Je leest ebooks gemakkelijk op je Kobo e-reader, of op je smartphone of tablet met de bol.com Kobo app. Let op! Ebooks kunnen niet geannuleerd of geretourneerd worden.
Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy (1850-1898) was admitted to the bar in 1871, but that same year he abandoned his practice to become associate editor of the
SpringfieldUnion (Massachusetts). Later, he worked as an editorial writer for the
New York Evening Post. Bellamy’s heart was no more in newspaper work than it had been in the law. His main interest lay in the field of literature. He wrote several short stories and three novels, including
Dr. Heidenhoff’s Process (1880), before he married Emma Sanderson in 1882. Forced by ill health to give up his editorial career, Bellamy devoted himself to writing. His novel
Miss Ludington’s Sister was published in 1884. The young author’s intense awareness of injustices in the economic and social systems, as well as his desire for reforms, impelled him to write
Looking Backward in 1888. “Bellamy Clubs” sprang up across the nation and the novelist embarked on a series of lecture tours and speaking engagements. In 1891, he founded the
New Nation, a Boston newspaper, as an organ for his views, but increasing illness forced him to suspend publication. He continued, however, to work on the sequel to
Looking Backward. It was published under the title
Equality in 1897.
Looking Backward is a utopian science fiction novel by Edward Bellamy. The book tells the story of Julian West, a young American who, towards the end of the 19th century, falls into a deep, hypnosis-induced sleep and wakes up one hundred and thirteen years later. He finds himself in the same location (Boston, Massachusetts), but in a totally changed world: It is the year 2000 and, while he was sleeping, the United States has been transformed into a socialist utopia. The remainder of the book outlines Bellamy's thoughts about improving the future. The major themes include problems associated with capitalism, a proposed socialist solution of a nationalisation of all industry, the use of an "industrial army" to organize production and distribution, as well as how to ensure free cultural production under such conditions.
The young man readily finds a guide, Doctor Leete, who shows him around and explains all the advances of this new age; including drastically reduced working hours for people performing menial jobs and almost instantaneous, Internet-like delivery of goods. Everyone retires with full benefits at age 45, and may eat in any of the public kitchens. The productive capacity of America is nationally owned, and the goods of society are equally distributed to its citizens. A considerable portion of the book is dialogue between Leete and West wherein West expresses his confusion about how the future society works and Leete explains the answers using various methods, such as metaphors or direct comparisons with 19th-century society.
Negatief, positief, neutraal: we zetten een review altijd online. We controleren wel eerst of ’ie voldoet aan onze reviewvoorwaarden en niet nep is. We controleren ook of ’ie is geschreven door iemand die het artikel heeft gekocht via bol.com en zetten dit er dan bij. De controles gebeuren automatisch, al kijken er soms mensen mee. Bol.com betaalt niet voor reviews. Als een reviewer door een andere partij is vergoed, staat dit in de review zelf.
Houd er rekening mee dat je downloadartikelen niet kunt annuleren of retourneren. Bij nog niet verschenen producten kun je tot de verschijningsdatum annuleren.
