Looking Backward 20001887 Edward Bellamy Books
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Edward Bellamy's (1850-1898) famous Utopian novel, Looking Backward 2000-1887, discusses the dangers of the stock market, the benefits of a socialist legal system, and the use of an "industrial army" to make tasks run smoother, and anticipates the use of credit cards and warehouse stores like BJ's, Sam's and Costco.
Looking Backward 20001887 Edward Bellamy Books
Fascinating, even if only from the historical perspective, this classic work of utopian fiction was an interesting read. Bellamy wasn't a well known author in his day, but obviously he was quite the thinker and the social and economic turmoil of the late 1800s must have given his plenty of food for thought. Society had many faults and Bellamy's solution was nationalism, please note the lower case, it mustn't be confused with the other kind presently sweeping the world. Bellamy envisioned something like a socialist utopia, powered by the nationalization of all industry. Strongly echoing classical Marxism and even some libertarian notions, the latter specifically in relation to book and newspaper publishing, it's an essentially all too idealistic and naïve yet strangely compelling vision, so much so that it inspired more than 160 nationalist clubs to propagate its ideas and a few utopian communities. Bellamy really did put a lot of thought into this, the book reads like a political manifesto. He did make an effort to fictionalize it to make it more easily digestable (like Plato's Dialogues concept wise), but the fictional aspect pales in comparison to the meat of the narrative. Young man falls asleep in 1887, wakes up in 2000, lo and behold, there's much to be explained and there's even a built in love interest, but will he wakes up...and when. It isn't much of a novel and the writing is very much 1887 even in 2000, the author very much circumscribed by its own time language wise (you know, back when you engaged in intercourse through ejaculations...meaning you participated n a conversation through utterances...fun fun fun), if not ideologically. And yet the man talks of credit cards, something like a dedicated radio/phone line for each living space, something like large boxstores...in a novel published in 1888. That's pretty awesome. The other awesome thing is that his arguments are very compelling, logical and well thought out. It might not have been intended as political work originally, but it certainly became one. He may not present an ideal future, but it's a pretty terrific alternative in many respects to not only 1887 but even present day. It argues against out of control consumerism, for gender equality, it advocates a life dedicated to living with an early retirement age and universal social umbrella. Doesn't a life with free education, free job placement, retirement at 45 sound pretty nice? Obviously a decent alternative to getting in debt for decades for an education you may or may not get to use, then working until old age, hoping there's still a few good years left on that end to enjoy retirement, security of which may by then evaporate. But anyway, there's life and there's fiction and then there's utopian fiction. Don't read this one as a novel, read it for ideas.Product details
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Tags : Amazon.com: Looking Backward: 2000-1887 (9781434410740): Edward Bellamy: Books,Edward Bellamy,Looking Backward: 2000-1887,Wildside Press,1434410749,Classic fiction (pre c 1945),Classics,Fiction Classics,Young Adult Fiction
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Looking Backward 20001887 Edward Bellamy Books Reviews
I think groups the reviews of a book from different editions so to be clear I am reviewing "Looking Backward (Illustrated)"
I got this book because it inspired one of the most amazing buildings in the world the Bradbury building. Any Blade Runner fan knows about this marvelous place and the architect was inspired by this story, so I picked the one with illustrations. Sadly there are two main technical problems
* In many places the phrases are broken in halves. It ends abruptly in one half and then the other half is in the next paragraph.
* The illustrations... they are not along the story but in the very end and are annoyingly stamp sized, in the kindle I try to see them bigger without success.
