The Complete Idiots Guide to the Ultimate Reading List discussion

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Chapter 9: Science Fiction > A Canticle for Leibowitz

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message 1: by William (new)

William (acknud) OK... We have nuclear apocalypse, 600 years of dark ages and then we are introduced to a catholic monastery that is entrusted to keep scientific writings safe. Then we skip ahead another 700 or so years and mankind is ready to start looking into what science is all about. Skip ahead another 800 years and mankind is advanced again, has conquered interplanetary space travel and then we have.....nuclear apocalypse again.

I gather the underlying theme here is man cannot be trusted to define their own destiny and are doomed to destroy themselves over and over again.

I found the premise to be interesting but the writing was dull and had a lot of Latin! I read somewhere that Miller started this book after bombing a monastery in WWII. He subsequently killed himself. I would say not a happy camper.


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