A review by dlv_tolstoy
Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon

5.0

Dark, slow, dense, but brilliant and visionary. More than once I wondered whether the "Last Men" actually did reach back and communicate this narrative to Professor Stapledon. This book has genuine Messianic ambiance. Ominous and awe-inspiring. My respect for Stapledon grew, ploddingly, with each page. How in the world did he come up with this elaborate story arc--one which covers two billion years of future history? Stapledon had command of many branches of human knowledge; the biological sciences, as well as psychology, economics, philosophy, astronomy, theology, astro-physics and more. This book is much more than a foundational and influential work of science fiction. It's a philosophical tour de force, an optimistic cosmicism, an atheistic Christianity. Last and First Men is a tale of humanity coming of age. A tale, to quote the late great Carl Sagan, of "star stuff that has become self aware and able to contemplate its own origins."