Last and First Men

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.

A preeminent figure of British science fiction, Olaf Stapledon (1886-1950) wrote several influential novels. Praised by H. G. Wells, Aldous Huxley, and Virginia Woolf, Stapledon's works introduced such innovative concepts as genetic engineering and terraforming.

Foreword to the (Original) American Edition Preface Introduction, by One of the Last Men The Chronicle 1. Balkan Europe 2. Europe's Downfall 3. America and China 4. An Americanized Planet 5. The Fall of the First Man 6. Transition 7. The Rise of the Second Men 8. The Martians 9. Earth and Mars 10. The Third Men in the Wilderness 11. Man Remakes Himself 12. The Last Terrestrials 13. Humanity on Venus 14. Neptune 15. The Last Men 16. The Last of Man Diagrams