Last and First Men and Star Maker : Two Science Fiction Novels

Book Description

The greatest future histories in science fiction. In Last and First Men the protagonist is "mankind" in an ultimate definition — intelligence. Star Maker, in a sense its sequel, is concerned with the history of intelligence in the entire cosmos.

Customer Reviews:

Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Stapledon's epic ages of man tour-de-force. This is by no means a detailed character study, but a study of a theme - the evolution of humanity, and its spread. You are not quite sure how one man could get his head around this at the time, but he managed, in a masterful way. Very influential and exciting, this book.

Imperfect Humans and Angelic Beasts.......2007-08-03

Olaf Stapledon was an immensely deep-thinking philosopher who utilized science fiction for his expansive ruminations on the place of humanity in the universe. The two books combined here are an excessively heavy read and are considerably more dense than his two well-known character-driven novels - the also weighty Odd John and Sirius (the volume combining those two classics is highly recommended). Last and First Men and Star Maker could be faulted for reading less like novels and more like philosophical tracts, but this is not a sign of weakness because Stapledon's philosophy is robust enough to make the method work. Meanwhile, reviewers who harshly criticize Stapledon's political leanings are members of ideologies that are inherently hostile to creativity and deep thinking. Stapledon was a philosopher, not an ideologue, and his fully developed conceptions of the small place of humanity in the cosmos ultimately revealed his humanist faith. He achieved these philosophical insights with a science fiction vision of an immensity that has never been equaled in the genre.

Last and First Men (1931) gives a future history of the human race that is incredibly far beyond the few thousand years that most sci-fi writers can come up with. Stapledon maps out human progress and evolution over a whopping two billion years, with a narrative scope in which all of human experience as we know it can be glossed over in a single paragraph. Though Stapledon's predictions of future progress are hokey at times (for instance, he was a few hundred million years off on the first human space voyage), his vision is stupendous in its range and depth. The spirit of humanity survives through 18 different species, many near-extinctions and evolutionary dead-ends, and three different homeworlds.

Star Maker (1937) has, amazingly, a vision of universal history that is orders of magnitude beyond Last and First Men. That story's two billion years become but a single paragraph here. Via thought experiments in dream-like omniscience, Stapledon presents the history of the cosmos as a tragedy taking place over hundreds of billions of years, with the rise and fall of galaxies and dimensions serving as the action. Eventually Stapledon envisions the universe as a sentient deity of a vastness and complexity that even his nearly-omniscient narrator can't put into words. Stapledon's works are essential for big thinkers who are obsessed with understanding their place within the billions of years and trillions of light years of the vast infinite universe. Stapledon's ability to shed light on mankind's inconsequential yet fully worthwhile place in the uncaring cosmos was profoundly astonishing. [~doomsdayer520~]

communist diatribes, not novels.......2007-06-14

These books are fiction, but they are not novels. There is no plot, no character development, no dramatic tension. Nothing about them, structurally, is like a novel. There is a great deal of creativity, and the occasional dose of mysticism, but it is all bent in the service of an endless assault of over-the-top communist propaganda.

I was quite surprised by this, since I loved Stapledon's novel "Odd John", which is anything but egalitarian or socialist.

Human spiritual evolution is Stapledon's basic theme in all his works, but in these two, he went down the wrong road. Evolution takes place when individuals separate themselves from the unconscious masses. Socialism can only lead to the masses dragging conscious men down to their own level. Freedom alone can lead to evolution. Stapledon was a victim of the sick philosophies of his time, now, of course, utterly discredited. It clearly destroyed his later works, where he went against his every artistic instinct to pen this socialist tripe for transparent political reasons.

But do read "Odd John", which has none of this gobbledygook in it, is an actual novel, and indeed a bona fide classic.

This is my 5th copy!.......2006-06-29

Last and First Men has been my favorite book for almost 30 years. W.O.S. is my favorite author of all time. I find myself re-reading it every few years to marvel at the accuracy of his predictions. The chapter on the Americanization of the planet and the conflict with China is eerie in it's accuracy. This from a book written before WWII. I've loaned out several copies and they always wind up on extended journeys. I bought this paperback edition to give to my 17y.o. This book is a must for any serious SF fan!

