Rating: 
Summary: What this book is: Proto-SF (and that's a good thing)
Review: I originally read this book while taking a course that examined the evolution of Science Fiction. To appreciate this book you have to understand a few things before reading it. First Bellamy is using this book to advocate this novel system of social organization call it Socialism meets market economics, which is actually an interesting system. At the time the book was written it was a sensation and many groups were formed with the aim of bringing about the same Utopian social system described in the book. Second when trying to predict what life will be like 100 years in the future, your gonna get some stuff wrong. Some other reviewers seem put off by this (I don't see anyone slamming Clarke for getting 2001 wrong though) but I think it is more interesting to see how many things he got right. Third, this is no action novel. The story is set entirely in Boston and there are no legions of attacking androids or well anything that is terribly exciting. So if Stainless Steel Rat is a staple of your literary consumption you may want to stay away. Then again you might not, the maxim that states that to know where you're going you have to know where you've been holds true for the genre of SF and Looking Backward is a formative part of that past.
Rating: 
Summary: A Surprisingly Good Book
Review: I really wasn't expecting much out of this book. I'm not a socialist or a communist, so I figured I'd be sneering at much of what Bellamy had to say. Imagine my surprise when I found myself genuinely attracted to the book. Bellamy wrote a socialist tract in the form of a novel. He gets his points across and weaves in a romance tale along the way. I should say that the ending was no surprise to me, as I kind of figured out what was going to happen along the way. The book begins with our hero, Julian West, who is a quite successful gent in 1888 Boston. West is quite the dandy, and is engaged to be married to a lovely young lady. West has trouble sleeping, so he regularly employs the services of a "mesmerizer" to help him sleep. The problem with this is that someone must be around to wake him up or the mesmerizing process might cause a long slumber. You can guess what happens. West is discovered in 2000 in a world that is a far cry from the world of the late 19th century. The world has changed in a radical way, and the family that finds West, the Leetes, want to know all about his old world. The new world is a socialist/communist utopia in which the old problems of unemployment, war, inequality and the like have been solved forever. The rest of the book is a discussion between West and Dr. Leete about the new world and how it contrasts to the old world. In this one has to be fairly impressed with Bellamy's predictions. Bellamy predicted credit cards and even interactive music that can be piped into a person's room. A romance between West and Dr. Leete's daughter Edith eventually blooms, but I won't spoil the surprise this entails. The romance theme was put in to make the socialist text more palatable for the 19th century reader. It could conceivably do the same for the modern reader, although if you're reading this book you are probably reading it for its political value. I certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in utopian works, or 19th century political views. What is really neat is while you read this book you can easily find yourself believing that this could work, until you remember something that Bellamy never knew about. The utter failure of the Soviet Union, and Communism in general. Give it a shot.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for Humanitarians!
Review: I was assigned this book for a class, but I am SOOO glad. The Utopian approach is refreshing, even from the vantage point of 1887. The view of the future is suprisingly accurate for technology, and the reasons for a change from the past go far beyond astute. Many cynical people think today is the way life HAS to be. This book gives us an alternate view of our reality and hope in humanity for the possibility of progress in the future.
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Summary: A reference for an E-Commerce researcher
Review: If you think that the idea of e-cash was firstly mentioned in Robert Hendrickson's "The Cashless Society", then you must have not read this book yet. To many novel lovers, this book may not be as attractive as many great masterpieces. However, if you are an E-Commerce developer, then "Looking Backward", printed in 1888 is a must read! Chapter 10 is highly suggested! How nice a scene describing E-Commerce and pervasive computing! But never forget that it was written in 1888!
