Rating: 
Summary: This is the way the world ends...
Review: ...and this is also the genesis of science fiction as a medium for social commentary. Long before Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick, and Douglas Adams mined science fiction for dark pearls of wisdom, Karel Capek set the stage with the delightful "War with the Newts." A long-time favorite of mine ever since I studied it in a literature class in college, I enjoy revisiting this book time and time again. Capek effectively uses a time-line approach to document the exploitation of the "newts," all the while poking fun at (then-current) Aryan superiority, rascism, and "bonehead" science. The assumption of the inferiority of certain classes of people is shown by Capek to inevitably lead to the downfall of the world as we know it. Since Capek's time, other authors have followed his path with some success, but Capek remains the master of this genre, and, along with H. G. Wells, Olaf Stapledon, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Jules Verne (oft-imitated authors in their own right), he must be considered one of the pioneers of modern science fiction
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Summary: The Salamander Syndicate
Review: A Newt is a kind of salamander, in this case, a highly intelligent and all-too-willing-to-learn-from-humans salamander. Of course, the Newts, like any species which decides to ape humans (oops! too many species in one sentence), must go to war with them. Er, us. Imitation, flattery and all that. The book is 240 pages with a minimum of one cry and one laugh guaranteed per page. Karl Capek, the Czech novelist, essayist and playwrite, died shortly after the Nazi invasion of his country, thus saving the Nazis the trouble of sending him off to a concentration camp. He is (all you SF fans will know) the fellow who dreamed up the word `robot'. He also had a good hook into human greed, hypocracy and pomposity. He was a democrat without illusions, an occupation requiring a doctorate in humor, black, tongue-in-cheek and otherwise. In the end - well, in the end the Newts only want the very same things we want. Not very comforting, is it?
Rating:
Summary: The Salamander Syndicate
Review: A Newt is a kind of salamander, in this case, a highly intelligent and all-too-willing-to-learn-from-humans salamander. Of course, the Newts, like any species which decides to ape humans (oops! too many species in one sentence), must go to war with them. Er, us. Imitation, flattery and all that. The book is 240 pages with a minimum of one cry and one laugh guaranteed per page. Karl Capek, the Czech novelist, essayist and playwrite, died shortly after the Nazi invasion of his country, thus saving the Nazis the trouble of sending him off to a concentration camp. He is (all you SF fans will know) the fellow who dreamed up the word 'robot'. He also had a good hook into human greed, hypocracy and pomposity. He was a democrat without illusions, an occupation requiring a doctorate in humor, black, tongue-in-cheek and otherwise. In the end - well, in the end the Newts only want the very same things we want. Not very comforting, is it?
Rating:
Summary: War with the Newts - good novel and so many warnings.
Review: Captain Van Toch finds a bay which is home to a giant salanmander which he soon comes to realize is a very smart salanmander. He ends up training them to hunt for pearls, in return giving them knives to fight off their ancient enemy - the sharks. After he dies the world ends up taking over and exploiting them. These 'Newts' are trained to work underwater, carrying out projects to increase the landmass, clean harbours and build aircraft islands. Soon the military is training them to fight, the schools are training them to read and write, and the newts are also being taught about God, freedoms, history and other subjects that slowly change them to being equal to mankind in every field of science and knowledge. What happens when MANKIND is the Newts' new enemy? Is this a warning about exploiting the workers? Or a warning against mankind losing what makes us human? Or maybe a warning against relaying on machines too much? Or is it a warning about how man fights man? No matter what the warning IS it IS also a GOOD SCIENCE FICTION book. If you like Wells you will like Capek. Also lots of humor.
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Summary: As Pythons would have said: "The satire"
Review: For those of you who are not familiar with czech writing, I recommend that you start with authors like Kundera (which bears no resemblance with Capek), Sotola (master of the written word), and Skvorecky (this one you'll like).
After reading those books, you will have an insight in czech prose, and you will thank me for mentioning it :)
Okay, now serious... This book is about war with the newts (that is what the title says, is it), but it wouldn't be much of a book if it were only that... If you like to think trough major philosophical, and ethical problems, considering Politics, Policy, Antrophology, education, sexualness this is the book you should read.
