Short history lesson: Samuel Butler was a cukie old man who lived in the 19th century. Like everybody else at the time, he became intensly interested in Darwin's theory of evolution. Unlike everybody else at the time, he tried to send some of his crazy theories to Darwin himself, which of course Charles blew off immediately. Angered by his idol's heartless rejection, Butler set off on his own to recreate his own brand of Lamarckian evolution. Never heard of him? Well, that's probably because everything he believed has since been proven false.
Erewhon or...nowhere sort of spelled backwards, is a story about a man that takes a journey into the land beyond where he finds a crazy town that does everything backwards. How exciting! They have banned all machines. They believe that crimes are diseases and diseases crimes (you can go to jail for getting a cold). They teach unreason in their universities. Their churches are banks...yada yada. It goes on and on. You might find a few interesting ideas here and there, but the satire will become unbearable after oh...five or six pages.
Don't bother with this book. Bulter basically ripped off Gulliver's Travels and jammed some skewed ideas about evolution into it. Go read Gulliver instead. It's much better. If you've read Gulliver, go find something else to chew on.
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