The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics
by C. S. Lewis
List Price:
Our Price: $16.05
You Save: $13.94 (46%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $12.99 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: C. S. LewisBrand: Harper Collins Publishers
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Deckle Edge
Published: 2007-02-06
ISBN: 0061208493
Number of pages: 752
Publisher: HarperOne
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780061208492
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics
Book Review: Great box set, but GRIEF should be in a separate box set, as the other six are primarily apologetics
Summary: 5 Stars
This particular box set of has had a rather curious publication history. It was first issued in the early 1990s, when I first bought it. The box set (not known then as the SIGNATURE SERIES, it was later renamed thus in the second incarnation) was focused explicitly on Lewis's output from the 1940s. There were six books included: THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, THE GREAT DIVORCE, THE PROBLEM OF PAIN, MERE CHRISTIANITY, MIRACLES, and THE ABOLITON OF MAN. The first two are works of fiction, and the remaining four are first rate, but very intellectual and written much more from the head than the heart, apologetics.
As the box set stood on its original publication, it was the ideal presentation of Lewis's critical faculties and contained very detailed, rational defenses, very eloquently written and simple to understand, of the Christian faith. Due the books all being written within a few years of each other, the box set read very much like each book was a logical extension of the next.
Then when the new millennium dawned, the publishers decided to rechristen the box set (formerly nameless) as the C. S. LEWIS SIGNATURE SERIES, and include a new book from a much different era in Lewis's life. They removed THE ABOLITION OF MAN, and instead included A GRIEF OBSERVED, a work published much later in Lewis's life than any of the other books. This rearrangement is a particularly revealing little facet of what has now become a very profitable industry built on Lewis's name. With the public attention brought on by Lewis's marriage, there has been a marked increase and peaking of interested in Lewis's relationship to Joy Davidman, and GRIEF was included for business reasons. While the original set presented a very clear and rational set of apologetics, it was broken up to include a book incompatible in tone and content with the other five books.
To better understand why they deleted the book, it is best to know more about each work. THE ABOLITION OF MAN focuses on moral law, and is primarily focused on debunking the idea that morality is not objective, but subjective, and all reactions to beauty, horror, etc, are purely biochemical and subjective. Lewis goes to great pains arguing against this viewpoint, and also focuses his critical attacks on [various professors and teachers] two professors from universaties. ABOLITION is very much an extension and elaboration on one of the primary arguments in MERE CHRISTIANITY. THE CASE FOR CHRISTIANITY, the first book in MERE CHRISTIANITY, argues for a natural law, and ABOLITION expands and propounds on Lewis's ideas of the Tao, or moral law. These two works are best understood when read together, and it is unfortunate they dropped ABOLITION from it. The book is subtitled "Reflections on education with special reference to the teaching of English in the upper forms of schools," which lets the reader know one of its primary audiences is education, which is not surprising given Lewis's profession. THE CASE FOR CHRISTIANITY, the first book in MERE CHRISTIANITY, argues for a natural law, and ABOLITION expands and propounds on Lewis's ideas of the Tao, or moral law. These two works are best understood when read together, and it is unfortunate they dropped ABOLITION from the second incarnation fo this boxset.
After the publication of MIRACLES in the mid 1940s, Lewis had a debate at the university defending his arguments found in the book. Though even the other debater would disagree when asked about it later that Lewis actually lost the debate, Lewis believed himself losing the critical debate. After this key moment in his career, Lewis stopped writing apologetic works, based on stringent, rational arguments, and turned rather to writing devotional books or examinations of the Christian faith, and did not write any more defenses of his faith on the same level as the works found in the original set.
Lewis would go on to write several more Christian books, but as previously stated, none of them were explicitly apologetic, that is, none were built on logical arguments and primarily focused on providing rational defenses to Christianity. Rather, Lewis wrote works of meditation and autobiography. Toward the end of his life, he wrote A GRIEF OBSERVED, which is exactly what it says it is. It is a very acute, extremely frank, heart wrenching work, and very beautiful. It is also a very personal work. It is one of Lewis's most precious and honest works, but in terms of content and style, it simply does not work when presented in the context of the other five books included in the second publication, all of which were primarily apologetic and written in a much earlier era than this book.