Don rubber underpants before reading ..........2005-09-14

Last and First Men :-
One of the most succinct and accurate renderings of mankind's present state of mind and future progression. It documents the future of man from the start of WW2 and continues until the Sun engulfs the earth, and beyond. Considering this book was first published in 1931, it is remarkable, both in its honesty as regards human nature, and in its phenomenal span. By the time we reach chapter 3 of the 16 in this book, it is already 2300 AD and you feel like you have had the viewpoint of a God. So intense is the writing, that a few pages can take you hours to read and weeks to think about. What a writer, what a visionary. Of particular interest to me was the laconic way he can sum up an entire country's culture and people, and the accuracy of prediction in the first part of the book. Quotes from around what would be the back-end of the 20th century on his timescale (what he terms "Balkan Europe") :-

"... For love of France was the undoing of the French. They prized the truly admirable spirit of France so extravagantly, that they regarded all other nations as barbarians."

"... the practice of communism was gradually undermined. For the Russian state came increasingly under the influence of Western, and especially American, finance. The materialism of the official creed also became a farce, for it was foreign to the Russian mind. Thus between practice and theory there was, in both respects, a profound inconsistency. What was once a vital and promising culture became insincere."

Points to note :-
All budding politicians should be forced to read this book. It should be part of any politics curriculum.
Strikingly accurate and plausible portent of homo sapiens future. Read in the context of 2002, it is easy to see mankind's current folly and the extrapolation of current scientific endeavours. For example, we may achieve global peace ("An Americanised Planet"") for a few millennia, but at the cost of spiritual and intellectual freedom and development. When the "Fall of the First Men" happened, recovery took a very long time :-

"Later, when the epidemic was spent, even though civilisation was already in ruins, a concerted effort of devotion might yet have rebuilt it on a more modest plan. But among the First Men, only a minority had ever been capable of wholehearted devotion. The great majority were by nature too much obsessed by private impulses."

Sounds like the malaise of current homo sapiens.
The theme of continual physical exertion and constant movement of attention as an underpinning for the lifestyles of all successful social inhabitants was beautifully described. This is so true of today's and future societies. No pause for reflection or contemplation. The abandonment of philosophy as a science in the future. The pig-headed clinging to pagan artefact or idol worship, rather than logic.
The brilliant description of the "Second Men", with his finer array of senses, and his natural propensity for altruism.
The plausible evolution of intelligent life on Mars in 10 million years time, with the subsequent misunderstanding of what is intelligent between Earth and Mars.
Man's creation of more evolved forms of man meshes brilliantly with current genetic research.
"Time travel" achieved by mental regression into past minds. The future remains unknown.
Conclusions :-
Apply common sense to the situation as it is now, to work out the best course of action. Never invoke traditions or old beliefs as these threaten your survival in an ever-changing environment.
Within the same species, organisms are equally complex biochemically. Therefore, any social structure that imposes arbitrary division within the species, is intrinsically flawed. This is true of current homo sapiens organisation, where certain people are far more highly regarded than others for stupid reasons, and divisions between cliques of people usually erupt in violence, rather than heated debate.
Just because someone cannot be convinced of your way of seeing things, doesn't mean that physical coercion becomes necessary.
"Live and let live" doesn't mean live it up and let the rest live in squalor.
Nothing should be regarded as taboo, save that which is unnatural.
There are absolutely no restrictions on what anyone can think.
If you can have it, then anyone can have it.

Star Maker :-
After reading "Last and First Men", I approached Olaf's next masterpiece, "Star Maker" ( first published in 1937), with some disbelief as to how on earth he could possibly better the span, pathos and magnanimity he had already laid out. A quick scan of the appendices yielded the impression that this book would embrace not just the tiny fragment of history that was mankind's stay in the universe, but that all history of the universe would be described, and that of other universes too. All of this in less pages than "Last and First Men"! My immediate reaction was simply, "No way, Jose" and I wondered how he was going to set about such an immense task. The vehicle used was, of course, the best man has going for him - his imagination. A contemplative man is whisked off on an imaginary journey through space and time by an ever-gathering mass consciousness. He describes how galaxies of stars formed from nebulae that were born flying apart from each other, how these cooling nebulae condensed into galaxies of stars, and how the rare occurrences of young stars that passed each other, formed planets, and how, on a few rare planets, intelligent life evolved. He shows how certain conditions inhibit the appearance of life, or intelligent life, and how certain evolutionary pathways cause life to stagnate or wipe itself out. He puts mankind's existence into perspective in both universal time and space.

