibliography in the back.

Section of Lewis' life from childhood to death, his career and personal relationships. Then on Narnia, The Great Divorce (very helpful to me), Problem of Pain, Till We Have Faces, the Space Trilogy, Mere Christianity and it touches on his views upon politics, marriage, sex, love, life, justice, etc.

Well worth a read or to have as a reference material.

My favorite was Chapter 5: Tour de Narnia: Themes and Literary Approaches.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated this book that gives a great overview of the life of C.S. Lewis, as well as his literary works. While there is a full bibliography at the end of the book (including a brief description for each entry on the list), the most discussed Lewis books are:

-The Chronicles of Narnia
-The Screwtape Letters
-The Great Divorce
-The Space Trilogy
-The Pilgrim's Regress
-Till We Have Faces
-The Problem of Pain
-Mere Christianity
-The Abolition of Man
-The Four Loves

Some parts of this book were better for skimming, and some parts were truly insightful. Overall, i enjoyed this read.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

this has become my narnia reference guide.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

A filling appetizer and complement to CS Lewis's works. I like how the author never avoided Lewis's biases to be 'politically correct'.

[Debbie Broemer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books.

[Julie Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but read through only about 50% of it. I will use it as a future reference when reading his books as it's probably intended.

[Tabitha Sleeger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to read ALL of C.S. Lewis' books now... And re-read his fictions. And read all his recommended books. Thank you Richard Wager.