Orwell meets Vonnegut in the simultaneously hilarious and chilling masterpiece from the man who invented the word “robot” This legendary but previously hard-to-get novel is a hilarious dystopian satire about the choice between ecological catastrophe and making your quarterly financial goals. As both a commentary on capitalism and the rise of fascism, as well as an early work of science fiction, it is one of the most important books of the twentieth century. When the curmudgeonly sailor Captain von Toch discovers a breed of large, intelligent newts in far-off Polynesia, he realizes that, with a little training, they could be used as a virtual army of complacent pearl-divers in shark-infested waters. Then von Toch’s financial backers realize that the newts can be trained for all kinds of underwater civil engineering projects, or to build new islands, even to defend shorelines—wielding weapons, no less! There’s only one problem: released from their previous environment, the newts replicate like, well, aqua-bunnies. And soon they aren’t so complacent anymore. Acclaimed by many as the first dystopian novel, and others as the best book of science fiction ever written, Karel Capek’s masterpiece remains all that and more: smart, funny, and relevant.

The stories in this collection tackle great events and figures of history, myth, and literature in unexpected ways, questioning views on such basic concepts as justice, progress, wisdom, belief, and patriotism.

Best known for his play R.U.R. -- (Rossum's Universal Robots). The mechanical robot (a term coined by Čapek from the Czech word "robota" meaning drudgery) opened up a whole new world of Science Fiction, as well as adding a word to the English Language.

This trilogy of novels was the culmination of Karel Capek's career. The novels share neither characters nor events; instead, they approach the problem of knowing people—of mutual understanding—in a variety of ways. Detectives faced with a murder reconstruct the crime, but not the character of the man who was murdered. Three people tell stories about a dying pilot they know almost nothing about; each story is as full of truth as it is devoid of facts. And one man looks back on his life and discovers all the people he might have been. Together, these three short novels form a readable philosophical novel unique in world literature.

"One of the genuine masterpieces of sci-fi." — R. D. MullenIn this satirical and enduringly relevant work of science fiction, the acclaimed Czech author Karel Čapek offers a prescient fable of the benefits and dangers of atomic power. Originally published in 1922, the story is set in a then-futuristic Czechoslovakia of 1943, in which an inventor develops the Karburator, a device with the potential to provide abundant low-cost energy. But the reactor's exciting possibilities are shadowed by its dangerous side effect: instead of carbon dioxide, it emits the Absolute, a spiritual essence that inspires a powerful religious fervor. Greed triumphs over ethics as the inventor and his business partner proceed with mass production of the Karburator, resulting in simmering religious strife that ignites a world war.Karel Čapek is best known for popularizing the term "robot" in his play R.U.R., a seminal work of science fiction in which the robots are...

The development of artificial beings in huge quantities to act as workers and soldiers leads to disaster for mankind.

Best known for his play R.U.R. -- (Rossum's Universal Robots). The mechanical robot (a term coined by Čapek from the Czech word "robota" meaning drudgery) opened up a whole new world of Science Fiction, as well as adding a word to the English Language.