Book Description

Probably Chesterton’s most popular book of essays. The thirty-nine short essays that make up Chesterton’s delightful book. Among this collection: “A Piece of Chalk”, where a drawing exercise turns into a lesson on the nature of truth, “Twelve Men”, an explanation on why we have juries made of our peers and not professional jurors, “The Dragon’s Grandmother”, on why we should read fairy tales to our children along with many more endearing reflections. Chesterton looks at ordinary things and asks us to see how extraordinary they are—the contents of his pockets, the items in a railway station, pedestrians in the street. What appear to be trifles are actually tremendous, and he uses them as a springboard to expound on Christianity, the nuclear family, democracy, and the like with supreme clarity and wit. The essays gathered here are a testament to G.K. Chesterton’s faith—not his faith in religion or a higher power, but in the ability to discover something wonderful in the objects, the experiences, and the people that cross our paths every single day. With his unique brand of humor and insight, he demonstrates how the commonplace adds enormous value to the landscape of daily life. Chesterton’s commentaries first published nearly a century ago—remain fresh today.