Ball and the Cross

British writer GILBERT KEITH CHESTERTON (1874-1936) expounded prolifically about his wide-ranging philosophies-he is impossible to categorize as "liberal" or "conservative," for instance-across a wide variety of avenues: he was a literary critic, historian, playwright, novelist, columnist, and poet. His witty, humorous style earned him the title of the "prince of paradox," and his works-80 books and nearly 4,000 essays-remain among the most beloved in the English language Here, in the allegorical 1910 novel, Chesterton gives us the comic adventures of two Scotsmen caught in the grip of a profound argument: one is a devout Roman Catholic, the other an atheist, and their opposing-strongly held-philosophies bring them nearly to blows. Hidden under their raging is, however, an exploration of the differences and values of faith and skepticism through which only Chesterton could have led us.