Problems beforementioned are integrated in the hillarious story with such marvel that often you'll stop and wonder, asking yourself: "Where was I thinking, what was I doing"... It's funny, It's intellignet, it's very serious once you give your thought to it... what else do you need... Great introduction to czech prose
Rating:
Summary: As Pythons would have said: "The satire"
Review: For those of you who are not familiar with czech writing, I recommend that you start with authors like Kundera (which bears no resemblance with Capek), Sotola (master of the written word), and Skvorecky (this one you'll like).
After reading those books, you will have an insight in czech prose, and you will thank me for mentioning it :)
Okay, now serious... This book is about war with the newts (that is what the title says, is it), but it wouldn't be much of a book if it were only that... If you like to think trough major philosophical, and ethical problems, considering Politics, Policy, Antrophology, education, sexualness this is the book you should read.
Problems beforementioned are integrated in the hillarious story with such marvel that often you'll stop and wonder, asking yourself: "Where was I thinking, what was I doing"... It's funny, It's intellignet, it's very serious once you give your thought to it... what else do you need... Great introduction to czech prose
Rating: 
Summary: tough call
Review: I've been going back and forth between three and four stars with this one for some time now. I want to be fair, but also want to avoid being too "top-heavy" or overly-positive with everything. That said, I must finally admit that while this is certainly a good book, I don't think it will become one of my favorites. Three stars, I think, is my final decision, and I mean that positively - it's a book deserving fully of three stars. Capek was certainly important to science fiction, an accomplished writer, and possessing of generous wit. I found myself laughing out loud from time to time despite the overly serious undertones contained throughout. The middle section dragged a bit with its profuse and long footnotes, which grew irritating after a time. I know Capek was being as "authentic" as possible with a work of fiction, but I myself am glad that it has not been much emulated since. There are a few obvious religious parallels and of course political messages. But at the heart, it is an enjoyable science fiction story. I consider three stars to be a good rating for a good book, and I encourage skeptical readers to push their way through it.
Rating:
Summary: Priceless satire
Review: In a remarkably funny and thought-provoking book, Karel Capek portrays the 20th century in all its monstrosity. He cleverly demasks militarism, racism, and cut-throat capitalism with a story about man-like newts who are exploited by greedy and power-hungry humans. More than anything, Capek's book is an attack on modern culture's emphasis on science and technology to the detriment of humanity and civilization. This culture includes nationalist ideology, which is useful in excusing atrocities and excesses. As a result, the future of mankind itself is threatened (World War II, needless to say, proved Capek's point). The newts, discovered far away in the Dutch East Indies by an eccentric captain, are spread around the world with funds from a wealthy industrialist syndicate. They learn how to use tools, even how to speak, and soon they are used not only for commercial but also for military purposes. Afraid to fall behind in the underwater arms race, leaders ignore the possibility that the newts one day might rise up against their masters... Although Capek is addressing difficult and serious questions, his writing is amusing to the point of hilarity. The style of writing is mock-serious and satirical. Here is a writer who knows people, and has the ability to bring out the comedy within the great human tragedy. I recommend this book to anyone with a sense of humor and a concern for the future of civilization.
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Summary: tale of the future past
Review: Intelligent amphibious creatures (newts) who can speak and use tools are discovered in Indonesia. Scientists, movie stars, corporations, politicians and armies all take an interest in encounters that are sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, but always thought provoking in their gentle satire of how people tend to behave when confronted with something new. Capek wrote this book in 1936, a time of technological and political upheaval. This book combines an absorbing plot and humorous flourishes with a fictional examination of how destructive humankind's collective behavior can be despite the best intentions. The book has aged well-- Capek wasn't very interested in technology, but rather in exploring how his fictional but often very familiar world reacts to a big, unexpected change.
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Summary: This satire of world politics in the 1930s valid for today.
Review: Karel Capek wrote this book against the dark clouds of the unholy duos of communism and nazism, of the world of Hitler's and Stalin's. The pessimistic, yet humorous outlook on humanity and the adversities befalling it at the nimble hands of the newts, is as valid today, as it was in 1936, when this book was first published. Shrouded in a wealth of detail, the "War With The Newts" anticipated much of what happened in the decades after the 1930s, anything from the population explosion to the horrors of World War II. Capek's book is to literature, what Herge's "Tintin" is to comic books. You will not regret reading it - warmly recommended!
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