There are touching moments and there are exciting battles. There is both tragedy and comedy. There are uplifting victories and crushing defeats. Far from being stuffy, this book is really a very good read indeed, considering the scope of its subject. The final few short chapters really have you reading a couple of paragraphs, and then putting the book down to have a long ponder over what has just been addressed. And the book's climax leaves you with lifelong matters to mull over - one of these being, "Boy, and I thought I was pretty intelligent..." ;-)

Here are a couple of lengthy quotes for your enjoyment :-
--------------------------------------------------------------
... The sequence of events in the successfully waking world was generally more or less as follows. The starting point, it will be remembered, was a plight like that in which our own Earth now stands. The dialectic of the world's history had confronted the race with a problem with which the traditional mentality could never cope. The world-situation had grown too complex for lowly intelligences, and it demanded a degree of individual integrity in leaders and in led, such as was as yet possible only to a few minds. Consciousness had already been violently awakened out of the primitive trance into a state of excruciating individualism, of poignant but pitifully restricted self-awareness. And individualism, together with the traditional tribal spirit, now threatened to wreck the world. Only after a long-drawn agony of economic distress and maniac warfare, haunted by an increasingly clear vision of a happier world, could the second stage of waking be achieved. In most cases it was not achieved. "Human nature", or its equivalent in the many worlds, could not change itself; and the environment could not remake it.

But in a few worlds the spirit reacted to its desperate plight with a miracle. Or, if the reader prefers, the environment miraculously refashioned the spirit. There occurred a widespread and almost sudden waking into a new lucidity of consciousness and a new integrity of will. To call this change miraculous is only to recognize that it could not have been scientifically predicted even from the fullest possible knowledge of "human nature" as manifested in the earlier age. To later generations, however, it appeared as no miracle but as a belated wakening from an almost miraculous stupor into plain sanity.

and from later in the book :-

... The result of this extraordinary custom, of artificial fatherhood by "brute-men", which was carried on without remission in all countries for a generation, and in a less thorough manner for a very much longer period, was to alter the composition of the whole quasi-human race. In order to maintain continued adaptability to an ever-changing environment a race must at all costs preserve in itself its slight but potent salting of sensibility and originality. In this world the precious factor now became so diluted as to be ineffective. Henceforth the desperately complex problems of the world were consistently bungled. Civilization decayed. The race entered on a phase of what might be called pseudo-civilized barbarism, which was in essence sub-human and incapable of change. This state of affairs continued for some millions of years, but at last the race was destroyed by the ravages of a small rat-like animal against which it could devise no protection.

I must not stay to notice the strange fortunes of all the many other quasi-human worlds. I will mention only that in some, though civilization was destroyed in a succession of savage wars, the germ of recovery precariously survived. In one, the agonizing balance of the old and the new seemed to prolong itself indefinitely. In another, where science had advanced too far for the safety of an immature species, man accidentally blew up his planet and his race. In several, the dialectical process of history was broken short by invasion and conquest on the part of inhabitants of another planet. These and other disasters, to be described in due course, decimated the galactic population of worlds.

In conclusion I will mention that in one or two of these quasi-human worlds a new and superior biological race emerged naturally during the typical world crisis, gained power by sheer intelligence and sympathy, took charge of the planet, persuaded the aborigines to cease breeding, peopled the whole planet with its own superior type, and created a human race which attained communal mentality, and rapidly advanced beyond the limits of our exploring and over- strained understanding. Before our contact failed, we were surprised to observe that, as the new species superseded the old and took over the vast political and economic activity of that world, it came to realize with laughter the futility of all this feverish and aimless living. Under our eyes the old order began to give place to a new and simpler order, in which the world was to be peopled by a small "aristocratic" population served by machines, freed alike from drudgery and luxury and intent on exploration of the cosmos and the mind.

