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Last and First Men

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Last and First Men

By: Olaf Stapledon
Narrated by: Stephen Greif
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About this listen

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.

©1930 Olaf Stapledon (P)2012 Audible Ltd Classics Science Fiction Fiction

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All stars
Most relevant
Brilliant, a wonderful sci-fi narrative that explores the realms of the possible. Truely immersive and captivating. One of the great forebears of science fiction.

Wonderful Read

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Impressive scope and foresight for a book that was written in 1930,
but ultimately not interesting enough for my taste.
No story or characters, just a bunch of concepts and small events explaining the long story of humanity across 18 civilisations ...

impressive but not interesting

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An interesting read, how a visionary man saw the distant future in 1930. Author combined his futuristic vision with some great spiritual and philosophical ideas, which makes this book very unique

Enjoyed the last quarter the most

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What a fantastic book and what an extraordinary mind Olaf possessed. Obviously our understanding of the universe has changed somewhat since this was written however this doesn't appear to date the book. I can't help but feel our civilisation has deteriorated considerably in the 94 years since this book was written, I can't imagine a modern writer being able to create such an insightful piece of work and that saddens me however this book does give hope that perhaps our decline will end one day and perhaps we might regain or even exceed our past brilliance.

Excellent and thought provoking

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Although a long read and at times sparse in details a modern audience might crave this is an exquisite and original work of future history. A believe the parsity of details, far from being a true negative, only adds to the poetic and bittersweet theme this novel abounds in when humanity attains its peaks and surveys its nadirs.

Philosophy, Poetry and Speculative Biology.

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