The Quotable Chesterton: The Wit and Wisdom of G.K. Chesterton by Kevin Belmonte (2011)

Before picking up a copy of this book, I knew nothing of G.K. Chesterton beyond that he was a mystery novelist who inspired the likes of Dorothy Sayers. Perhaps I have been reading the wrong genre of books for too long, but I was not aware that Chesterton was also the great Christian apologist of his day, one who inspired other authors in genres beyond mystery. C.S. Lewis himself owed a great deal to Chesterton, for it was through Chesterton’s apologetic works and novels that Lewis began doubting his own agnosticism.

Such a powerful author and such a powerful man, Chesterton certainly is an author worth exploring. For this reason, I was most happy to find a copy of The Quotable Chesterton in my mailbox.

Like any anthologist, Kevin Belmonte has already performed the hard work of mining the books and letters and newspaper articles of old in order to display those most beautiful gems which stand out above the rest. He has formatted this collection of nearly 850 quotes topically in alphabetical order. He has also supplied ten brief biographical or character sketches of Chesterton throughout the book, making this an enjoyably fast-paced, half-organized/half-A.D.D presentation of the wisdom of a man far smarter than those we breed today.

I encourage you to pick up this book for light reading or as a permanent fixture on your bathroom’s reading bookshelf. Use it to remember, enjoy, and even crave for those long-ago times when great men like Chesterton effortlessly exuded wisdom through savvy remarks.

© 2011 E.T.

Read More from G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis:

• The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton (1908)
• C.S. Lewis Nonfiction:
  The Screwtape Letters (1942)
  Reflections on the Psalms (1958)
• C.S. Lewis Space Trilogy:
  Out of the Silent Planet (1938)
  Perelandra (1943)
  That Hideous Strength (1945)
• C.S. Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia: 
  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)
  Prince Caspian (1951)
  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
  The Silver Chair (1953)
  The Horse and His Boy (1954)
  The Magician’s Nephew (1955)
  The Last Battle (1956)
• Other from C.S. Lewis :
  Till We Have Faces (1956)