This change-over to a simpler life happened in several other worlds not by the intervention of a new species, but simply by the victory of the new mentality in its battle against the old.
--------------------------------------------------------------
To summarise, "Star Maker" is the best book in the whole world ever, and everybody should be forced to read it and understand it, at gunpoint.

Average customer rating:

A grand summer read!
A fun gay novel, on the beach or not
Great reading, year-round!
Fluff but enjoyable fluff
Sometimes Simple is Best

Last Summer
Michael Thomas Ford
Manufacturer: Kensington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0758204051

Customer Reviews:

A grand summer read!.......2007-07-07

I have read three of Michael Ford's books . . . and this is certinally the best. With a quick pace and smooth style this is a great beach or airplane read. The characters seem plucked from our lives and recent headlines. If your thinking about a vacation in P-Town take this book along for a grand read.

A fun gay novel, on the beach or not.......2007-03-08

When I read gay-themed novels, I usually have low expectations,
which is a shame. I have read Michael Thomas Ford's humorous essay
books and thoroughly enjoyed them, but was hesitant to pick up one
of his novels. I was very pleasantly surprised! In this book he
creates a string of characters and manages to connect them all as
they come together for a summer in Provincetown, MA, which serves as
an excellent back-drop for the story. The characterization is
excellent and the humor sprinkled throughout made it that much more
fun to read. But what kept my interest the most is how accurately
gay relationships were depicted, from the friends, the commited
couples, to the not-so-commited couples, to the "newbies", to the
parents, to the relationships on the rocks. Much of the book felt
like non-fiction to me, because of how accurately the relationships
were portrayed. Some readers may find the connections in the
storylines to be too convenient or forced, but I was so enjoying the
book that I just went with it. I think the flaws are easily
overlooked. Prudes beware, there are some graphic descriptions of
gay sex!

Great reading, year-round!.......2007-03-06

I have read and re-read this book several times, and LOVE it every time. The characters are fresh and believable - each with a real human side to them that the author actually allow us to see without the rose-coloured glasses. Josh, Reilly, Emmeline, Toby, and the rest of them are all likeable and many of us can see a bit of ourselves in each of them.

Unlike another reviewer who felt somewhat offended by the story and it's reality to his own experience in P'town, I found the book rather realistic and at times, understated. P'town can be quite wild, quite aloof, and quite the party place - but it also has it's uniquely quiet times full of friendly people and wonderful natural beauty. The author captured both sides of the P'town reality.

Definately a good read! Other books by this same author are also good, but Last Summer remains my favourite.

Fluff but enjoyable fluff.......2006-12-03

Okay, it's still another book about gay relationship angst, but Ford puts it together engagingly if not always plausibly. The plot is pretty standard--boy's BF cheats; he's shocked and disillusioned; flees to Ptown to sort things out; finds family, a new profession and a dynamite new BF, but not without some obstacles and false starts. The characters are on the good side of cliched and for the most part, the reader cares about what happens to them. Everything rolls to a predictable ending, but what the heck, it didn't take long to read and the ride was fun. Yeah, good for the beach or a transcontinental flight.

Sometimes Simple is Best.......2006-09-27

"Last Summer" is one of the best gay novels I've read even though the plots are fairly simple. But, hey, sometimes simple is best, right?

I enjoyed this book because it is diversed with characters that are gay, lesbian, transgendered and questioning. Josh escapes to P-Town from Boston after learning that his lover, Doug, has cheated on him. Toby escapes P-Town from his conservative and close-minded family after coming out to them. Ty and Reid, a Hollywood star and producer, escapes there as well, away from the public eye, so that they can just be themselves.

Meanwhile, Jackie, a native of P-Town, is thinking about having a baby after her lover has left her. However, she just needs to decide whom to ask for the "donation". Emmeline dreams of being a full woman, yet cannot afford that final surgery and adjusts to dealing with her ailing mother, whom she hasn't seen nor spoken in years.

Little by little, over the summer, each of these characters cross paths as they deal with their own and each other's issues. Love. Lust. Infidelity. Betrayal. Coming out. Acceptance. Blackmail. Family. Friendship. They're all in the book.

Like I said, it's a good book which you'll enjoy. I enjoyed it so much that I'm already reading another book of his.

