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)

Abolition. Important book for serious conservative

Any additional comments?

A foundation premise of our Consitution is the truth of Natural Law. This book explores that notion with amazing intellect and compelling reason. I think this is an important book for anyone who wants to really understand the great American Experiment.

Keeps your brain working... but it was fun to listen to.

Insightfully, Delightfully Enjoyable!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Abolition of Man & The Great Divorce to be better than the print version?

Yes, if a performance can be better than the written word. I feel as though I'm at the theatre whenever I listen to The Great Divorce.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I've bookmarked nine conversations between the Solid People of Heaven and the Ghosts of the Gray Town. All reveal to me something of my own character or of someone I know (when they strike too close to home!).

What does Robert Whitfield bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Because of Whitfield's creative reading, I continually forget it is only one person reading this book as opposed to a large cast of readers.

Anointed. A true treasure from a gifted mind!

Go straight to The Abolition Of Man and listen to it. Really get quiet and Listen. C.S. Lewis shines in rigorous debate against irrational rationalism. Unfolding clairvoyant and persuasive thoughts regarding the conscience of man as a function of a transcendentally emotive being.

Interesting and Thoughtful

Would you listen to The Abolition of Man & The Great Divorce again? Why?

Yes, the great divorce has interesting ideas about why someone would choose hell, while there is divine judgement it represents the judgement as a self judgement and decision.And also the first listen of the abolition of man went way over my head. I will need to re- listen. It if anything shows up the problems with audio books you cant easily re-read the last sentence.

Incredible narration

The Abolition of Man is just ok but The Great Divorce is INCREDIBLE. story, narration, truths conveyed, everything. Will listen to again and again.

Well ahead of its written time

Every twenty-first century computer scientist should read chapter three of this book, The Abolition of Man, before putting one more hour of work into the completion of their A.I. project. They must see it for what it is to eventually become, i.e. The Extinction of Man by his own hand.
We`be proven to ourselves that mankind can achieve it. So we should stop, put it in our history books with warnings of wise reasoning and go no further with Artificial Intelligence. Stop now, please. For the sake of man's posterity. Honor the one, true, invisible, Creator GOD and stop Now.

Marriage Made in Heavan

I was familiar with "The Great Divorce" going in and was drawn by the opportunity to hear Simon Vance read it.

Overall it was done very well. Plus the addition of "The Abolition of Man" at the end didn't hurt.

truth

The concepts are presented in a fashion that makes it easier for younger listeners to grasp, the only quibble is the language is antiquated and would make any listener not familiar with the terminology struggle

A classic of Western thought and value

CS Lewis was not only brilliant in his insights but also able to phrase them in such a clear and winsome way as to allow others to see them also.

Better to read than to listen to.

The Great Divorce is clearly the better story here. The issues come through. The Abolition of Man is a much harder listen. The issues are much more esoteric and harder to follow, particularly while listening.