Last And First Men

Stapledon, Olaf

ISBN 10: 185798806X / ISBN 13: 9781857988062

Published by Orion / Gollancz

About this Item

© 1930: A stand-alone novel by Olaf Stapledon. Unknown publication date. 7th printing of 1999 trade paperback edition. SF Masterworks Series I (#11):- Synopsis: 'Last And First Men' is not so much a novel as a history of the future, written with breathtaking imagination. Over the course of 2,000 million years it describes the evolutionary rise and fall of eighteen distinct races of men, of which Homo sapiens is the first and most primitive. Apart from Stapledon himself, in the equally ambitious 'Star Maker', no other science fiction writer has attempted, let alone achieved, a work on this scale:- Review(s): "'Last And First Men' is science fiction's greatest ascent. Intoxicating and terrifying, this book is full of concepts mined by later generations of thinkers. Stapledon was the future maker" - Stephen Baxter / "There is nothing else in all of literature quite like Stapledon's two cosmological novels. Their profound view of our place in the scheme of things is a joy to experience" - Kim Stanley Robinson / "No book before or since has ever had such an impact on my imagination" - Arthur C Clarke:- (original cost £6.99).

Seller Inventory # 25.021.00030

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Last And First Men
• Publisher: Orion / Gollancz
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 185798806X
• ISBN 13: 9781857988062
• Binding: Paperback: 7¾" x 5"
• Illustrator: Cover Art: Les Edwards
• Edition: 1999 Edition
• Printing: 7th Printing
• Condition: Near Fine: Small signs of wear
• Weight: 0.22 kilograms
• Seller catalogs:
  • Gollancz SF Masterworks - numbered paperback se...
  • Science Fiction

About this title

Synopsis

One of the most extraordinary, imaginative and ambitious novels of the century: a history of the evolution of humankind over the next 2 billion years.

Among all science fiction writers Olaf Stapledon stands alone for the sheer scope and ambition of his work. First published in 1930, Last and First Men is full of pioneering speculations about evolution, terraforming, genetic engineering and many other subjects.

About the Author

Olaf Stapledon (1886-1950) was born near Liverpool and educated at Balliol College, Oxford and Liverpool University. After spending eighteen months working in a shipping office in Liverpool and Port Said, he lectured extramurally for Liverpool University in English Literature and industrial history. He served in France from 1915 until 1919 with the Friends Ambulance Unit and then lectured again for Liverpool University in psychology and philosophy. His novels include First and Last Men, Last Men in London, Star Maker and Odd John.