Olaf Stapledon (1886-1950) - philosopher, novelist, educator, and social activist - had an imagination unlike that of any other author. Along with H. G. Wells he is remembered as one of the most original pioneers of twentieth-century science fiction. This anthology of Stapledon's work offers many of his fictional gems, including sections of his best-known novels, Last and First Men, Darkness and the Light, and Star Maker, and the complete test of a novella, The Flames: A Fantasy and the story "Old Man in New World." Many previously unpublished writings, such as Stapledon's essays, poems, memoirs, and letters round out this collection.