The Inklings

Humphrey Carpenter

C.S. Lewis had a group of friends who met twice a week to discuss books, poems and other matters.  On Tuesday mornings they would meet at a local tavern, which they referred to as “The Bird and the Baby.”    And then on Thursday evenings they would meet in C.S. Lewis’ rooms at Magdalen College in Oxford.

The group consisted of Jack Lewis, as he was commonly known by his friends, his brother Warnie Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and various other people.  Most of these other folks were professors at Oxford, or at least literary figures.  People might come intermittently.  They referred to themselves as “The Inklings.”  They would often read to the group whatever it was they were working on.  For example, Tolkien first read The Hobbit and much of The Lord of the Rings to this group.

This book is the story of their friendship.  In some ways it is a brief biography of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams especially.  Charles Williams was another writer who was particularly close to Lewis.

For fans of C.S. Lewis, the book is fascinating, but I might warn you that some of the guys, especially Charles Williams and Tolkien, were quite eccentric.  Fascinating insights into these men and their friendships.

For the Love of My Son

Jerome Duran

This is Jerome Duran’s story of a custody battle for his son, told with honesty and vulnerability.  It is the story of a father’s fight for his son, a father’s love for his son.

Long Walk to Freedom

Nelson Mandela

One of the fascinating stories of the 20th century is the story of Nelson Mandela and the fight for freedom by blacks in South Africa.

This is Mandela’s autobiography.  He was born in a rural village with a poor, but happy childhood.  He was able to get an education and then pursued a law degree in Johannesburg.  He practices law for a number of years, but his primary passion and engagement is in the struggle against apartheid.  Apartheid was the systematic government policy which denied blacks in South Africa of many basic freedoms, including the right to vote.  Mandela joins the African National Congress, or ANC, which led the fight against racial injustice in South Africa over an 80 year period.  Mandela not only becomes involved with ANC, but he has increasing influence and becomes one of the central figures in the ANC.

At one point Mandela faces arrest because of his involvement in the fight, and he flees from the police.  He lives as a fugitive in his own country, and then in exile outside South Africa.  Shortly after his return he is captured and arrested.

Mandela would serve 27 years in prison, from age 44 to age 71!  Most of this time was spent on an island prison off the coast of Cape Town.

Eventually, because of internal opposition and international pressure, the South African government agrees to negotiate with the ANC for a new government.  Mandela leads this negotiation process for the ANC, first while he is in prison and then after his release.

In 1993 blacks in South Africa were allowed to vote for the first time.  Not only did the ANC win a majority of the seats in parliament, but Nelson Mandela was elected as president.  By this time Mandela was famous throughout the world and had met with many world leaders, including the U.S. president.

How did Mandela achieve this extraordinary accomplishment?  First of all, he did not do it by himself, he was part of a team, a team that led a large movement.  He was the consensus leader.

Moreover, Mandela and others were indefatigable in their struggle against racial injustice.  They simply would not give up and they were willing to pay any price and make any sacrifice.

Mandela was a man of character, of principle, of honor.  He was courageous in the battle.

Interestingly, Mandela has a surprising amount of humility.  Throughout the book, he understates his role in the struggle and magnifies the role of others.  I think he truly saw himself as a servant of the people and not the hero of the people.

Certainly, he and his family paid a high price for this fight.  He never lived a normal family life, as he was always engaged in the fight against injustice.  He would spend most of his life away from his family – either working in the cause, living in hiding or exile, or his 27 years in prison.

I might note that Mandela did consider himself to be a Christian – specifically a Methodist.  However, there is no evidence in the book of him pursuing the Lord.

For a long time I’ve wanted to read this book because Mandela has made such a profound impact upon our world.  I would say the book is good, perhaps even quite good, but not a great book.  He was a great man, though, and it was fascinating to learn his story.

The Way of the Mystics

John Michael Talbot

John Michael Talbot, who was a leader in early contemporary Christian worship and is now the Catholic Church’s #1 recording artist, is the primary author of this book on 13 Christian mystics.

It is good to learn more about these well-known Christians.  I thought the most interesting sketches were of Thomas Merton, Ignatius of Loyola, John Donne (an Anglican, most are Catholic) and Francis of Assisi.  George Fox, founder of the Quakers, was heretical and difficult.  I’m not sure why he was included.

The book is interesting but not superb.

My Reading Life

Pat Conroy

I loved this book.  Pat Conroy is a novelist from the South and toward the end of his career, he pens this delicious memoir on his love affair with reading and books.  It is so fun.  Any decent bibliophile will love this book.

He talks about his childhood, which was marked by an abusive Navy pilot father, and a mother who loved books.  She successfully infected him with her delight.

The book was a treat from cover to cover, but especially the chapters that told of his mother’s influence on his reading, the life-altering influence of a high school English teacher who because a father figure for him, a quaint bookstore in Atlanta and his friendship with the eccentric owner, and the time he spent writing and walking in Paris.

But he also has chapter-length treatments of Gone with the Wind, Thomas Wolfe, War and Peace, and the writings of James Dickey.

Conroy is a powerful writer, and can he tell a story!  The vocabulary in this book delightfully stretched me perhaps more than any other book I have ever read.  This entire book was a treat, so much so that I was tempted, when I finished, to go back to page one and start over.  It is definitely a book that I will want to read again.

Enthusiastically recommended!