The Abolition of Man & The Great Divorce

By: C. S. Lewis

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Here are two classics of moral philosophy from one of the most revered Christian voices of our time.

In The Abolition of Man, C. S. Lewis reflects on society and nature and the challenges of how best to educate our children. He describes what public education should be and how far from this standard modern education has fallen. Lewis eloquently argues that, as a society, we need to underpin reading and writing lessons with moral education.

In The Great Divorce, Lewis presents his vision of the afterworld. A fictional narrator boards a bus on a drizzly English afternoon and embarks on an incredible voyage through Heaven and Hell, where he meets a host of supernatural beings and comes to some significant realizations about the nature of good and evil.

©1945 C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. (P)2000 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"These two short works by Lewis are a fine introduction to his eloquent writing, as well as his thought....Robert Whitfield's disciplined and well-modulated voice has an appealingly confident quality." (AudioFile)

A couple more stimulating Lewis reads

Both of these books are excellent, and I loved the reading of them. "Abolition" deals with man's desire to step beyond the Creator's design and create "new" laws of nature. As Lewis points out, this must inevitably lead to the dehumanization of mankind.

IN "The Great Divorce," Lewis once again creates a masterful allegory and challenges us to consider that each decision made in this life has eternal consequences.

I highly recommend this audio book to anyone looking for a few hours of the deep and stimulating reading we've come to expect from C.S. Lewis.

Logic on Fire

This in my opinion is one of his heavier works. Take note of his audiance, he is not writing to Christians but devout secularists, materialists and naturalists. As far as that goes the writing is typical Lewis. Logic on fire...

Five stars for the great divorce

I must say I certainly enjoyed listening to the great divorce. The narrator did an excellent job in my opinion. Personally, the abolition of man was a little harder understand.

Classic!

Great book, good narration. Howerever, chapters are not marked correctly, both of the complete books are heard in the Preface section of the recording.

interesting

this is a profound book but in some points can be confusing. I would recommend it.

Ever-timely words; dispassionate delivery

While the narration is quite clear it sadly lacks the passion due to Lewis' dire warning to man implicit in the title. Sadly, I suspect many, particularly those not already familiar with the work or with Lewis (those most in need of the warning) will likely not listen to more than the first few minutes due to the dry delivery.

still true today

timeless insight into human nature. cs lewis reasons out and presents difficult truths in a way I can understand.

C.S. Lewis is so good!

These books were wonderful! I was so happy to see that they were included for free in my audible subscription!

Two classics

Abolition of Man is a devastating critique of the reductionism that is seemingly ascendant in science and scientism. The Great Divorce is a delightful and thought provoking take on heaven and hell (and purgatory). Two classics that one can listen to again and again.

Fantastic Listen

I will just review The Great Divorce here because it takes the bulk of this 2-volume audio book.
Lewis starts out by clarifying that he is not claiming any "afterlife" to be exactly how he lays it out in this story, but this is simply how he see's it (so, he's not claiming divine insight, but rather sharing his ideas). It's a very easy listen, as the book is so intriguing. Lot's of valuable life lessons that got me to examine my life and strive for improvement. Definitely recommend the listen.