A Man Who Saw Humanity from Two Billion Years Away
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A Man Who Saw Humanity from Two Billion Years Away
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Re: A Man Who Saw Humanity from Two Billion Years Away
#2The last I checked, it was weirdly difficult to buy a copy of Last and First Men and be certain you were getting the complete book as it was intended to be read by the author.
Oddly, this article is "adapted from Matthew De Abaitua’s introduction to Olaf Stapledon’s "Last and First Men," which says "abridged" on the cover. I wonder what that's all about.
Re: A Man Who Saw Humanity from Two Billion Years Away
#3The last I checked, it was weirdly difficult to buy a copy of Last and First Men and be certain you were getting the complete book as it was intended to be read by the author. Oddly, this article is "adapted from Matthew De Abaitua’s introduction to Olaf Stapledon’s "Last and First Men," which says "abridged" on the cover. I wonder what that's all about.
It’s freely available from Project Gutenberg.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79003
The edition referenced in the article removes the last 4 chapters (13–16)
Re: A Man Who Saw Humanity from Two Billion Years Away
#4The last I checked, it was weirdly difficult to buy a copy of Last and First Men and be certain you were getting the complete book as it was intended to be read by the author. Oddly, this article is "adapted from Matthew De Abaitua’s introduction to Olaf Stapledon’s "Last and First Men," which says "abridged" on the cover. I wonder what that's all about.
It’s freely available from Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79003 The edition referenced in the article removes the last 4 chapters (13–16)
The book entered the public domain since I looked into it. Fun!
Re: A Man Who Saw Humanity from Two Billion Years Away
#5Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s freely available from Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79003 The edition referenced in the article removes the last 4 chapters (13–16)
The book entered the public domain since I looked into it. Fun!
Yep! It became public domain in the United States this year. But it's been public domain in Canada since 2020 (70y after death) and has been available from Canada's Project Gutenberg equivalent: https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20200531
Re: A Man Who Saw Humanity from Two Billion Years Away
#6Love these kinds of stories. Reminds me of the novel series "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov.
Re: A Man Who Saw Humanity from Two Billion Years Away
#7I'm not impressed with the article - boring and treats the book as an archeological study instead of attending to the immensity of the book's contents and predictions.
"Huxley" this, "Wells" that. Ugh! It is hard to make this book look boring but this article's author has done it.
Apologies in advance for the curmudgeonly tone.
Re: A Man Who Saw Humanity from Two Billion Years Away
#8The book that he wrote next, Star Maker, is a wonderful read and is quite early for the genre of scifi. Incredible scope and I still think about it often.
Re: A Man Who Saw Humanity from Two Billion Years Away
#9> “Last and First Men” is not progressive
strange thing to claim if you have read the book when there's a clear trending line in a specific dimension. what its not is monotonic.
Re: A Man Who Saw Humanity from Two Billion Years Away
#10I'm not impressed with the article - boring and treats the book as an archeological study instead of attending to the immensity of the book's contents and predictions. "Huxley" this, "Wells" that. Ugh! It is hard to make this book look boring but this article's author has done it. Apologies in advance for the curmudgeonly tone.
I find this comment valuable because it sheds light on how impressive the book is to read in contrast to the subdued treatment in the article.