Pearce has done some podcasts on various topics involving classical and world literature. His speaking style leaves a lot to be desired, but he has very good things to say in his presentations. This book saves you the burden of deciphering his lectures and leaves you with only the substance of his reflections. Pearce specializes in bringing classical literature and Christianity together under a few common themes. The choice of the classic books covered in Pearce’s book reveal some of his priorities. Behind the works covered are Dante’s Divine Comedy, Machiavelli’s The Prince, and Milton’s Paradise Lost. These three are not covered in the book but are referenced often. The last work covered is a dubious play on Thomas More partially attributed to Shakespeare by some. This last chapter/appendix is more of an exercise in scholarship evaluation which is helpful in a way to see how Pearce works with the historical material and scholarly apparatus. This book is inspirational, but on the premise that you have already had an acquaintance with the works he covers. If you have not yet read them, I don’t know why you would be reading Pearce’s book. However, if you have not read the works as of yet, you would find reading them now much easier to comprehend and that without Cliff Notes or other minimal summaries. I think this book would help you to decide if these are worth rereading. Some books are worth the time and effort, others are not. All the works covered by Pearce are definitely worth rereading. Pearce’s 12 chapters cover: Augustine’s Confessions, Shakespeare’s Othello, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar, Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray, Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory, Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, Shelley’s Frankenstein, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday. ( )