The premise of this book is interesting but too thin to carry it: Arthur C. Clarke and C.S. Lewis once exchanged a series of letters where they discussed their contrasting views regarding space exploration. Clarke thought it would open a new frontier of possibility for humanity. Lewis thought it would open the door to humans spreading their corrupted and conquering ways throughout the universe. The letters are supplemented by two short essays about the authors and some stories and essays by each.

Sadly, the letters did not contain much substance. What substance there was is little more than the summary I gave above. The biographical essays about the authors are interesting, but nothing novel. The stories and essays by Clarke and Lewis vaguely connect to the theme, but there is no commentary to show how it all fits together. All in all, it doesn't feel like you are entering into a debate between the authors.

That doesn't sound like a 3 star review. However, I give the work three stars because it's an interesting collection of materials if you drop the premise that they represent some grand debate between Clarke and Lewis. Thus, overall, this was a somewhat disappointing but ultimately worthwhile read. ( )

Some Dialogue!

This book is advertised as being "the dialogue of letters between Arthur C. Clarke and C.S. Lewis". Well, it turns out that the letters take up a grand total of 17 pages, and there are only 8 letters from Lewis to Clarke: 1 that occupies a full page, 4 that occupy a half page each, and 3 that are 2- or 3-liners. The vast majority of the pages in this slim book are devoted to reprinting short stories and essays available elsewhere. Even the publishers seem to have realized that calling this a "War of Letters" is overblown, because when the book arrived its subtitle had been changed to "The War of Ideas".
When it comes to CSL correspondence collections, I think this should rank dead last on prospective buyers' lists, behind _Collected Letters_ (available from the UK), _Letters of C.S. Lewis_, _Letters to an American Lady_, _The Latin Letters of C.S. Lewis_, _A Severe Mercy_ (by Sheldon Vanauken), and _Letters to Children_. ( )

This book's centerpiece, its raison d'etre, is the collected correspondence between Lewis and Clarke -- yet that correspondence only runs from page 36 through 52, a total of 15 letters. Three of Lewis's amount to little more than "Thank you for the transcript" or "Thank you for the invitation." This is no "war of ideas," only a brief difference of opinion. The rest of the book consists of short stories and essays from the two authors and a couple of introductory pieces from the editor.

The book is rife with typos, and the transcriptions of Lewis's hand-written letters are quite bad. Here's a direct quote from one of the transcriptions: "I will write a whole story in the mnts. Wh. in heavens name, be pushed out of the center and its center taken of is an unethically banal little laboratory intrigue." And another, from the same letter: "If a focus is milieu in a certain place, its particular qualities or that milieu meant he can ploated."

It looks rather as if that last bit should actually be something like "...must be exploited." If the editor knew what was meant, why let it stand as "meant he can ploated?" And if not, why assemble a book around letters he apparently couldn't read?

The introductory pieces from the editor added little to the book, and apart from Clarke's brief preface and minuscule afterword, I believe all of Lewis's and Clarke's essays and stories reprinted here are readily available elsewhere, leaving little to recommend this particular volume. ( )