The Machine Stops: And Other Stories (Abinger Editions) [Hardcover]

E.M. Forster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997 | Series: Abinger Editions (Book 7)

The aim of the Abinger Editions is to provide a new, properly edited library of the literary works of E.M. Forster that does justice to his literary genius. This collection provides an intriguing glimpse into E.M. Forster's abiding interest in paganism and mythology , the mysteries of nature, fantasies of the afterlife, and the possibility of magical transformation.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Though Forster is primarily remembered as a novelist, his short stories were paramount to his advancement as a writer. In addition to the title piece, this 1947 collection includes such stories as "The Celestial Omnibus," "The Point of View," and "The External Moment." Additionally, this includes Forster's introduction to the 1947 edition.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 206 pages
• Publisher: Andre Deutsch (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0233991670
• ISBN-13: 978-0233991672
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #931,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster; Is Good-Enough Good Enough?, August 20, 2011

By 

Joseph Valentinetti - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Machine Stops: And Other Stories (Abinger Editions) (Hardcover)

Before computers, when I would answer my ringing phone, it wasn't unusual for the response to be, `Oh, you're there. I was hoping to get your machine.' Email relieved the awkwardness of accidentally being forced to confront another human being. It wasn't perfect but it was good-enough.
Imagine a scale that runs from unacceptable to perfect. Along this scale is poor, fair, mediocre, passable, good-enough, good, better, perfect. Sears used to use a scale in its catalogue of good, better, best. They never would have considered calling them good-enough, better and best. But good-enough is the standard now. Think of the Wikis. The best that can be said about them, on their best day, is good-enough. CGI movies, good-enough, or is it that we are amazed that these things can be done at all that permits them to be considered acceptable? Is Toy Story better animation than Roadrunner? Are these things that are good-enough really good enough for you? Don't you want more?
This is the crux of the idea behind The Machine Stops by E.M Forster. In it, The Book Of The Machine is the stand-in for Wikis and other know-it-all sources. If you have a question, in this future dystopia, you turn to this Book for the answer. No matter that The Book is often wrong and always misleading, it is the source of knowledge and the guide for its people. This idea was lifted to comic heights in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, another Book with all the answers that could not be relied on to be correct or even helpful. Are humans destined to need some kind of Book to guide their lives? Like these examples, the internet and the information explosion presents itself as an entity that appears to be expanding while it is actually shrinking. It contracts and encompasses the life around it.
First impressions no longer exist. Each thought is a derivative of a learned thought, each behavior an imitation. In Forster each person lives in a controlled room. Their senses are manipulated, through the environment, to provide the Machine's misguided definition of perfection. He uses the sense of smell as an example. People in his world are appalled and uncomfortable, it all smells so different. They prefer the stimuli in their own room, not the smell, taste or touch of the outside world or others of their own kind. Look around you. Are things so different now? How many television commercials concerned with alerting you to the intolerable aromas around you do you see each week? How far removed from actual experience do the commercials say you have to be in order to be happy?
Read On.
Joseph Valentinetti; Reviewer

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Machine Stops & Other Stories (E.M.Forster), October 1, 2001

By 

"vikkicoll" (Leicestershire, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Machine Stops: And Other Stories (Abinger Editions) (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book, well ahead of it's time.
It was required reading for us in prep school, and I am now purchasing a copy for my (9 year old) son.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book that will fascinate you!, January 23, 2000

By 

Regina (Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Machine Stops: And Other Stories (Abinger Editions) (Hardcover)

Reading Forster's short story "The Machice Stops" made me understand and think a lot about computer use in our everyday life. His writings are like a prediction of what may come if people remain as arrogant and selfish as they already are. The book also made me think about the existance of God and the reason of our creation. I strongly recommend that you read this book having of course under consideration that it was written in 1909.