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R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)
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R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) Paperback - 2004

by Karel Capek; Claudia Novack-Jones (Translator); Introduction by Ivan Klima

R.U.R. written in 1920, premiered in Prague in 1921, and first performed in New York in 1922 garnered worldwide acclaim for its author and popularized the word robot. Mass-produced as efficient laborers to serve man, ÔCapek's Robots are an android product they remember everything but think of nothing new. But the Utopian life they provide ultimately lacks meaning, and the humans they serve stop reproducing. When the Robots revolt, killing all but one of their masters, they must strain to learn the secret of self-duplication. It is not until two Robots fall in love and are christened 'Adam' and 'Eve' by the last surviving human that Nature emerges triumphant.


Summary

R.U.R.—written in 1920, premiered in Prague in 1921, and first performed in New York in 1922—garnered worldwide acclaim for its author and popularized the word robot. Mass-produced as efficient laborers to serve man, Capek’s Robots are an android product—they remember everything but think of nothing new. But the Utopian life they provide ultimately lacks meaning, and the humans they serve stop reproducing. When the Robots revolt, killing all but one of their masters, they must strain to learn the secret of self-duplication. It is not until two Robots fall in love and are christened “Adam” and “Eve” by the last surviving human that Nature emerges triumphant.

From the publisher

A visionary work of science fiction that introduced the word "robot" Written in 1920, premiered in Prague in 1921, and first performed in New York in 1922--garnered worldwide acclaim for its author and popularized the word robot. Mass-produced as efficient laborers to serve man, Capek's Robots are an android product--they remember everything but think of nothing new. But the Utopian life they provide ultimately lacks meaning, and the humans they serve stop reproducing. When the Robots revolt, killing all but one of their masters, they must strain to learn the secret of self-duplication. It is not until two Robots fall in love and are christened "Adam" and "Eve" by the last surviving human that Nature emerges triumphant. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Details

  • Title R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)
  • Author Karel Capek; Claudia Novack-Jones (Translator); Introduction by Ivan Klima
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Pages 84
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Group, New York
  • Date 2004-03-30
  • Features Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780141182087 / 0141182083
  • Weight 0.2 lbs (0.09 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.74 x 5 x 0.32 in (19.66 x 12.70 x 0.81 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2003061698
  • Dewey Decimal Code 891.862

Media reviews

'A great writer of the past who speaks to the present in a voice brilliant, clear, honorable, blackly funny, and prophetic.' (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.)

About the author

Karel Capek (1890-1938) was the leading Czech playwright, novelist, and columnist between the wars. He is best known for R. U. R. and his novel, War with the Newts. Ivan Klma is an award-winning novelist, playwright, and essayist whose work was long suppressed under Communism.
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