The Everlasting Man cover

The Everlasting Man

by Gilbert Keith Chesterton

<p><i>The Everlasting Man</i> is inspired by <a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/h-g-wells">H. G. Wells’</a> <i>The Outline of History</i>, which explains the history of mankind and religion as solely a product of natural selection and other material causes. In contrast, <a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/g-k-chesterton">G. K. Chesterton</a> presents the case for Christianity throughout history, by illustrating firstly, the uniqueness of man amongst the animals, and secondly, the uniqueness of Christ and the Church amongst other religions and philosophies.</p> <p>Written in Chesterton’s typical style, already familiar to readers of <i><a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/g-k-chesterton/orthodoxy">Orthodoxy</a></i> and <i><a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/g-k-chesterton/heretics">Heretics</a></i>, and ripe with humor and symbolism, <i>The Everlasting Man</i> doesn’t aim to be a scholarly history treatise. Rather, like the title of Wells’ work, Chesterton merely presents us his outline of history. It is in this outline that his Christian, specifically Catholic, perspective contrasts with secular views common in modern times.</p>

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?