This novel's title character is a dog named Sirius with human-like intelligence. The humans in his life go to great lengths to prevent Sirius from becoming a circus-type wonderdog, and instead, they seek to develop Sirius's character much like a family would create and foster that of a human child.

William Olaf Stapledon (10 May 1886 – 6 September 1950) — known as Olaf Stapledon — was a British philosopher and author of several influential works of science fiction.Stapledon's writings directly influenced Arthur C. Clarke, Brian Aldiss, Stanisław Lem, John Gloag, Naomi Mitchison, C. S. Lewis, Vernor Vinge, John Maynard Smith, and indirectly influenced many others, contributing many ideas to the world of science fiction. The "supermind" composed of many individ...

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.

One moment a man sits on a suburban hill, gazing curiously at the stars. The next, he is whirling through the firmament, and perhaps the most remarkable of all science fiction journeys has begun.Even Stapledon's other great work, LAST AND FIRST MEN, pales in ambition next to STAR MAKER, which presents nothing less than an entire imagined history of life in the universe, encompassing billions of years.

This bold exploration of the cosmos ventures into intelligent star clusters and mingles among alien races for a memorable vision of infinity. Cited as a key influence by science-fiction masters such as Doris Lessing, this classic has left its mark not only in modern literature but also in the fields of social anthropology and philosophy.

This novel explores the theme of the superman in the character of John Wainwright, whose super-normal human mentality inevitably leads to conflict with normal human society and threatens the destruction of the utopian colony founded by John and other superhumans.

The English novelist and philosopher Olaf Stapledon wrote intriguing histories of the future, which served as a major influence on the development of the science fiction genre. His debut novel, ‘Last and First Men’, covers a history of 18 successive species of humanity, while his magnum opus ‘Star Maker’ provides an outline history of the Universe over two billion years. His works are highly acclaimed by figures as diverse as Brian Aldiss, Jorge Luis Borges, J. B. Priestley, Bertra...

A bomber is killed in battle along with all of his companions; but something wakes in his dying, which is first a spirit bomber-crew, then the spirit of all those killed in battle, then the spirit of man, the cosmos and the Universal Spirit.

Star Maker is a science fiction novel by Olaf Stapledon, published in 1937. The book describes a history of life in the universe, dwarfing in scale Stapledon's previous book, Last and First Men (1930), a history of the human species over two billion years. 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 and First MenOlaf StapledonLast and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future is a science fiction novel written in 1930 by the British author Olaf Stapledon. A work of unprecedented scale in the genre, it describes the history of humanity from the present onwards across two billion years and eighteen distinct human species, of which our own is the first and most primitive. Stapledon's conception of history is base...

Sirius is Thomas Trelone’s great experiment - a huge, handsome dog with the brain and intelligence of a human being. Raised and educated in Trelone’s own family alongside Plaxy, his youngest daughter, Sirius is a truly remarkable and gifted creature. His relationship with the Trelones, particularly with Plaxy, is deep and close, and his inquiring mind ranges across the spectrum of human knowledge and experience. But Sirius isn’t human and the conflicts and inner turmoil that torture him ca...

A British philosopher and author of several influential works of science fiction.contributing many ideas to the world of science fiction. The "supermind" composed of many individual consciousnesses forms a recurring theme in his work. Star Maker contains the first known description of what are now called Dyson spheres. Freeman Dyson credits the novel with giving him the idea. Last and First Men features early descriptions of genetic engineering and terraforming. Sirius describes a ...