Synopses & Reviews
"No book before or since has ever had such an impact upon my imagination," declared Arthur C. Clarke of
Last and First Men. This masterpiece of science fiction by British philosopher and writer Olaf Stapledon (18861950) is an imaginative, ambitious history of humanity's future that spans billions of years. Together with its follow-up,
Star Maker, it is regarded as the standard by which all earlier and later future histories are measured.
The protagonist of this compelling novel is humanity itself, stripped down to sheer intelligence. It evolves through the ages: rising to pinnacles of civilization, teetering on the brink of extinction, surviving onslaughts from other planets and a decline in solar energy, and constantly developing new forms, new senses, and new intellectual abilities. From the present to five billion years into the future, this romance of humanity abounds in profound and imaginative thought.
Synopsis
"No book before or since has ever had such an impact upon my imagination," declared 2001 author Arthur C. Clarke of this masterpiece of science fiction. An imaginative, ambitious history of humanity's future that spans billions of years, this 1930 epic abounds in prescient speculations. A must-read for scholars of the genre.
Synopsis
This masterpiece of science fiction is an imaginative, ambitious history of humanity's future that spans billions of years. A must-read for scholars of the genre, this 1930 epic abounds in prescient speculations.
Table of Contents
Foreword to the (Original) American EditionPrefaceIntroduction, by One of the Last MenThe Chronicle1. Balkan Europe2. Europe's Downfall3. America and China4. An Americanized Planet5. The Fall of the First Man6. Transition7. The Rise of the Second Men8. The Martians9. Earth and Mars10. The Third Men in the Wilderness11. Man Remakes Himself12. The Last Terrestrials13. Humanity on Venus14. Neptune15. The Last Men16. The Last of ManDiagrams