Letters to an American Lady

Rating:
Summary: All-consuming encouragement from a humble man...
Review: I read this book when I was just a teenager and I still refer to it for its profound yet gentle encouragement and open-hearted sincerity. Beautiful book by a beautiful Christian man who lived and practiced his faith. His humility and sweet nature are very evident in the pages of this little book.

Rating:
Summary: All-consuming encouragement from a humble man...
Review: I read this book when I was just a teenager and I still refer to it for its profound yet gentle encouragement and open-hearted sincerity. Beautiful book by a beautiful Christian man who lived and practiced his faith. His humility and sweet nature are very evident in the pages of this little book.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting look at the real Lewis
Review: Of course CS Lewis has proven to be the most popular Christian author of the 20th century. And for good reason. He's articulate, well-reasoned, and he certainly has a way with words. This book gives an inside look at Lewis as he corresponds with an American woman whom he apparently never met. The letters were written between 1950 until he died in 1963. If you like reading other peoples' mail (what is it, esp. we Americans have, with such things?), then this can make for interesting reading. Much of what he says here, though, is pretty trivial and doesn't get very deep. But if you want a personal glimpse of Lewis, its probably worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: an excellent view of Lewis's Life from his own hand
Review: The reader formulates his own opinion of the American lady and embraces the opportunity to be in the circle of friends of CS Lewis, from his bachelor days to the death of his beloved wife.

Rating:
Summary: A Unique Personal Glimpse at C. S. Lewis
Review: This book is a collection of letters written by C. S. Lewis to an American woman during the last 13 years of his life. I found it pretty dull reading at first. The book only contains Lewis' half of the conversation and most of the letters are pretty short or deal with trivial matters. But, for those who are interested in a more of a personal glimpse of Lewis there are some interesting insights offered: Like what he thought about what journalists have written about him in papers and magazines, his correspondence during the years of his marriage to Joy Davidman (and after her death), the heaviness of the load of correspondence he carried on with many people. Lewis appears to have seen letter writing as more of a duty than a pleasure. He often complained that the load of personal mail made his life miserable, especially at Christmastime. Yet he seems to have faithfully read and answered all those letters.

Toward the end of the book the letters get more lengthy and and interesting. I was particularly struck by Lewis' attitude toward dying. He was able to look forward to his eventual death with a genuine hope and longing for the better world beyond these "shadowlands" and he was able to encourage this lady along those lines through the problems they both had with aging and poor health. I hope such a mature attitude of faith will be mine also when my time comes. It is the hallmark of a life lived for the glory and love of God.

Rating:
Summary: A Unique Personal Glimpse at C. S. Lewis
Review: This book is a collection of letters written by C. S. Lewis to an American woman during the last 13 years of his life. I found it pretty dull reading at first. The book only contains Lewis' half of the conversation and most of the letters are pretty short or deal with trivial matters. But, for those who are interested in a more of a personal glimpse of Lewis there are some interesting insights offered: Like what he thought about what journalists have written about him in papers and magazines, his correspondence during the years of his marriage to Joy Davidman (and after her death), the heaviness of the load of correspondence he carried on with many people. Lewis appears to have seen letter writing as more of a duty than a pleasure. He often complained that the load of personal mail made his life miserable, especially at Christmastime. Yet he seems to have faithfully read and answered all those letters.

Toward the end of the book the letters get more lengthy and and interesting. I was particularly struck by Lewis' attitude toward dying. He was able to look forward to his eventual death with a genuine hope and longing for the better world beyond these "shadowlands" and he was able to encourage this lady along those lines through the problems they both had with aging and poor health. I hope such a mature attitude of faith will be mine also when my time comes. It is the hallmark of a life lived for the glory and love of God.

Rating:
Summary: Informal and easy going correspondence
Review: This correspondence between Lewis and an American lady was neither of poor nor outstanding quality. Average reading.