From Library Journal
The late Lewis, Oxford professor, scholar, author, and Christian apologist, presents the listener with a case for orthodox Christianity. This is definitely not the shouting, stomping, sweating, spitting televangelist fare so often parodied; Lewis employs logical arguments that are eloquently expressed. He describes those doctrines that the four major denominations in Britain (Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic) would have in common, e.g., original sin, the transcendent Creator God, and the divinity of Jesus as well as his atonement and bodily resurrection. Geoffrey Howard reads both works, and his performance is superb; he is clear and unhurried, giving just the right emphasis and/or inflection. The volume on the Blackstone edition is recorded at a higher level than HarperAudio's. Otherwise there were no perceived differences in the recordings. If your institution can afford it, the Blackstone production would be preferred because of its sturdy case and the announcement of side changes. Whether or not one agrees with Lewis's arguments, it is a pleasure to hear such a skillful reading of an eloquent work. Public libraries as well as institutions that teach religion/theology or speech should consider. Michael T. Fein, Central Virginia Community Coll., Lynchburg Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Considered a significant twentieth-century book by Christians of various traditions of faith, MERE CHRISTIANITY is well-suited to being read because the book is a revised version of some addresses given by Lewis, an Oxford literature professor, on the BBC in the early 1940s. Thus, the text, which makes an argument for Christianity, was written in an informal, conversational style. With his tenor voice, Howard sounds like a friendly academic and reads with appropriate pauses and emphasis. His subdued Oxbridge (the English accent of Oxford and Cambridge) accent is inviting and pleasant, showing none of the pretention one might expect from an Oxford don. M.L.C. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Times Literary Supplement
"He has a unique power for making theology an attractive, exciting, and fascinating quest."


The New Yorker
"If wit, and wisdom, style and scholarship are requisites...Mr. Lewis will be among the angels."


Chad Walsh, The Washington Post Book World
"...this Oxford don and Cambridge professor...calls himself a dinosaur but he seems to speak to people where they are."


Anthony Burgess, The New York Times Book Review
"C. S. Lewis is the ideal persuader for the half-convinced, for the good man who...finds his intellect getting in the way."


Harper's
"Lewis...makes you sure, whatever you believe, that religion accepted or rejected means something extremely serious..."


Los Angeles Times
"Lewis...forced those who listened to him and read his works to come to terms with their own philosophical presuppositions."


Books & Culture
"As we witness Lewis develop we find that these volumes are working as a kind of unconscious autobiography."


Book Description
A forceful and accessible discussion of Christian belief that has become one of the most popular introductions to Christianity and one of the most popular of Lewiss books. Uncovers common ground upon which all Christians can stand together.


From the Back Cover
Mere Christianity is the most popular of C. S. Lewis’s works of nonfiction, with several million copies sold worldwide. Heard first as radio addresses and then published as three separate books--The Case for Christianity, Christian Behavior, and Beyond Personality this book brings together Lewis’s legendary broadcast talks of the war years, talks in which he set out simply to "explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times." It is a collection of scintillating brilliance which remains strikingly fresh for the modern reader, and which confirms C. S. Lewis’s reputation as one of the leading Christian writers and thinkers of our age.


About the Author
C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English literature at Oxford University until 1954 when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. His major contributions in literary criticism, children’s literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown and acclaim. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include The Chronicles of Narnia, Out of the Silent Planet, The Four Loves, The Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"In 1943 England, when all hope was threatened by the inhumanity of war, C. S. Lewis was invited to give a series of radio lectures addressing the central issues of Christianity. First heard as informal radio broadcasts, the lectures were then published as three books and subsequently combined as Mere Christianity. C. S. Lewis proves that "at the center of each there is something, or a Someone, who against all divergences of belief, all differences of temperament, all memories of mutual persecution, speaks with the same voice," rejecting the boundaries that divide Christianity's many denominations."--BOOK JACKET.

FROM THE CRITICS

John Updike

I read Lewis for comfort and pleasure many years ago, and a glance into the books revives my old admiration.

Anthony Burgess - New York Times Book Review

C. S. Lewis is the ideal persuader for the half-convinced, for the good man who would like to be a Christian but finds his intellect getting in the way.

New Yorker

If wit, and wisdom, style and scholarship are requisites to passage through the pearly gates, Mr. Lewis will be among the angels.

Chad Walsh

Apparently this oxford don and Cambridge professor is going to be around for a long time; he calls himself a dinosaur but he seems to speak to people where they are. —The Washington Post Book World

Los Angeles Times