Alan Jacobs is fond of the essay because it lets a writer do something that more formal pieces of writing cannot: follow the -vagaries of the mind, - let the writing follow its own path, encountering surprises and fresh insights along the way.
In this new collection, Jacobs offers essays for companionable wayfaring. To be a Christian, he says, is to be a wayfarer, to move hopefully towards a cherished goal. These essays are a wayfarer's notes, a record of ideas and experiences encountered on the pilgrim path. Gathered here are pieces serious and comic, eloquent and interesting. Jacobs...