This is a strange, visionary book. It is the ultimate expression of European tradition of literate, thoughtful prediction of the future. It takes the ideas of Wells and his contemporaries to the extreme, ultimately dwarfing the concerns of the era (peace, war, the World State, socialism) with an expansive vision of man's potential.  In some ways it is very dated, in other ways it is timeless. The appeal of science fiction has been defined as the "sense of wonder", and the book's continual pulling back from the near future into ever larger timescales achieves this on an unparalleled scale.

At the same time, it is rather hard to read. It's more like an old textbook, from the days before they broke everything into little bullet points and boxes, than a novel.

We will talk about the ideas contained in it. But when you read it, don't just dismiss the jarring ideas as "dumb" -- try to understand the historical and cultural context the book was coming from. Here are some things that had not happened when the book was written. Keep this in mind as you read The rise of Hitler. Broadcast television. Space flight. Atomic power or weapons. The invention of the computer. The discovery of DNA (though the idea of genes was accepted). Plate tectonics. Invention of radar. Invention of jet engines.

You should also read the Clute & Nicholls article on Stapledon. As it points out, he was a philosopher and  wrote the book unaware of the emergence of science fiction as a pulp magazine genre -- a genre he influenced but was not influenced by. One of the things to consider as you read it is the influence is has exerted on the development of science fiction and other discussion of the future.

Discussion Questions

1. How much actual science and technology is in the book? Do you find his extrapolations of scientific progress convincing? What would you say Stapledon is most interested in.
2. What are Stapledon's views about the nature and qualities of the human race? Would you say that he is religious? Does he like twentieth century people?
3. What place do individual will and chance hold in his idea of history?
4. Many of Stapledon's ideas reflect the assumptions of his time (some of them held by scientists as well as members of the public). What can we learn about the early 20th century from his discussion of
       race (and in particular its links to nationality)
       evolution (in particular the idea of racial vitality and the inheritence of adaptation)
       gender (differences and sources of differences between men and women)
5. Which of his predictions seemed most plausible or surprising to you? Which were the most dated?
6. Are there any ideas from this book you have seen used in other stories or films? How did these uses compare with Stapledon's original?

Links and Further Reading

Page created by Thomas Haigh. Last edited  01/12/2002.