Last and First Men is a science fiction novel that tells the epic story of Humans from the early 1900s to billions of years in the future and everything in between.

The book was written in the 1930s, so be prepared for some 'Oh, come on!' moments. But, also be prepared for some really good science fiction that would hold its weight today. To enjoy this book for what its worth, you must understand the limits of scientific knowledge at the time. This will help ease the pain of his most mis-targeted predictions and fully appreciate his keen insight and imagination.

I personally did not like the writing style. There are no real characters and it borders on having the feeling of reading a history book. You will probably not get any real emotional connection with the story or root for the humans or anything like that. He speaks of the periods of time in large swaths that further tone down any climactic events that unfold. A typical example would be like: "and so humanity went through several million years in this social structure with many ups and downs and near extinctions". There was way too much of that type of glazing over for my taste. Granted he is covering a lot of time, but he could have written the story better.

I was quite impressed with his imagination and insightful predications about science and culture given when he wrote the book. For instance, the issue of energy depletion is a major theme in several parts of the book. He invents a rather imaginative Martian organism that has a biology and mindset completely different from our own and he backs it up with some believable scientific explanations. He envisions several stages of wild genetic engineering and this is where the book shines. He also tackles some heavy moral issues especially involving war and species dominance. However, he has some gaping oversights, unlikely events, and misguided science throughout. For instance, throughout these *billions* of years including some rather advanced human societies, humans never leave the solar system. I personally find that unlikely assuming we survive that long.

This book was a good attempt at a great idea; quite unique in the sci-fi realm. A bit hard to read but full of stuff to make you think.

"Last and First Men" is a very good book even today. It was first published in 1930, and it is far from a conventional novel. This book has many similarities to his later book "Star Maker" in style and scope, but in my opinion it does not hold up as well. Though certainly very good, I found certain themes to be more repetitive in this book, which detracted a bit from my enjoyment. The book covers the history of man, from the 30's through the last race of man far in the future as told by one of the last men, through a psychic link with a present day author. The book covers such themes as genetic engineering, the waste of natural resources, alien invasion of Earth, as well as the terraforming and invasion of Venus by Man and many others.

This book was rated 3rd on the Arkham Survey in 1949 as one of the `Basic SF Titles'. It also was tied for 30th on the 1975 Locus All-Time poll for Novels; 43rd on the 1987 Locus All-Time pool of SF Novels, and tied for 43rd on the 1998 Locus All-Time Poll for Novels written prior to 1990. This particular edition includes a Foreword by Gregory Benford and an Afterword by Doris Lessing. This is the 11th of the SF Masterworks paperbacks released by Victor Gollancz Books.

>This is a book for people who like to read books about history, who like accounts over long timeframes, who like Truley [sic] Epic stories. The kind of people who buy computer games with thick plots, or who want to know more about the background history and politics of a fantasy world.

It's probably not fortuitous that Stapledon is starting to achieve a bit of popularity well after science-fiction has largely been superceded in the mass market by fantasy (although fantasy still hides behind the moniker "science-fiction and fantasy"). There is no possible literary justification for Stapledon's sprawl, but if you're the sort of person who spends his free time learning to speak "elvish" or Klingon, then you may enjoy immersing yourself in his self-indulgence. I didn't.

P. S.: Amazon's biographical blurb above is not quite accurate:

>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.

Actually, after (and before) leaving the Blue Funnel Line and while teaching at Manchester Grammar School, Stapledon lectured evenings in the Liverpool area for the Workers Educational Association, NOT for Liverpool University.

Last and First Men is not so much a story as a history of mankind from 1914 to about a billion years in the future, a board overview of about 17 species of Humans over that time period. It doesn't have indiviual characters as mankind itself as the protagonist.

This is not a book for people who want a traditional story. This is a book for people who like to read books about history, who like accounts over long timeframes, who like Truley Epic stories. The kind of people who buy computer games with thick plots, or who want to know more about the background history and politics of a fantasy world. Stapleton traces the rise and fall of a number of civilizations, the reasons, the dark ages between them, with the evolution of the various men. He puts a lot of thought into how each civilization works and what leads to it's fall, usually some fatal flaw that is never compensated for, all withen some kind of philsophical/spiritual context. As Stapleton himself says, he is constructing a "Myth".

Admittly, it has it's flaws. The first 50 pages or so seem rather strange in the context of the history of the 20th century since 1930, when Stapleton published this book. There are no Atomic/Nuclear Weapons(though there is something that may be called a fusion weapon ), coal-powered airplanes are described at one point, the Nazis don't exist and mentions of the "League of Nations" in 2300 AD just seems bizarre. A number of Human species are completely glossed over, so out of the 17, we really only learn about half that many. Stapleton is a Philospher and it shows, going on diatribes at times that occasionally gets a little thick for the normal reader.

I liked this book and found it facinating, though I also am interested in the whole of human history, including the hypotheicals of the future. Not everyone will, due to the lack of characters, but hopefully people will give it a chance.