G.K. Chesterton was a man of wonderful wit and poetic charm. He put his talents to use and defended the Church even before he became a Catholic. I just finished reading G.K. Chesterton: Apostle of Common Sense and I was amazed at the power of his words and his ability to excite the imagination. Why do I tell you this? I just wanted to know what others thought of his philosophy and his writings and whether he has influenced anyone else as much as me(he is a large reason why I have accepted Catholicism as true) and what they think about him. So, if anyone has found Chesterton a powerful influence in their understanding of the Faith I would be excited to hear about it.

-- j.d. brabant (joshua123@qwest.net), March 13, 2004

Answers

-- (_@_._), March 13, 2004.

Yes, Chesterton is a fabulous writer. His conversion story is fascinating. He describes so well the emotional crisis one can go through in their journey into the faith. I remember he described it as a magnetic pull in which one, eventually, can no longer resist.

Gail

-- Gail (rothfarms@socket.net), March 13, 2004.

Yes,
My first encounter with G.K. Chesterton was around 1959-60. It was his thrilling book, ''The Everlasting Man.'' Later on I read Orthodoxy, a fine book; as well as his lesser books. Reading Chesterton is FUN! His writing style has passed away now; very lavish and purple. His grace and wit will not soon pass, though.

-- eugene c. chavez (loschavez@pacbell.net), March 13, 2004.

Gail,

What is the name of the book about Chesterton's conversion? It sounds very interesting.

MaryLu

-- MaryLu (mlc327@juno.com), March 13, 2004.

'The Everlasting Man.' Later on I read Orthodoxy, a fine book; as well as his lesser books.

GKC was such a prolific writer that you probably just barely scratched the surface.

Ignatius Press has long been in the midst of a multi-year project of re-publishing the vast array of works by Chesterton. Enter "Chesterton" as a "search" value, check in the "category" of "books," with "search by" set to "author," on this page.

-- (Gilbert@Keith.com), March 14, 2004.

MaryLu, I can't remember the name of the book. You can read it on- line somewhere. I'll look and see if I can find it.

Here's a link to a quick on-line autobiography (of sorts) which contains multitudes of his quotes. http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ79.HTM

Gail

-- Gail (rothfarms@socket.net), March 14, 2004.

That link I provided has MONUMENTAL writings by and about Chesterton! Great stuff. There's enough stuff there to keep you reading for YEARS!

-- Gail (rothfarms@socket.net), March 14, 2004.

You are so right, Gail. I visited the link you gave us and I spent quite a long time on it. I've been a Chesterton fan since my youth ( I began with his Father Brown stories and then I went to more serious reading). Thank you.

Enrique

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), March 19, 2004.