Too me the ideal solution would have been to let the original six books stand, and then come up with a second box set of the books Lewis wrote in the 1950s and 1960s. This second box set could include the following works: THE FOUR LOVES, TILL WE HAVE FACES, REFLECTIONS ON THE PSALMS, LETTERS TO MALCOLM, SURPRISED BY JOY, and A GRIEF OBSERVED, and perhaps throw in AN EXPERIMENT IN CRITICISM as well (essential literary criticism, and highly influenced by Joy). These better represent the period of Lewis's life that Joy had the most impact on, though LETTERS was published in 1963. Both sets would be present an accurate snapshot of Lewis's faith and how it evolved as he lived his life. Both sets would be much better served by being published together, as Lewis's style and intellectual focus is more consistent when broken up into two box sets. The original set are great apologetics, and the second set is a more meditative box set.
Instead of presenting Lewis's remarkable skills as an apologist, which was the original function of the box set by presenting four nonfiction works and two works of fiction , ABOLITION was replaced with a book from an entirely different period of Lewis's life.
Then we come to the third incarnation of this box set. For whatever reason, they went back to including ABOLITION, and added GRIEF as well. These books are central to understanding Lewis as a Christian writer, and especially as an apologist. Most people may know him from NARNIA or one of these volumes, and it is a good place for introduction into the mind and works of C. S. Lewis. All the classics are here, from SCREWTAPE, MERE CHRISTIANITY, and MIRACLES, as well as three other works, all of which range from profound (the majority) to beautiful (THE GREAT DIVORCE), to the gut-wrenching (A GRIEF OBSERVED).
Bottom line: This is a nice box set to have, just be aware that GRIEF isn't really the same as the other six works, and to understand the era that Joy Davidman most impacted, read the works listed above. The other six, however, are fantastic apologetics, and wonderful to study and use for witnessing [as a witnessing tool].
Bottom line: This is a nice box set to have, just be aware that GRIEF isn't really the same as the other six works, and to understand the era that Joy Davidman most impacted, read the works listed above. The other six, however, are fantastic apologetics, and wonderful to study and use for witnessing [as a witnessing tool].
Summary of The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics
Seven Spiritual Masterworks by C. S. Lewis
This classic collection includes C. S. Lewis's most important spiritual works:
Mere Christianity
The Screwtape Letters
The Great Divorce
The Problem of Pain
Miracles
A Grief Observed
The Abolition of Man
Christian Living Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Christian Living Books
A Survey of the Old Testamentby Andrew E. Hill, John H. Walton
Zondervan; Published: 2009-02-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.00
Price in other shops:
Steps to Christby Ellen Gould Harmon White
General Books LLC; Published: 2012-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.14
The 1928 Book of Common PrayerOxford University Press, USA; Published: 1993-11-18; Leather Bound; Book
Price in other shops:
A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Storyby Diana Butler Bass
HarperOne; Published: 2010-03-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.50
Price in other shops:
Works of Loveby Soren Kierkegaard
Harper Perennial; Published: 1964-10-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops:
America by Heart : Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flagby Sarah Palin
Harper Collins Publishers; Harper; Published: 2010-11-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In Godby Dallas Willard
HarperOne; Published: 1998-03-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.30
Price in other shops:
God for Us: The Trinity and Christian Lifeby Catherine Mowry Lacugna
Harpercollins College Div; Published: 1992-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $78.36
Ruthless Trustby Brennan Manning
HarperAudio; Published: 2004-01-06; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $3.07
Price in other shops:
The Screwtape Lettersby C. S. Lewis
Macmillan; Published: 1982; Paperback; Book
Similar Books and other products
The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Setby C. S. Lewis
HarperCollins; Published: 1994-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $23.48
Price in other shops:
Pilgrim's Regressby C. S. Lewis
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Published: 1992-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
The Four Lovesby C.S. Lewis
Houghton Mifflin Company; Mariner Books; Published: 1971-09-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.24
Price in other shops:
Perelandra (Space Trilogy, Book 2)by C.S. Lewis
Simon & Schuster; Scribner; Published: 2003-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.21
Price in other shops:
Out of the Silent Planet (Space Trilogy, Book One)by C.S. Lewis
Simon & Schuster; Scribner; Published: 2003-03-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops:
Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldviewby J. P. Moreland, William Lane Craig
IVP Academic; Published: 2003-03-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $27.22
Price in other shops:
Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Lifeby C.S. Lewis
Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich; Published: 1966-03-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.92
Price in other shops:
Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retoldby C.S. Lewis
Houghton Mifflin Company; Harcourt Brace & Company; Published: 1980-07-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops:
Philosophy for Dummiesby Tom Morris
IDG Books; Published: 1999-09-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.50
Price in other shops:
The Weight of Gloryby C. S. Lewis
Harper Collins Publishers; HarperOne; Published: 2001-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.87
Price in other shops: