In the House of Tom Bombadil
“Some of the best insights ever made about J.R.R. Tolkien’s invented world or, frankly, about 20th-century literature…. Here is a book of intense wisdom and penetrating thought.” ~Bradley J. Birzer, author of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-earth
What is Tom Bombadil doing in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings? His bright blue coat and yellow boots seem out-of-place with the grandeur of the rest of the narrative. In this book, C.R. Wiley shows that Tom is not an afterthought but Tolkien’s way of making a profoundly important point. Tolkien once wrote, “[Tom Bombadil] represents something that I feel important, though I would not be prepared to analyze the feeling precisely. I would not, however, have left him in, if he did not have some kind of function.” Tom Bombadil and his wife Goldberry are a small glimpse of the perfect beauty, harmony, and happy ending that we all yearn for in our hearts.
“…(it is) a rich and rewarding banquet Wiley has prepared; I encourage you to pull up a chair In the House of Tom Bombadil, and partake of the feast for yourself.”— Jeremy Johnston, in Front Porch Republic
“Wiley’s brisk, thought-provoking book helps us see how Bombadil, far from being a superfluous oddity, helps us envision both happiness and a home in this world — and beyond it.”— Nathanael Blake, in The University Bookman
The Purloined Boy
Silver Medal Winner of the 2010 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award
Gold Medal Winner in the National Young Adult Fiction category 2010 IPPY Awards –Independent Publisher
…a great story, …a pleasure to read. …beautifully written… — Teensreadtoo.com
…a fantasy world to rival the most unique. — FlashlightWorthyBooks.com
…everything that kids look for in Young Adult books and more. …a major find and certainly a joy to read. — Fantasy Book Critic
…took me completely by surprise. …(C. R. Wiley’s) writing style is absolutely charming and sinister all in the same breath… –DreamStuffBooks.com
…a story that anybody can appreciate and indeed thrill to, but whose deeper foundations can be glimpsed by those with eyes to see. —Gilbert Magazine, the official publication of The American Chesterton Society
The Household and the War for the Cosmos
“It’s easy to see how the household as a foundational institution is crumbling, and Wiley puts forth a robust macro-level vision for why it’s worth saving. He dissects words—their origins, implications, and context within history and Scripture—like piety, duty, cosmos, and household. Put together, a picture emerges of the family not as a personal lifestyle choice, but as a microcosm with interconnected duties and dependencies intended to reflect how the Church—the household of God—operates. This book has encouragement for fathers, for family enterprise, and for weary, modern parents in need of restored vision.” –World Magazine
“Today the true revolutionaries are not feminists, homosexual activists, or other progressives but those who are seeking to halt any further erosion of the family, and even reverse the process–families who are intentionally working to restore at least some of the traditional functions of the household.”
Nancy Pearcey, author of Total Truth and Love They Body
“C. R. Wiley is calling upon us to remember that we have duties that go by the name of piety, what those duties are, why they have gone unregarded in our time, how they are founded in our human and bodily nature, and why they are essential for the Christian to practice…. And he is cheerful about it, more cheerful by far than our obliviousness deserves.”
Anthony Esolen, author of Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture
Man of the House
A Handbook for Building a Shelter That Will Last in a World That Is Falling Apart
What is your plan for the end of the world as we know it? How will you protect the people you love? What will you leave to them when you are gone? The good news is this is not the first time the world has ended. What’s more, men were made for times like these. And the men of the past–the good ones, anyway–have left us a plan to follow. They built houses to last–houses that could weather a storm. This book contains their plan.
“With wit and flair and a manly willingness to face the facts of life, Wiley shows us how to have a real household rather than a chilly wayside inn, and how to help build again the real local communities that require such households for their existence. Without a recovery of manhood, it is not going to happen. Pastors, this book is for you, too.” —Anthony Esolen, Thomas Moore College; author of Out of the Ashes: Reclaiming American Culture
C. R. Wiley 