Through their recollections, we see "Jack" Lewis dazzling Oxford as he takes on atheists, materialists, and a host of other challengers. Most poignantly, we see him in everyday settings: striding up and down the platform at a railroad station, presiding over leisurely dinners with students, expounding on the virtues of the pub.
"The net effect of this collection," said the Catholic Review, "is to make us feel that we know Lewis as well as [his] friends." And to quote the New Yorker, "The heterogeneity of the contributors assures a variety of Lewises, but certain traits appear in all these accounts: intelligence, imagination, gusto, a sense of fun, and, most frequently, magnanimity."