Hello, you've made it to the back of the book, a podcast devoted to arts and culture.

I'm your host, Christopher Scalia of the American Enterprise Institute.

C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien are two of the most popular writers of the 20th century.

Tolkien's mythology of Middle Earth, The Hobbit and its sequel, The Lord of the Rings trilogy,

has enchanted readers, not to mention moviegoers, for generations

with its depiction of the forces of good overcoming evil. And Lewis's chronicles of Narnia

fantasies for children, his space trilogy for adults, and his Christian apologetics have enthralled

readers of all ages for the better part of a century now.

Tolkien and Lewis saw these works as more than mere escapism.

They saw them as urgent interventions in the culture of their day that built on forgotten or fading traditions.

So what inspired these works?

What literary predecessors, for example, provided their foundations,

with what contemporary ideas and cultural developments were they engaging? How did the author's experiences during World War I and

World War II shape these works? And how did their friendship inform their views on life and literature?

My guest today has a new book that answers those questions.

Joseph Leconte is the author of The War for Middle Earth, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis confront

the gathering storm, 1933 to 1945. He's also the director of the Rivivendale Center in New York City, a presidential scholar

at the New College of Florida, and the C.S. Lewis Scholar for Public Life at Grove City College.

Joseph, welcome to the back of the book. Chris, it's terrific to be with you. Thanks so much for

having me. Well, I'm really glad to have you here. Let's start with a period outside of the dates in your title, but which are nonetheless part of your story, which you wrote about in more detail in a previous book. Both Lewis and Tolkien served in the First World War. What were their experiences in that war?

What insights did they take from it that became relevant to their later work?

Profoundly influential time in their lives, and how could it not be?

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