“Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity” These words of wisdom can be attributed to Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) Almost a century ago the United States and indeed the rest of the world were recovering from a World War and soon to enter what is now labeled The Great Depression. The...more

First off, 'What I saw in America' is not a travel commentary relating humorous anecdotes about his journeys in the style of, say, Twain. Chesterton tells only a handful of stories of his time in the States but then, in his inimitable manner, uses those as springboards to write about 'big ideas,'...more

I do enjoy Chesterton. That said, this book was somewhat more dated than some of his others. Some of his specific allusions were lost on me. But he had very good insights into how to understand others, particularly those of other cultures. "Nobody should be ashamed of thinking a thing funny becau...more

What I Saw in America is less about what G.K. Chesterton saw in America than what the idea of America meant to him as an Englishman. Not a word is said about whether GKC took the train or any Mississippi River steamboats, what he ate, whether he visited anyone at home, whether he saw any of the c...more

This is the third time I've read this book, and each time I read it I catch something new. Published in 1922, "What I Saw in America" is a collection of thoughts about America by the brilliant British writer, G.K. Chesterton. It was his only visit to America, during a lecture tour.

This passage f...more

What I Saw In America was a delight, certainly the best and most interesting book I've read this year so far. Highly recommended--if you read any Chesterton, you must read this book.

It's full of penetrating insight into both American psychology and British psychology. It's dated, having been publ...more

This is the 2nd book I've read by him and I flew through both books with ease especially this one . There are some authors who's writing regardless of the topic that whatever they write flows easily .You either like a style and it reads quickly and satisfyingly or it doesn't . I ate this book up...more

Chesterton would have made an astonishingly good online troll, and in many ways that is essentially what he does here. But his target is not just the U.S.; it is Britain, it is women, it is Jews, it is his readers, it is the attendees of his lectures. And like most trolls, behind half of his trol...more

Did I mention I love Chesterton? In many ways this book is quite out of date (Chesterton toured American during prohibition), but, as always with Chesterton, many of his insights are timeless. What makes this book so interesting, however, is not what he has to say about the differences between th...more

Overall, an interesting book. Like most of Chesterton's writings, it focuses more on big ideas than on the particulars of Chesterton's lecture tour in the United States, about which the book was written. While somewhat dated, Chesterton makes some very accurate predictions about the future--restr...more