Last and First Men (SF Masterworks) (Sf Masterworks 11)

Average customer rating:

a review of 'Last and First Men'
Stapledon's First Masterwork
self-indulgent sprawl
Very Epic........sometimes too much so
vanity writing

Last and First Men (SF Masterworks) (Sf Masterworks 11)
Olaf Stapledon
Manufacturer: Gollancz
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 185798806X

Book Description

One of the most extraordinary, imaginative and ambitious novels of the century: a history of the evolution of humankind over the next 2 billion years.

Among all science fiction writers Olaf Stapledon stands alone for the sheer scope and ambition of his work. First published in 1930, Last and First Men is full of pioneering speculations about evolution, terraforming, genetic engineering and many other subjects.

Customer Reviews:

a review of 'Last and First Men'.......2006-09-30

Last and First Men is a science fiction novel that tells the epic story of Humans from the early 1900s to billions of years in the future and everything in between.

The book was written in the 1930s, so be prepared for some 'Oh, come on!' moments. But, also be prepared for some really good science fiction that would hold its weight today. To enjoy this book for what its worth, you must understand the limits of scientific knowledge at the time. This will help ease the pain of his most mis-targeted predictions and fully appreciate his keen insight and imagination.

I personally did not like the writing style. There are no real characters and it borders on having the feeling of reading a history book. You will probably not get any real emotional connection with the story or root for the humans or anything like that. He speaks of the periods of time in large swaths that further tone down any climactic events that unfold. A typical example would be like: "and so humanity went through several million years in this social structure with many ups and downs and near extinctions". There was way too much of that type of glazing over for my taste. Granted he is covering a lot of time, but he could have written the story better.

I was quite impressed with his imagination and insightful predications about science and culture given when he wrote the book. For instance, the issue of energy depletion is a major theme in several parts of the book. He invents a rather imaginative Martian organism that has a biology and mindset completely different from our own and he backs it up with some believable scientific explanations. He envisions several stages of wild genetic engineering and this is where the book shines. He also tackles some heavy moral issues especially involving war and species dominance. However, he has some gaping oversights, unlikely events, and misguided science throughout. For instance, throughout these *billions* of years including some rather advanced human societies, humans never leave the solar system. I personally find that unlikely assuming we survive that long.

This book was a good attempt at a great idea; quite unique in the sci-fi realm. A bit hard to read but full of stuff to make you think.

Stapledon's First Masterwork.......2004-09-24

"Last and First Men" is a very good book even today. It was first published in 1930, and it is far from a conventional novel. This book has many similarities to his later book "Star Maker" in style and scope, but in my opinion it does not hold up as well. Though certainly very good, I found certain themes to be more repetitive in this book, which detracted a bit from my enjoyment. The book covers the history of man, from the 30's through the last race of man far in the future as told by one of the last men, through a psychic link with a present day author. The book covers such themes as genetic engineering, the waste of natural resources, alien invasion of Earth, as well as the terraforming and invasion of Venus by Man and many others.

This book was rated 3rd on the Arkham Survey in 1949 as one of the `Basic SF Titles'. It also was tied for 30th on the 1975 Locus All-Time poll for Novels; 43rd on the 1987 Locus All-Time pool of SF Novels, and tied for 43rd on the 1998 Locus All-Time Poll for Novels written prior to 1990. This particular edition includes a Foreword by Gregory Benford and an Afterword by Doris Lessing. This is the 11th of the SF Masterworks paperbacks released by Victor Gollancz Books.

self-indulgent sprawl.......2004-07-17

>This is a book for people who like to read books about history, who like accounts over long timeframes, who like Truley [sic] Epic stories. The kind of people who buy computer games with thick plots, or who want to know more about the background history and politics of a fantasy world.

It's probably not fortuitous that Stapledon is starting to achieve a bit of popularity well after science-fiction has largely been superceded in the mass market by fantasy (although fantasy still hides behind the moniker "science-fiction and fantasy"). There is no possible literary justification for Stapledon's sprawl, but if you're the sort of person who spends his free time learning to speak "elvish" or Klingon, then you may enjoy immersing yourself in his self-indulgence. I didn't.

