This collection of C. H. Spurgeon’s travel letters offer a rare insight into a different side of the famed preacher. Of the many telling phrases C. H. Spurgeon gave the world, one speaks to the way he, and his contemporaries, greatly valued letters, or what he called “gifts of the pen.�    He lived in a golden age of letter–writing, and helped to make it so.    The best letters, he knew, are written with caring reflection, love of the written word, wit, and a vivid sense of place. His travel letters model these gifts.    His love of nature, history, culture, and art live—and breathe—in these pages.    Rest and recreation, on holiday, when he could follow these interests, were meaningful, renewing gifts from God. He cherished them, and needed them.     They lend a special, one–of–a–kind voice to this book.   With a painter’s gifts, set amid the countryside of England, or places of Europe, Spurgeon’s Travel Letters are eloquent, and many times moving. His “gifts of the pen� shine in them.    At long last, they have a place well–deserved, a place all their own.   Now, we ourselves may travel with Spurgeon—discovering the world that he knew.    And we may bless God for the privilege given in these letters. 

G. K. Chesterton was a literary giant of his age. With an exceptional intellect, he wrote about history, politics, economics, philosophy, social and literary criticism, and theology. He published essays, novels, biographies, short stories, and poetry, and the Christian classics "Heretics," "Orthodoxy," and "The Everlasting Man," which C. S. Lewis credits as instrumental in his conversion to Christianity.

With much of his finest material out of print or hard to find, modern readers have long needed a standard collection of his best thoughts. Kevin Belmonte's "The Quotable Chesterton" brings them to you arranged alphabetically by topic, with complete original source documentation.

There are entries from Adventure to Cheese, Politics to Emile Zola, interspersed with essays about Chesterton's life and times. Hundreds of passages drawn from Chesterton's fiction, poetry, essays, and other books showcase a man the "New York Times" hailed as a "brilliant English essayist" and George Bernard Shaw called a "colossal genius."

Endorsements:

"There isn't a writer who gets me pacing and smiling and thinking like G.K. Chesterton. His every paradigm shift is an adjustment to my mental compass, and so a gift." --DONALD MILLER, author of the "New York Times" bestsellers "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" and "Blue Like Jazz"

"Over the years, I have delivered thousands of lectures, speeches, talks, and sermons; I have written hundreds of articles, essays, books, and reviews; it is an exceedingly rare occasion when any of them should fail to contain the words 'Chesterton once said.' Kevin Belmonte here reveals that fountain of wit, wisdom, and wonder, G.K. Chesterton, in all his irresistibly, irrepressibly, quotable splendor."--GEORGE GRANT, Pastor, Parish Presbyterian Church, and Chancellor, New College Franklin

Dramatized in the major motion picture Amazing Grace, the story of William Wilberforce is the remarkable account of how one man's vision, courage, and relentless pursuit of justice brought freedom to thousands and changed the course of history. "That the greatest and most successful reformer in all history is almost unknown today is a crying shame. Kevin Belmonte puts this right with his inspiring study of an inspiring life." -Dr. Os Guinness, author of Unspeakable: Facing Up to the Challenge of Evil "An excellently researched and insightfully written biography ... I applaud its sound scholarship and commend its perceptive insights into a great life." -Brian Sibley, author of C. S. Lewis: Through the Shadowlands William Wilberforce: A Hero for Humanity is the definitive biography of the English statesman who overcame incredible odds to bring about the end of slavery and slave trade. Called "the wittiest man in England" by philosopher and novelist Madame de Stael, praised by Abraham Lincoln, and renowned for his oratorical genius, Wilberforce worked tirelessly to accomplish his goal. Whether you are an avid student of history, a pupil of prominent leaders of the past, or simply someone who reads for pleasure, you will love award-winning biographer Kevin Belmonte's vivid account of the life of William Wilberforce.

You may be aware that G. K. Chesterton authored influential Christian biographies and apologetics. But you may not know the larger-than-life Gilbert Keith Chesterton himself--not yet. Equally versed in poetry, novels, literary criticism, and journalism, he addressed politics, culture, and religion with a towering intellect and a soaring wit.