About the story I have to say it is quite interesting, probably I am not going to read it again but I am not sorry to have read it. In the positive things is amazing Bellamy anticipated for the year 2000 the use of credit cards, the use of malls by the public and, although not exactly in the way he visioned and not in the year 2000, our use of cell phones as devices of media consumption, in specific music; we could say that in 2000 our Internet connections where by modem through telephones and somehow there is a vision of the distribution through mechanical ways as has postulated to send products by drones. I think the style to purchase in that future is close to the future we are living indeed (I say future because I speak from the perspective of the author)
In the negative side... is exasperating! @_@ Bellamy doesn't show, he tells. The protagonist, Mr. Julian West, awakes in the Boston of the future but he prefers to talk about Boston than to walk its streets. He talks with this man of the future, Dr. Leete, and his family, and the tone is fake, as if they were two actors making propaganda for a TV infomercial, one doing the part of the seller and the other of the member of the public. I feel I cannot trust them, that they are hiding the ugly to show only the nice so we can buy their product. There is a part where the beautiful daughter of the doctor tells him about the shipments and details it and after a time he goes to see it but almost there is no word about it. I feel prisoner of the house of the doctor.
I like to read about utopias but this is sadly just a political one. The political vision of the author has been proven in the XX century as one that kills creativity and beget stagnation. Basically in this book there is only happiness if the people is indoctrinated by the state to accept as natural what is imposed and mandatory. Even the literary criticism is subjugated to the ideology, Dickens is loved in this book not for his literary quality but because it helps to express the ideology of that future.
One funny thing is when the doctor says to Mr. West "I see you are a man of culture" it is funny because the expression these days is used for memes xP
I enjoy reading stories of time travel. This book is one of the most mind stretching I have come across since it has the main character going forward in time and the author dreaming of a world 100 years in the future.
The writing is from the 1800 s and so has to be read and thought about. It is a true story of what the world was like in the late 1800 s from the point of view of someone living then. He has a vision of utopia in the year 2000 that we can hold and compare to where we actually developed. I am not sure that I would like living in his world. But then again, I am not happy with all I see in the modern world.
This is not a book to be read in one sitting but should be savored in small chunks rather than devoured. I truly enjoyed the opportunity to experience this classic book.
Fascinating, even if only from the historical perspective, this classic work of utopian fiction was an interesting read. Bellamy wasn't a well known author in his day, but obviously he was quite the thinker and the social and economic turmoil of the late 1800s must have given his plenty of food for thought. Society had many faults and Bellamy's solution was nationalism, please note the lower case, it mustn't be confused with the other kind presently sweeping the world. Bellamy envisioned something like a socialist utopia, powered by the nationalization of all industry. Strongly echoing classical Marxism and even some libertarian notions, the latter specifically in relation to book and newspaper publishing, it's an essentially all too idealistic and naïve yet strangely compelling vision, so much so that it inspired more than 160 nationalist clubs to propagate its ideas and a few utopian communities. Bellamy really did put a lot of thought into this, the book reads like a political manifesto. He did make an effort to fictionalize it to make it more easily digestable (like Plato's Dialogues concept wise), but the fictional aspect pales in comparison to the meat of the narrative. Young man falls asleep in 1887, wakes up in 2000, lo and behold, there's much to be explained and there's even a built in love interest, but will he wakes up...and when. It isn't much of a novel and the writing is very much 1887 even in 2000, the author very much circumscribed by its own time language wise (you know, back when you engaged in intercourse through ejaculations...meaning you participated n a conversation through utterances...fun fun fun), if not ideologically. And yet the man talks of credit cards, something like a dedicated radio/phone line for each living space, something like large boxstores...in a novel published in 1888. That's pretty awesome. The other awesome thing is that his arguments are very compelling, logical and well thought out. It might not have been intended as political work originally, but it certainly became one. He may not present an ideal future, but it's a pretty terrific alternative in many respects to not only 1887 but even present day. It argues against out of control consumerism, for gender equality, it advocates a life dedicated to living with an early retirement age and universal social umbrella. Doesn't a life with free education, free job placement, retirement at 45 sound pretty nice? Obviously a decent alternative to getting in debt for decades for an education you may or may not get to use, then working until old age, hoping there's still a few good years left on that end to enjoy retirement, security of which may by then evaporate. But anyway, there's life and there's fiction and then there's utopian fiction. Don't read this one as a novel, read it for ideas.
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