G.K. Chesterton's "The Everlasting Man": A Timeless Work of Literary Brilliance

S. J. Graves: I haven't read the book yet, because it just arrived. My comment is solely on the awkward size of the book. It measures approximately 18.9 cm x 24.6 cm (7 7/16" x 9 3/4"), which is just slightly bigger than an iPad air. The printing inside is large enough to be very readable and is printed in an attractive serif type face but arranged in two columns (presumably due to the large format of the pages).

I probably would have bought a different printing if I knew this was such an awkward size.

United States on Aug 09, 2023

Mrb7: I read this as C. S. Lewis claimed it was pivotal for him. I will admit that I had to slog through the first half, but that part clearly and cleanly sets the stage for the remainder of the book.

Good read for a skeptic.

United States on Jul 30, 2023

SlnakaiSlnakai: I chose this after reading how it greatly impacted CS Lewis. This book is astonishing. Have to stop mid-sentence throughout the book to digest what Chesterton is writing. His style is engaging, his thoughts are explosive. Such as, if something changes quickly it's a miracle but if it happens slowly, it's science.
Highly recommend this book.
If you enjoy CS Lewis, this is a must-read!

United States on Jun 25, 2023

Joseph Myren: AWESOME

Canada on Jun 24, 2023

Daniel: Mithology, Philosophy or Religion?
Not quite any of the above.

The very knowledgeable author starts from the cave man and follows the strangest of mythologies as well as dark phylosophies and obscure cults to argue how odd and unique 'Christendom' really is.

This was by far the hardest book I've read. Mainly because how the author explains (or not) his arguments and the way they are written. A lot of statements without explanation. Heavy use of 'deep' vocabulary and technical Anthropology terms.
I guess it's the old scholar fashion!

First and latter chapters Are the ones I've found more useful specially the last one and the 'conclusion' where Chesterton put out together his ideas nicely.

United Kingdom on May 25, 2019

M. B. Drapier: Written partly as a reply to H.G. Wells' Outline of History, Chesterton's Everlasting Man argues for the essential difference of man within nature, and of Christianity within the history of religions. Chesterton draws especially on his knowledge of the ancient Mediterranean world -- Near Eastern, Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek, Roman -- to draw attention to the radical novelty of the Christian "story" -- that the mysterious creator God (whom all humans, and only humans, have ever sought in their myths and philosophies) became a particular, historical person. This fact and its many-sided consequences is the central fact of history, around which any "outline" must be drawn. Chesterton's paradoxical, pointed style may be difficult or diffuse or idiosyncratic or brilliant (you choose!) But the ideas and argument are fundamentally well grounded and insightful -- antidote to the facile caricatures of religion and Christianity that are even more rife now than in Chesterton's own time. Why read Dawkins or Peterson: read Chesterton!

United Kingdom on Jan 14, 2019

The Seldom Seen Kid: The Everlasting Man is, some would argue, G.K. Cheserton's greatest work. Chesterton explores what was the state of the world and the human race right before Jesus' birth, and what people were thinking about the gods and each other. Was Jesus just another rabbi or philosopher, or was He weirder than our culture tends to remember? C.S. Lewis was an atheist until he read Chesterton's, The Everlasting Man, but he wasn’t afterwards, prompting Lewis to observe that a young man who is serious about his atheism cannot be too careful about what he reads.

Of all of Chesterton’s literary monuments, this is perhaps his greatest, for he eloquently and concisely packs the whole human story between the covers of one book. He begins by pointing out that the main problem with the critics of the Church is that they are too close to it to see it properly. They cannot see the big picture, only the small picture that directly affects them. With their sulks and their perversity and their petty criticism, they are merely reacting to the Church. What they need to do is back up. And that’s what Chesterton has the reader do in this book. Back up far enough and to see the Church in all...

United Kingdom on May 02, 2016

Arviopolis: As a fan of C.S. Lewis, I had big expectations for this book. I wasn't disappointed. The author takes us on a journey throughout history with a lot of refreshing insights. He makes a good case for Christianity with a hint of humour along the way. There is a frankness is his way of getting his points across that resonates more with intellectual rigour than arrogance (as some critics might point out) as he shows boldness and humility in the right places. Overall, it felt more like an open discussion with a friend, smoking cigars and occasionally breaking into laughter!

The book was written in 1925, so even though some of his arguments would require a bit of a fix to fit current scientific theory (like his defence against Darwinism), there is so much of the book that feels surprisingly current.

I do wish I had bought some kind of annotated edition since there are a lot (A LOT) of references to different cultures, religion, historical events, etc.
This is most likely the cheapest edition one could buy. I recommend buying another one since it's a book that you may want to go back to.

Canada on Jul 28, 2015

MereChristian: Is the course of history one that was an accident that, nonetheless, had to occur due to man developing the way he has? Has mankind moved from barbarism to civilization? In other words, are things getting better? And has history turned out how it has so far by accident, or by the hand of a Being Who guided it's course?

These are the questions that G. K. Chesterton attempted to answer in his extremely popular and influential book, <i>The Everlasting Man</i>. The results are mixed. This is not due to his not trying or being successful in his task, so much as the type of argumentation he makes, combined with science and history, to use a popular term, “marching on”.

What I mean by this is that Chesterton's method of persuasion depends a lot more on philosophical questioning, than on logic. Those who are familiar with the name of Chesterton due to his being cited by C. S. Lewis, or others, as influences on them, may be disappointed if they are expecting to see exercises in logic. Not to say that Chesterton does not use any logic or reason, but that they are mainly in support of philosophical arguments, than themselves the core of the argument. In other...

United States on Jan 11, 2014

Ross James Browne: This book opens up with a very strange discussion concerning our conventional assumptions regarding the "cave man", primitive man, and Neanderthals in general. Chesterton seems to believe that these people were much more intelligent and sophisticated than we give them credit for being. I interpreted this to be a sort of refutation or denial of Darwinism, although Darwinism is rarely if ever mentioned specifically. By assuming the cave man to be a more sophisticated spiritual being than previously assumed, Chesterton seems to be implying that these people had a direct relationship with God. From this we must assume that the cave man does not represent the "missing link" or evolutionary transitory species that would be critical to upholding Darwinism. In other words, Chesterton is trying to refute Darwinism by uplifting the cave man closer to our current level of intelligence, rather than degrade him into a neo-primate type creature representing a transitional phase between archaic primates and man. I will leave it to the reader to decide if this denial of Darwinism is convincing. But all the objective scientific purists out there will probably not be convinced by much of what...

United States on Apr 05, 2003