Chesterton engaged his world through the written word. He carried on lively, public discussions with the social commentators of his day, continually challenging them with civility, humility, erudition, and his ever-sharp sense of humor. Today's reader can find the same treasures, for as Chesterton said, "What a man can believe depends upon his philosophy, not upon the clock or the century."

In Kevin Belmonte's fresh new biography, you'll get to know the real G. K. Chesterton and his literary and cultured accomplishments. A giant of his time, Chesterton continues to live large in the imaginations of twenty-first-century readers.

Endorsements:

"Chesterton's explanation of Christianity makes absolute sense of the world. He reminds us that, free of our comforting delusions, reality is a tragic adventure in which we get to participate." --DONALD MILLER, author of the "New York Times" bestsellers "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" and "Blue Like Jazz"

"Bravo to Kevin Belmonte for turning his caring attention to the incomparably hilarious and brilliant genius that is G.K. Chesterton " --ERIC METAXAS, "New York Times" best-selling author of "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" and "Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery"

"There's a great new biography about one of the Christian giants of the 20th Century. And I mean that literally. To read Kevin Belmonte's recent book "Defiant Joy: The Remarkable Life & Impact of G. K. Chesterton," is to feel a powerful sense of longing . . . because there is such a longing, a great need for advocates like Chesterton in our day. . . . But let's be grateful we still have the works of that great man to study and learn from. . . And we also have for you have Belmonte's vibrant new biography -- a wonderful reminder of the magnificent example Chesterton has set for us."--CHUCK COLSON(http: //patriotpost.us/opinion/chuck-colson/2012/01/26/defiant-joy-why-we-still-need-chesterton/)

""A Year with G.K. Chesterton" will be a treasure, both for those who are coming to his wit and wisdom as a fresh discovery, and for those who have known and loved his work for years. . . . Chesterton's talent for paradox, and his ability to embody profound truth in simple images, makes him as compelling now as he was a hundred years ago. . . . He was a prophet in his own time and a prophet for ours, speaking out against insidious evils and kindling us all again to a common love of the common good."

--The Reverend Dr. Malcolm Guite, chaplain of Girton College, Cambridge University

"This world of ours has some purpose; and if there is a purpose, there is a Person. I had always felt life first as a story: and if there is a story, there is a Storyteller."

--G. K. Chesterton

"A Year with G. K. Chesterton" daily brings this truth to life. And we are heir to the winsome, arresting, utterly original outpouring of Chesterton's reasons for hope. During his lifetime, a host of perspectives clamored for his attention, but he saw nothing as vital and alive as Christianity. Readers of this book will find their faith strengthened and enriched, even as they see the many reasons why George Bernard Shaw called Chesterton "a colossal genius."

A true anthology, the best of Chesterton's many works are presented in concise, memorable selections. From New Year's Day to New Year's Eve, each page contains a passage of Scripture and myriad moments for reflection, appreciation, and laughter.

"Chesterton once a day? Well, that's a start. It is good to see that someone is finally recognizing the need for a daily minimum requirement of mirth and meditation from GKC."
--Dale Ahlquist, President, American Chesterton Society

"Kevin Belmonte writes in the preface to this excellent book that his editing of it has been a gift. As an author who has written regularly on Chesterton I can understand his sense of gratitude at having been able to spend so much time with a genius as genial as the great GKC. Thanks to Belmonte's labor of love we can all spend a few moments of every day of the year in Chesterton's inimitable company. All admirers of Chesterton and the Christian truth he explicates so sublimely will be grateful to Kevin Belmonte for this gem of a gift."
--Joseph Pearce, author of "Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G. K. Chesterton"""

"Who could not be grateful for a year spent with GKC? The great subverter of everything taken for granted, he stretches and deepens us with his insights, shakes us with his startling paradoxes and delights us with his wit. Thank God there is no getting to the end of Chesterton."
--Os Guinness, author of" A Free People's Suicide"