Rating: 
Summary: Creepy, but otherwise okay
Review: Julian West, a young Bostonian, falls asleep in the year 1887 and wakes up in the Boston of 2000. He finds that Boston and even the whole world have been transformed to a great utopian society. A man by the name of Doctor Leete along with his wife (Mrs. Leete) and daughter (Edith Leete) take care of West in adjusting him to life in the year 2000. The story itself turns out to be more of a distraction to the main point of the book, which is to explain the economic and social workings of the utopia found in 2000. Everybody is now paid equally for their work and no work is considered menial. Rather than working for individual companies, everybody works in what the author calls the "Industrial Army." To keep everybody contented with their lot, measures are taken. For example, everybody wakes up every day to some music that rouses them to feel great about the greater cause they work for. The city streets are clean and there is no crime. Things like this make the book, for me at least, entirely creepy. Unfortunately, the status of women in the book is not a whole lot better than it was in the 1880's. Women still leave the room when men begin talking politics. In addition, people have a tendency to talk in the book like they did, apparently, in the 1880's: with a disposition towards long-winded speech. As a result, the book has a tendency to drag on at times. Since the book was written in the late 1800's, it is understandable that the author has no history of socialism to look back on, much less the failed experiment called the Soviet Union. Despite that, it is enlightening to see the goal of Socialist thinking play out in the story of "Looking Backward." The introduction in the Penguin Classics version is well done and gives the reader a good background before reading the book.
Rating:
Summary: Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy
Review: Like most Utopias, Edward Bellamy illustrates his ideal society through a light narrative designed to both deliver his point and entertain the reader; in this case, the narrative evolves from suspense (kinda) into, of course, a love story. The tale centers around Julian West, a bourgeoisie-of-sorts from late 19th century society, whose hypnotic sleep leaves him lying peacefully until he is awoken in the year 2000 by a doctor and his family. The plot is obviously not meant to be particularly realistic, but as framework for Bellamy to build his theory upon it serves him quite well. For this review and others, please check out www.yourwords.ca The title, "Looking Backward" is derived from the dialogue between the main character and the family that found him, throughout which aspects from the "current" society of the year 2000 are contrasted with that of the past. The dialogue evolves to include Bellamy's theories on economics, production, political agendum and other less defined, though no less well-conceived, philosophies on social direction and operation. I found it most interesting that he was able to foresee the rise of corporations and their monopoly over production and distribution at a time when industrialism was at its infancy. I could write pages upon pages about the ideas in Looking Backward, but instead I'll just point you to the text itself. As a reviewer, one is always tempted to incorporate their own bias into the review. For instance, I have read reviews of this book that dismiss it for promotion of what later became known as socialism. This is most absurd as such a narrow minded dismissal not only blames a text for the faulty implementation of a faulty system in despotic hands but ignores the intent of the author, which was to illustrate a society based upon unity and equality as opposed to the current system disunity and inequality. I have also read reviews that suggest the book to be 'incomplete' for not elaborating upon the details in which the society of 1887 transformed to the Utopia of 2000. I put forth that such a task should not and cannot be undertaken by an author whose intent is to outline their ideal society, as it is to the rest of us who would see the ideal realized that would need to undertake its practical development and application. The task of all authors is to spread ideas, not necessarily to implement them. If you are looking for a good story to read, skip this book. The story is pretty weak and the writing is in most instances overly technical at times when simple language would suffice. What makes it the classic that it is are the ideas expounded within the text. The most admirable and practical example of such to me was his views on concerted production, where the extreme wealth of the state is achieved through the industries working together towards a single cause (the wealth of the state, of course) instead of against each other, profiteering from the collapse of their competitors. I also envy the idea, however unattainable it would seem, that since all wages are equal for all citizens, each pursues his vocation solely for the genuine love of the field. Time and time again while reading through this text, I could not help but pause and ask myself why such a system as described by Bellamy couldn't and doesn't exist. Perhaps it is too unrealistic. Perhaps it is too idealistic. But as I like to think, perhaps it just makes too much sense for such a flawed species to accept.
Rating:
Summary: Vision of a better world.