P. S.: Amazon's biographical blurb above is not quite accurate:

>After spending eighteen months working in a shipping office in Liverpool and Port Said, he lectured extramurally for Liverpool University in English Literature and industrial history.

Actually, after (and before) leaving the Blue Funnel Line and while teaching at Manchester Grammar School, Stapledon lectured evenings in the Liverpool area for the Workers Educational Association, NOT for Liverpool University.

Very Epic........sometimes too much so.......2004-04-15

Last and First Men is not so much a story as a history of mankind from 1914 to about a billion years in the future, a board overview of about 17 species of Humans over that time period. It doesn't have indiviual characters as mankind itself as the protagonist.

This is not a book for people who want a traditional story. This is a book for people who like to read books about history, who like accounts over long timeframes, who like Truley Epic stories. The kind of people who buy computer games with thick plots, or who want to know more about the background history and politics of a fantasy world. Stapleton traces the rise and fall of a number of civilizations, the reasons, the dark ages between them, with the evolution of the various men. He puts a lot of thought into how each civilization works and what leads to it's fall, usually some fatal flaw that is never compensated for, all withen some kind of philsophical/spiritual context. As Stapleton himself says, he is constructing a "Myth".

Admittly, it has it's flaws. The first 50 pages or so seem rather strange in the context of the history of the 20th century since 1930, when Stapleton published this book. There are no Atomic/Nuclear Weapons(though there is something that may be called a fusion weapon ), coal-powered airplanes are described at one point, the Nazis don't exist and mentions of the "League of Nations" in 2300 AD just seems bizarre. A number of Human species are completely glossed over, so out of the 17, we really only learn about half that many. Stapleton is a Philospher and it shows, going on diatribes at times that occasionally gets a little thick for the normal reader.

I liked this book and found it facinating, though I also am interested in the whole of human history, including the hypotheicals of the future. Not everyone will, due to the lack of characters, but hopefully people will give it a chance.

vanity writing.......2003-11-02

>If your idea of a novel is a book about people's relationships, it may not be for you.

My idea of a novel is a book for and about individual human beings. This idea of mine is not unique to me, but is inherent in the four-hundred year-old conception of the novel, from Cervante's "Don Quixote" to Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". A book that is not a for and about individual human beings needs to be called something other than a "novel".

>The history of mankind from 1930 to a few billion years hence is pre-written by a philosopher ...

Mr. Stapledon's biography: He did earn a DEGREE in philosophy, but he lived off an inheritance and, aside from a short stint as a public grade school teacher among a variety of odd jobs before he came into his inheritance, he did not teach. Except for a few obscure early journal articles, he did not publish philosophy. He gave occasional ad hoc public lectures about socialism under the auspices of a socialist society and otherwise occupied himself writing science-fiction novels which sold very modestly. It is rather a stretch to call him a philosopher.

>...and fantasist possessed of a great and unquiet mind, inhuman but not inhumane as someone has well put it.

As someone else has pointed out, not only novelists but also historians concern themselves with individual human beings. An author who really WAS "inhuman", that is, not human, might not, I suppose, in the way that an entomologist does not customarily concern himself with individual ants, but such a non-human meta-entomologist would neither likely be as obsessed with nations as Mr. Stapledon is here. Especially he would not ANTHROPOMORPHIZE nations.

Average customer rating:
Daddy's Home at Last: What It Takes for Dads to Put Families First
Mike Singletary , and Russ Pate
Manufacturer: Zondervan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Fatherhood | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Christian Living | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Mike Singletary One-on-One: The Determination That Inspired Him to Give God His Very Best

Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer

ASIN: 0310215692

Book Description

The intensity, focus, and commitment that former All-Pro Linebacker Mike Singletary brought to the Chicago Bears are the same qualities that have made him a star player in the most important team of all-his family. What is it that has driven Singletary to be the best father he can be, and why is he so concerned that other fathers learn to fill their role in their families with wisdom, perseverance, integrity, and love?

Perhaps it's because Singletary himself grew up without a dad. The product of a broken home, Mike knows just how important a father is to his children. In Daddy's Home at Last, Singletary speaks candidly about what it was like to grow up without a father's daily influence. And he tells of his own decision to put his family first in all his plans and decisions, and to be involved in all of his children's lives as they grow up.

