Looking Backward: 2000 - 1887
Edward Bellamy
During the economic and social upheaval of the 1870’s and 1880’s the notion of a better social order took hold in politics and in the culture as well, finding expression in the utopian novels of the day. By far the most popular was Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward: 2000 – 1887, which was first published by a small house 1888 and gained enormous popularity after Houghton, Mifflin & Co. purchased the company and rereleased the book . The central figure is Julian West, a young Bostonian who enters a in deep sleep in 1887 and awakens in the year 2000 to a radically changed world. He finds a guide, Dr. Leete, who explains the rationale behind such realities as collective property, equal income distribution, fewer hours for harder jobs, retirement at age 45 and free food to a confused and bemused time traveler. Little attention is given to new technology, but certain innovations have occurred that we readily recognize: consumer cooperatives, credit cards, and a “cable telephone”. Civil litigation has all but disappeared and crime is treated as a primarily medical issue. Leery of the term socialism, the concepts nonetheless owe a good deal to classical Marxism. The popularity of the book spawned a movement called “nationalism” and no less than 162 “Bellamy Clubs” organized to discuss and spread the ideas. The book was the third largest best-seller of its time, surpassed only by Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.
Play sample:
Product Details
| Read by: | Anna Simon |
| Length: | 7 hours and 48 minutes |
| Type: | Solo reading |
| Media: | MP3 CD |
| Package: | Pasper sleeve |
| Item No.: | CD-1212 |
| List Price: | $3.99 |
| Artwork: | Disc contains 300 dpi image files for printing |
| CD label art: | Includes both square JPG and round PNG formats |
| CD jewel case art: | Includes cover, inner insert, and J-card |
| DVD case art: | Includes wrapper for Amaray box and inner insert |
Credits
Production
Book Coordinator: Anna Simon
Meta Coordinator: Anna Simon
Proof Listener: Marian Martin
Artwork
Cover: Design from the cover of the Esperanto edition Rigardante Malantuxen
Inset: Cover of the first edition of Looking Backeard: 2000-1887, 1888
Inset: Portrait drawing of Edward Bellamy, 1900, Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography
The Recordings
About MP3 Audio
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The Recordings
These recordings were made using the author’s original published work, which is in the public domain. The readings were recorded by members of Librivox.org, which has generously made the recordings available to the public domain. While Librivox condones the sale and distribution of these recordings, it is not associated with the management or operations of MP3 Audiobook Classics. The audio files have been lightly edited and have been engineered using professional audio tools for maximum sonic quality. We spend considerable time and effort to ensure the recordings are free of noise, equalized for maximum listener pleasure, and that tracks are leveled and normalized to provide a consistent listening experience.
Table of Contents
| Track | Chapter | Length |
| 01 | 01 - Preface | 3:36 |
| 02 | 02 - Chapter 1 | 18:58 |
| 03 | 03 - Chapter 2 | 9:30 |
| 04 | 04 - Chapter 3 | 16:40 |
| 05 | 05 - Chapter 4 | 10:37 |
| 06 | 06 - Chapter 5 | 17:00 |
| 07 | 07 - Chapter 6 | 8:03 |
| 08 | 07 - Chapter 7 | 14:53 |
| 09 | 08 - Chapter 8 | 12:06 |
| 10 | 09 - Chapter 9 | 19:29 |
| 11 | 10 - Chapter 10 | 13:26 |
| 12 | 11 - Chapter 11 | 16:54 |
| 13 | 13 - Chapter 12 | 22:39 |
| 14 | 14 - Chapter 13 | 18:06 |
| 15 | 15 - Chapter 14 | 12:51 |
| 16 | 16 - Chapter 15 | 16:58 |
| 17 | 17 - Chapter 16 | 10:20 |
| 18 | 18 - Chapter 17 | 21:22 |
| 19 | 19 - Chapter 18 | 5:44 |
| 20 | 20 - Chapter 19 | 16:14 |
| 21 | 21 - Chapter 20 | 7:34 |
| 22 | 22 - Chapter 21 | 12:46 |
| 23 | 23 - Chapter 22 | 31:02 |
| 24 | 24 - Chapter 23 | 7:56 |
| 25 | 25 - Chapter 24 | 5:10 |
| 26 | 26 - Chapter 25 | 23:52 |
| 27 | 27 - Chapter 26 | 34:04 |
| 28 | 28 - Chapter 27 | 21:12 |
| 29 | 29 - Chapter 28 | 39:12 |
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