The Machine Stops (Dodo Press) (Paperback)

~ E. M. Forster (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Edward Morgan Forster, OM (1879-1970), was an English novelist, short story writer, and essayist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society. His humanistic impulse toward understanding and sympathy may be aptly summed up in the epigraph to his 1910 novel Howards End. He had five novels published in his lifetime. He achieved his greatest success with A Passage to India (1924). The novel takes as its subject the relationship between East and West, seen through the lens of India in the later days of the British Raj. His views as a secular humanist are at the heart of his work, which often depicts the pursuit of personal connections in spite of the restrictions of contemporary society. He is noted for his use of symbolism as a technique in his novels, and he has been criticised for his attachment to mysticism. His other works include Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908) and Maurice (1971).

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Dodo Press (April 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140990329X
• ISBN-13: 978-1409903291
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #460,595 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reading for anyone, September 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Machine Stops (Library Binding)

I read this book during my Junior year of high school and was in awe of it. I feel that this story is good reading for anyone who has concerns about the power computers wield in out lives and for anyone who fears the power they may someday have. I found that it touched upon many aspects of upcoming technology and the possible effects this technology may have on us. I also must say that the last line is the best I have ever read. I won't ruin it for you, read it for yourself.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Prophetic science fiction, February 7, 2007

By	M. Nusair (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Machine Stops (Paperback)

Forster wrote this book some time before 1914, which is utterly astonishing when you consider the society he portrays in this novel of the future. Flying ships, automated machinery run by computers (although he does not use that word), robotic equipment to maintain and repair society's hardware, are all in their infancy even today, almost a century later. This is science fiction that could have been written in the 1960s or 1990s. I read this book in the early sixties, and assumed at the time that it was contemporary, not realising that it was written before World War 1. I was very pleased to find that it was still available in reprinted form. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly prophetic, May 13, 2005

By	PMR (Baltimore, MD, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Machine Stops (Paperback)

It's amazing to think that this story was written nearly a century ago, when most of the machinery that currently runs our lives hadn't even been invented yet. My son's heading off to college to major in electrical engineering. He'll be working on the Machine, and I'll be sending this story along with him to keep him grounded
(sorry about the pun).