The Screwtape Letters, Anniversary Edition | 
 enlarge | Author: C. S. Lewis
Creator: John Cleese
Publisher: Audio Literature
Category: Book
Buy New: $75.00
New (3) Used (7) from $45.95
Rating:  370 reviews
Sales Rank: 850135
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Media: Audio Cassette
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7 x 4.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 1574532618
Dewey Decimal Number: 248.4
EAN: 9781574532616
ASIN: 1574532618
Publication Date: January 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: 58
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Amazon.com Review
This adaptation of C.S. Lewis's biting satire received a 1999 Grammy nomination for best spoken-word performance, and it's easy to see why--the story fits the format perfectly. It's relatively brief (the unabridged reading takes a mere four hours), and contains only one character--the demon Screwtape, who writes letters to his novice nephew Wormwood, instructing him on how to best tempt his "patient" (a wayward soul on earth) into the bosom of "our Lord below." Obviously, the book wasn't written with former Monty Python John Cleese in mind, but it's hard to imagine a better Screwtape. Cleese's voice provides the perfect vehicle for Lewis's dry, razor-edged wit. His uncanny comic timing and ability to milk each phrase for maximum effect betray an infectious enthusiasm for the story. It's clear that he's having a great time reading, and it's impossible not to laugh along with him. This inspired pairing of two of the 20th century's greatest wits makes for a meditation on the dark side of spiritual guidance that's as relevant and funny today as it was in Lewis's war-torn England. (Running time: 4 hours, 3 cassettes) --Andrew Neiland
Product Description
Amasterpiece of satire, this classic has entertained and enlightened readers the world over with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life and foibles, seen from the vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to "Our Father Below". Those who know and love the book will no doubt agree that the casting of John Cleese as Lewis' sardonic and apoplectic middle-management devil is, in a word, inspired. Features an interview with narrator John Cleese and philosopher Jacob Needleman.
Book Description
His letters are signed, save one, "Your affectionate uncle", yet Uncle Screwtape's purposes in writing to his young nephew are hardly innocent. Penned in a brisk, businesslike style, old Screwtape offers the gullible Tempter Wormword fiendishly clever advice on his most pressing concern: the winning of young lives to the devil.First published in 1941, The Screwtape Letters, a perennial best seller, has earned a place in the library of classics. The truths contained in C. S. Lewis's treatise on human nature are as old as the world, but his witty observations continue to confront and challenge believers and nonbelievers alike. The outcome of Screwtape's correspondence is not known. But judging from his final signoff -- "Your increasingly and ravenously affectionate uncle" -- his appetite for evil has not lessened.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 365 more reviews...
 A thought-provoking peek into the mind of a senior demon December 2, 2008
This book consists of a series of thirty-one letters written by a senior demon, Screwtape, to his young demon nephew, Wormwood. Wormword has been charged with securing the damnation of a man's soul, but he does not yet know enough about humans to carry out his task successfully.
In his letters, Screwtape gives his nephew advice on the specific problems involved in this one particular case assigned to him, and while doing so he educates Wormwood more generally on a variety of human subjects.
In these letters, you will read about human nature, behavior and psychology, true and false religion, society, history, earthly war and politics, and even the demons' own war against Heaven itself - and always from Screwtape's very practical point of view.
And even though this book was written over sixty years ago, you will recognize our world (and maybe something of yourself) in Screwtape's letters. This book is both serious and entertaining, a cautionary must-read for Christians.
A theological satrical masterpiece, rich in consolation, and a number of belly laughs November 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I often say that almost all of my theology comes from reading "The Narnia Suite," which I read for the first time at the age of eight, and more than a dozen times thereafter. I was particularly taken with The Last Battle, in which some people are very surprised indeed to learn that those they thought wouldn't be admitted into Aslan's Land because they fought on "The Wrong Side" of the aforementioned last battle, were in fact instantly admitted because it was their intention and their heart which was judged.
When I was a little older, someone gave me a copy of "The Screwtape Letters," and I have read it probably a dozen or more times over the years as well. Brilliant, allegorical, hilarious in parts, and filled with gentle wisdom, it is a theological masterpiece. I recall the first time I the letter in which one devil brags that he will soon win his first soul for the devil because although the man continues to pray, he doesn't believe what he says any longer. The older, wiser devil releases a stream of invective and explains the younger devil is an idiot, because doesn't the know that "those are the prayers that God loves best!?" How relieved I felt, as a young person, that there was a possibility God might still embrace me, even with all my doubts. Just one of the many gifts Lewis's work offers to those of us searching for a deeper relationship with God.
Screwtape Letters November 1, 2008
An excellent book which shows how the "other side" thinks. Great writing! One of my favorites!
 Agree with Most Helpful Critical Review October 27, 2008
I was hoping this version could replace my paperback copy; however, without the C.S. Lewis preface to the 1961 edition it is incomplete.
Funny (and Serious) as Hell ! September 25, 2008
Like all Lewis' works, this book is full of insights into human life - into those aspects which are often too big and obvious for us to notice. These insights are given us directly from the enemy through the writings of a devil named Screwtape. He writes to his nephew (a novice tempter devil) about his nephew's "patient," a human struggling with faith, who is a representation of us. This book bettered my attitudes about people and life and faith by orders of magnitude! I recommend it to everyone!!
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