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(More customer reviews)_This little rare gem of a book is one of the first examples of apocalyptic science fiction to originate in the U.S. (originally published in 1889.)
_Briefly, it is the account of a Persian expedition of exploration in search of the fabled city of Nhu-Yok, as told by the leader of the expedition. They find an endless expanse of ruins- complete with Statue of Liberty (completed just three years before the book was written.) Indeed the entire continent is now a wilderness once again. It all stands as an object lesson of the fate of the "Mehrikans"- "their rapid growth, their vast numbers, their marvellous mechanical ingenuity and their sudden and almost unaccountable disappearance." There is something uncomfortably and eerily prophetic about this unique excercise in speculative fiction- given the recent events concerning New York and the Islamic world. Also, the fact that the author places blame of the depopulation to "Climatic changes, the like of which no other land ever experienced" is uncomfortably close to our current situation.
TO THOSE THOUGHTFUL PERSIANS
WHO CAN READ A WARNING IN THE SUDDEN RISE
AND SWIFT EXTINCTION OF A FOOLISH PEOPLE
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED
By the way, it is the 1902 edition that contains F.W. Read's haunting color illustrations.
Click Here to see more reviews about: The last American: A fragment from the journal of Khan-li prince of Dimph-yoo-chur and admiral in Persian navy
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