Last and First Men, abridged edition

Olaf Stapledon was a philosopher and science fiction writer. He published over twenty books throughout his career and is regarded as one of the most influential science fiction writers of the early twentieth century. Matthew De Abaitua is Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Essex. His sf novel The Red Men was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. His sf novels IF THEN and The Destructives complete the loose trilogy. His book Self & I: A Memoir of Literary Ambition was shortlisted for the New Angle Prize for Literature.

ENDORSEMENTS“Last and First Men is a seminal work of cosmological sf a philosophical examination of the future evolution of humanity, inspirational to Arthur C. Clarke and so many of Stapledon’s successors. Great to see it included in the MIT Press’s Radium Age series.”—Charles Stross, Hugo and Locus award–winning author“No book before or since has had such an impact on my imagination; the Stapledonian vistas of millions and hundreds of millions of years, the rise and fall of civilizations and entire races of men, changed my whole outlook on the universe and has influenced much of my writing ever since.”—Arthur C. Clarke, New York Times (March 6, 1983)