Last And First Men

Last and First Men is a "future history" science fiction novel, describing the history of humanity from the present onwards across two billion years and eighteen distinct human species, of which our own is the first. Conception of history follows a repetitive cycle with many varied civilizations rising from and descending back into savagery over millions of years, as the later civilizations rise to far greater heights than the first. It is an early example of the fictional supermind; a consciousness composed of many telepathically linked individuals.

A human narrator from England is transported out of his body via unexplained means. He realizes he is able to explore space and other planets. After exploring a civilization on another planet in our galaxy at a level of development similar to our own that existed millions of years ago thousands of light years from Earth (the "Other Earth") in some detail, his mind merges with that of one of its inhabitants, and as they travel together, they are joined by still more minds or group-minds. This snowballing process is paralleled by the expansion of the book's scale, describing more and more planets in less and less detail. The disembodied travelers encounter many ideas that are interesting from both science-fictional and philosophical points of view. Star Maker tackles philosophical themes such as the essence of life, of birth, decay and death, and the relationship between creation and creator. A pervading theme is that of progressive unity within and between different civilizations.

Last Men in London by Olaf Stapledon is a science fiction novel offering profound reflections on humanity and its future. Stapledon's narrative, told through the eyes of a last-man survivor, merges speculative fiction and deep philosophical discourse, resulting in a unique and thought-provoking read.

Woodward exposes one of the final pieces of the Richard Nixon puzzle, examining the untold story of Alexander Butterfield, the Nixon aide who disclosed the secret White House taping system that changed history and led to Nixon's resignation. In forty-six hours of interviews with Butterfield, supported by thousands of documents, many of them original and not in the presidential archives and libraries, Woodward has uncovered new dimensions of Nixon's secrets, obsessions, and deceptions.

John Wainwright is extremely intelligent even if he is stunted in his physical development. He believes in communist ideas but is critical of mainstream Marxism. He is also quite vain and highly skillful in the arts of seduction. From a human viewpoint, he can be considered amoral or perhaps to be following a morality beyond human understanding. The novel explores the theme of the Übermensch (superman) in the character of Odd John whose supernormal human mentality inevitably leads to conflict with normal human society and the utopian colony founded by him and other superhumans.

Sirius is a dog with humanlike intelligence. He is raised by scientist Thomas Trelone in North Wales, near Trawsfynydd. Thomas embarks on a program of using steroids and other chemicals to rapidly develop cognitive power of dogs, resulting in super sheep dogs. Sirius, however, proves to possess a dog intelligence comparable to a normal human being, as he is able to communicate with English words, although it takes some time for the humans to understand his canine pronunciation. He is born at the same time as his creator's human daughter, Plaxy, and the two of them are raised together as brother and sister. When Plaxy leaves for school they drift apart and troubles for Sirius begin. With human intelligence and emotion he declines to lead a life of a regular dog and he tends to develop as a person, but keeps running into obstacles.