Review: Looking Backwards is science fiction, like all good science fiction it is not about the future but about the times that it was written in. John West, a mild mannered aristocrat of the 1880's who suffers from insomnia, consults a mesmerist, and is plunged into a Rip Van Winkle like sleep that lasts more than a century. He awakes in the year 2000 to face a future where all human problems have been solved through centralization and humanitarian social policy. It is pointless to attack the book for not predicting the future, anyone who invests the most minute intellectual effort can see that the author's intentions were to expose the anti-human nature of the society of his time. Since we still have that social structure in place, the work is more relevant then ever. Based on Thomas More's Utopia, this book with Whitman, Emerson and Thoreau forms part of the American Utopian Tradition, that existed throughout the late 1800's was submerged by industry and resurfaced later in the writings of Henry Miller and in the counterculture of the 1960's. The only glaring mistake the author makes is his belief that a centralized state would automatically bring about humane society. If there's anything the twentieth century has proven it is that a statist government can be just as brutal as a corporate controlled one. If you can but the Signet Classics edition, which contains a wonderfully illuminating forward by Erich Fromm
Rating:
Summary: What Might Have Been
Review: My first experience with this book was in college. As my professor lectured us to the smallest detail and never asked questions, I didnt bother reading it. My prof made this out to be a shining blueprint of how we should live. Finally broke down and read it myself recently. Im glad my teacher didnt have his way!
Julian West is a well to do Bostonite who goes into a deep trance induced sleep in 1887 and wakes up in the year 2000. Dr. Leete, the man who revived him, and his family become Mr. West's host and guide. Shortly after West went to bed, the United States government took over the entire enconomy and brought Heaven on Earth.
I really cant bring myself to be to harsh to Mr. Bellamy's socialist leanings. He did write this novel a full 30 years before the first workers' paradise started terrorizing its citizens and neighbors. Actually, Mr. Bellamy should be commended. He does a great job at picking out the major woes of his time and gives a brief but surprisingly comprehensive look at one of the two logical alternate solutions we could have taken. Of course we took the alternate route. That being to legally discourage monopolies and set up a minimal social safety net while still allowing for private property ownership and economic competition. Thank God we went this way!
"Looking Backward" also gives us an interesting look into the socialist mind. Nationalizing the economy and abolishing private property ownership solves every woe in this alternate universe from starvation to diaper rash. You also often see the near religious ferver of a dyed in the wool socialist in West's conversations with Dr. Leete which often go something like this:
West: Goodness, this is some fine strawberry jam!
Leete: Well of course it is! Our jam makers are fully educated with the equivalent of a bachelor's degree from your awful, evil and backward times. What do you expect?
As others have noted, this society is completely unworkable. While reading this book, I tried to figure out how I would operate in Bellamy's world. Personally, I would get a low stress job and work just enough to get by. Why do more? You get paid the exact same amount as everyone else and can live in a mansion if you want! I know what Bellamy would say. Im just a cretin from an unenlightened alternate universe. Everyone in his world strives for their best out of their undying love for their fellow man. Yeah, whatever. Heres another gem I note nobody has picked up on. North America, Europe and Australia subscribe to this socialist model but not the rest of the world. Its safe to assume they follow Bellamy's US model of having no armed forces or legal power to wage war. So whats to stop nations not on this little love fest from moving in and taking over? Hmmmmmmmmm.
This is an enjoyable and enlightening book. I dont endorse any theory Bellamy offers in it, but its still a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Stalinism revisited
Review: Oh how lovely. Bellamy forgot to mention the millions of people that were liquidated for the purpose of creating this little fantasy world of his. What happened to all the people that didn't quite agree with this little society and wanted to do their own thing? This is probably the most stupid book I have ever read. Let's just judge imperfect present with our imaginary vision of the supposed perfect future. Great, we all know where that leads. Bellamy would have been a good killer for Stalin, until he finally got choked by the machine himself.
Rating:
Summary: John West, from the late 19th Century, travels to 2000 AD!
Review: On the surface this book published in 1888 is nothing but a small science fiction book about the future, but it doesn't take much digging to find the socialist vision of the future within. While very interesting and, yes, thought provoking, many parts of the book read very much like a political science book than a utopian novel. It is entertaining, yes, but I would not look at it as a study of human society. The book shows the government as 'allowing' things to happen, such as the evolution of small businesses to huge monopolies, while in our own history we know the government of the early 20th century fought it tooth and nail, with anti-trust laws, while the people fought the idea of monopolies, refusing to become nothing more than unfeeling consumers. We are more than just capitalists and workmen. We are painters, dreamers and, yes, writers too!
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