William Olaf Stapledon

Last and First Men William Olaf Stapledon

Last and First Men is an imitation history of mankind written from the point of view of a new species of humanity two billion years in the future. Though Olaf Stapledon presents some episodes in detail, most of the novel is very general, showing the broad sweep of a possible human history without attention to particular characters. The narrator's subject is human nature. The accounts of eighteen different human species add up to an exploration of potentials inherent in human nature and assertions about which of those potentials ought most to be valued. The eighteenth species exemplifies the fullest development that humanity achieves. Contemporary humanity, the first species, is characterized by a childish individualism that repeatedly leads to self-destruction. During the centuries of this species' domination, humanity repeatedly rises toward common ideals of civilization only to decay into savagery. The first men deplete their resources and health through religious warfare. This pattern continues to characterize the early developments of subsequent species.