Rating: 
Summary: Scintillating
Review: In his prodigious understanding of human nature, Lewis writes this amazing work on how we fail.
Written from the perspective of a Demon who is teaching a young nephew of his how to tempt and trip 'his' human, where the weaknesses are, and how they are overcome.
A Must Read
Rating:
Summary: Very good Message!
Review: If you're lokking for a book that has a good clear message, this is a good one. It is about how a demon, Screwtape, rights letters to his demon nephew, Wormwood, on how to tempt a man who is Wormwoods "Patient". Because they are demmons prettymuch all they say is right, is wrong, and vice-versa, which is how you know what the message the author, C.S. Lewis is trying to give to the reader. This book is very interesting, and enjoyable to read!
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Summary: More than a book
Review: This is simply more than a book, it's a book's book a sneak into the mind and heart of man. I pray that Wormwood and Screwtape are having a "hell" of a time and failing at their current assignments. I have heard that Lewis took some flack in his day for publishing these letters, they were just too real, too close to home, as if some would use them as a guide in being the devils advocate. In reality Lewis does a great service by showing how this world looks to those spirits that are working against the greatest "enemy" ever. To anyone new to C.S. Lewis, if that be possible, this is a great place to start, a real classic and extremely creative, to any not new to Lewis but having failed thus far to pick up this work, what are you waiting for?
Rating:
Summary: Clever exposition
Review: The Screwtape Letters is an extremely humorous and clever exposition of the traditional theology of temptation. The concept of a correspondance between devils is not entirely new; Mark Twain wrote a satire just as clever (though from an opposite perspective) in his "Letters from the Earth." But Lewis brings a certain malevolent charm to his demonic bureaucracy, a darkness of soul that contrasts with his insistence of the importance of everyday actions in making one's way to heavenly bliss.As always with Lewis, I think, this book is really about himself as much as anything. Like Augustine, he is amazed to find both a devil and an angel within himself. Lewis admitted that writing the book placed a great cramp in his spiritual life. Then there is that strange statement in the introduction in which Lewis reveals that he developed a sort of occult technique that assisted him in writing the book. Lewis testily states that people who want to obtain this writing technique from him for nefarious purposes will be unsuccessful. One might ask who those "evil people" who want to "use" a writing technique (!) might be. I have often thought that getting in touch with his own dark side created such anxiety for Lewis that in this statement he is simply projecting dark desires onto others. (The other alternative is that Lewis really believed he was channeling demonic energies when he wrote the book. Such an act of admitted consorting with the enemy would be surprising in a Christian writer, however.) Lewis was fascinated his whole life with the figure of the magician, the manipulator of others, the evil, resentful monster that he insisted lives within each of us. More than most of us, he seems to have been aware of both the dark and light sides of himself. This is one of the best books he wrote in which to explore the personal obsessions of a deeply passionate soul.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant look into the human soul
Review: I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about themselves. This book causes you to pause and evaluate your own morality. There are many moments when you will stop and realize that it is you that Wormwood is talking about. Literature at it's best. Imaginative, witty, insightful.
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Summary: Damnation comes with a whisper
Review: I remember one of the opening lines to Stephen King's "The Stand": This is how the world ends, not with an explosion, but a whisper. C.S. Lewis was exploring a similar theme a generation before that. The simple plot: Screwtape, a demon, writes letters to his nephew, who is in charge of getting a man to fall from morality and trust in God. But the plot goes much, much deeper... A real lesson you should take from the book is that damnation doesn't come all at once. Screwtape even says to his nephew that the best road to hell is a gradual, gently sloping one. The book really opened my eyes on how I live my life. Even the smallest things I do in this world have consequence in the next. The book may not cause earth-shaking changes in your life, but reading this book definitely will make you think. And any book that does that is worth 1,000 times the cover price. An interesting addition to this (and several other) version is a story Lewis wrote for the New Yorker more than a decade after "Screwtape" was first published. It serves as a wonderful epilouge to the tale, and I can only imagine the thrill of people who devoured the book when it first came out and then had to wait literally YEARS before they could get another small taste.
Rating:
Summary: A Bit of Instruction For Nephew Wormwood
Review: This is a delightful dialogue between two devils. The primary devil is Screwtape, a high level Tempter who is doing his best to teach his nephew Wormwood, a novice tempter, the ins and outs of exploiting Wormwood's "patient." The goal? The goal is to feast on the patient's soul. And if that doesn't work, Wormwood's soul will suffice. Unfortunately for Wormwood, he needs a lot of instruction. C.S. Lewis provides the details of Screwtape's instruction. The first lesson in tempting is not to create an evil for a person but to exploit the weaknesses already in the patient. A practised devil should be able to exploint the good in a person by corrupting just enough to make it an evil. And so, Uncle Screwtape proceeds for a short time until he's had enough of his flunky nephew. Though comical to the extreme, this book provides a bounty of instruction. I surmise that it would not be unusual for most readers to view themselves as somewhat easy targets even for Wormwood. And that is Lewis' point. And so, if you would like to spend a couple of hours enjoying the wit of C.S. Lewis and get some good instruction at the same time, you must purchase this book. You won't regret it, and old Screwtape would be flattered that you thought him so clever!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books ever
Review: I have nothing but the highest praise for Screwtape Letters. The first time I read it, I got about a third of the way through before deciding that I needed to start over so that I could take good notes. I've probably given away 6 or 7 copies of this book in the past month or two.
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Summary: So much wisdom in such a little book
Review: The basic principle of this book is that it is written by a senior devil, Screwtape, to his nephew, a "junior tempter." Just the idea that there is a devil specially assigned to tempt each of us to hell is motivating, but there is so much to learn from this slim little book! This is one of my spiritual "mainstays" -- that book I keep returning to or keep quoting. Lewis addresses many of the following (most of which I have never heard mentioned elsewhere): annoying relatives, "sophisticated" friends who look down on Christianity, bravery, folks who may not look like much but may be people of great faith. (As Screwtape writes, "They may be great warriors for the enemy, but the patient only sees the neighborhood grocer." That's a paraphrase, by the way!) The writing is very clear and not too dense, for those who are just beginning their journey with spiritual reading. At the same time, "The Screwtape Letters" has a lot to offer those who are more advanced. You'll definitely keep coming back to this one.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional
Review: This book is the most amazing of CS Lewis' works. It is the most inventive, creative, mind-blowing experience you can have as a reader, or a beliver. Recommended reading for every human being.
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