Singletary insists that dads-not televisions sets or computerized entertainment centers-are the real role models in their children's lives. Fathers are needed at PTA meetings, soccer games, Scout outings, and church camps. Fathers are needed as rewarders, disciplinarians, and goal-setters. They're needed as encouragers and consolers, listeners and advisors, and as someone their children can share their joys, opportunities, and prayers with.

Book Description

Bobby is a typical urban New York City teenager--impulsive, eager, restless. For his sixteenth birthday he cuts school with his two best buddies, grabs a couple of slices at his favorite pizza joint, catches a flick at a nearby multiplex, and gets some news from his girlfriend, Nia, that changes his life forever: He's going to be a father. Suddenly things like school and house parties and fun times with friends are replaced by visits to Nia's pediatrician and countless social workers who all say that the only way for Nia and Bobby to lead a normal life is to put their baby up for adoption. Then tragedy strikes Nia, and Bobby finds himself in the role of single, teenage father. Because his child--their child--is all that remains of his lost love.

With powerful language and keen insight, Johnson tells the story of a young man's struggle to figure out what the "right thing" is and then to do it. The result is a gripping portrayal of single teenage parenthood from the point of view of a youth on the threshold of becoming a man.

Customer Reviews:

A Teenager's Review........2007-10-04

I've read other reviews, and how this book should be read by all teens. No kidding. I am seventeen years old (only one year older than Bobby-the main character) and finished reading this book the same day I borrowed it from my English teacher. What a great book. I have a hard time putting into words how much better and more in touch with reality I felt after finishing this book.

Like most males my age, I feel like Superman, and say "Oh that would never happen to me" when subjects like teen pregnancy are brought to my attention. I realize after reading this book my arrogance has only crippled me and made me less prepared to take on the reality that is life. I don't think I could ever go through the events that take place in "The First Part Last" and ended up respecting the character Bobby as the man he wasn't at all prepared to be in the beginning of the story.

I am ready to recommend this book to just about every single one of my friends and family members.

A Heartbreaking Story.......2007-09-24

I think the title of this review says it all. Angela Johnson's "The First Part Last" broke my heart. I deliberately read through this thin volume slowly as to make my time with the characters last. The result was me laying in bed in tears, almost borderline at doing the "ugly cry," about the plight of Bobby and his beautiful daughter Feather. Johnson does an excellent job of creating characters that are both uncompromising and richly drawn. It is one of the best books I have ever read.

Grown Up Kids.......2007-08-27

This book, which is like so many lives of other teenage men, was one of my favorite books. I really enjoyed reading as Bobby, unselfishly put his life on a hold to raise his child. It was time for him to start to become a man, a grown up, at 16, but he didn't have the time. Time was up he had to be a grown up, a man, a father. I enjoyed this book so much I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. to finish it.
He also had to raise the baby on his own because his mom was never around and told him it was his responsibility and he needed to be a man about it. His girlfriend... well, you read the book and you'll find out. Although, I wish it had a little more information about what happened to Nia, but all in all, this book showed alot about taking the responsibility for your mistakes and to learn from them. And Bobby did just that in this story even though he really did do the first part last.

Great Book for Teens.......2007-06-14

When I checked this book out from the library, I was unaware that it was for young readers (wrong place I guess. I am glad that I read it though. It gave us a glimpse into to teen-age pregnancy...from the teen father's perspective. A great little read!

Loved it.......2007-06-07

I first read this book when I was about twelve, and I've reread it several times a year since. It has a beautiful story, but what really captured me was the elegant writing. Bobby doesn't always sound like a teenage boy, but he always sounds beautiful.

Average customer rating:

Last and First Men & Last Men in London
Olaf Stapledon
Manufacturer: Penguin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000K11NUK

Average customer rating:

First Love/Last Love
C. Ortleb
Manufacturer: Perigee Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0399512772

Average customer rating:

LAST AND FIRST MEN

Manufacturer: Jonathan Cape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H42UHU

Average customer rating:

LAST AND FIRST MEN
STAPLEDON
Manufacturer: PENGUIN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S5Z3F4

Average customer rating:

Last and First Men
Olaf Stapledon
Manufacturer: E. P. Dutton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PS47GU

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