Looking Backward

Conceptually, this book was fascinating. It was published in 1888, and features a man who fell asleep in 1887 and wakes up in the year 2000. America has essentially become a utopia, and the majority of the book describes the new society and how they got there. It was fascinating, and also sad, to read the main character Julian West's impressions of his 19th century life compared to the progress society had made. Fascinating and sad because we are now well past the year 2000 and life looks much more like West's 19th century than the future vision.

Stylistically, the book was not that interesting. It was very expository. But overall it was still a worthwhile read.