Last and First Men
by Olaf Stapledonliterary work· published 1930
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Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future is a "future history" science fiction novel by the British author Olaf Stapledon. It was first published on 23 October 1930 by Methuen. A work of unprecedented scale in the genre, it describes the history of humanity from the present onwards across two billion years and eighteen distinct human species, of which contemporary humans are the first. The book employs a narrative conceit that, under subtle inspiration, the novelist has unknowingly been dictated a channelled text from the last human species. Stapledon's conception of history follows a repetitive cycle with many varied civilisations rising from and descending back into savagery over millions of years, as the later civilisations rise to far greater heights than the first.
Adaptations (1)
Last and First Men was adapted into a 2020 film.
Last and First Men2020 · film · 70 min · dir. Jóhann Jóhannsson · IMDb ↗As the end approaches inexorably, the last humans, living millions of years into the future, send a message to the humanity of the present that is both a plea for help and a warning, but also an epic tale of evolution, decline and hope.
