# Back to Methuselah

An audiobook by George Bernard Shaw, read by LibriVox volunteers (12 h 35 min, English).

In this late work, Shaw examines many contemporary issues under the broad rubric of evolution and then illustrates his opinions in five brief plays set in widely separated historical periods, beginning in the Garden of Eden and ending in the year 31,920 A.D. The unifying principle in this historical survey is the notion that the survival of humankind depends on increasing our lifespan to at least 300 years, a period permitting us to grow to maturity. The ultimate question that the mature cast of characters grapple with is what is to be the next significant step in evolution. Mere longevity simply enables them to ask this question. We see in the final play the beginning of the answer: first, escape from the social experiment, which began with Cain, a long and toilsome journey towards anarchy, and then gradual liberation from the grossness of physical imperfection and at last from bondage to flesh itself into immortality. What might lie beyond that, the author leaves to the imagination. - Summary by Thomas A. Copeland

[Listen](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/books/librivox/19314)
[Read the book](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/books/gutenberg/13084/read)

## Chapters

1. Section 1 (33:08): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_01_shaw_64kb.mp3
2. Section 2 (32:25): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_02_shaw_64kb.mp3
3. Section 3 (35:03): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_03_shaw_64kb.mp3
4. Section 4 (30:46): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_04_shaw_64kb.mp3
5. Section 5 (34:41): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_05_shaw_64kb.mp3
6. Section 6 (31:06): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_06_shaw_64kb.mp3
7. Section 7 (40:03): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_07_shaw_64kb.mp3
8. Section 8 (36:39): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_08_shaw_64kb.mp3
9. Section 9 (55:33): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_09_shaw_64kb.mp3
10. Section 10 (56:34): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_10_shaw_64kb.mp3
11. Section 11 (48:31): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_11_shaw_64kb.mp3
12. Section 12 (48:00): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_12_shaw_64kb.mp3
13. Section 13 (41:40): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_13_shaw_64kb.mp3
14. Section 14 (39:14): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_14_shaw_64kb.mp3
15. Section 15 (43:02): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_15_shaw_64kb.mp3
16. Section 16 (19:04): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_16_shaw_64kb.mp3
17. Section 17 (48:03): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_17_shaw_64kb.mp3
18. Section 18 (41:29): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_18_shaw_64kb.mp3
19. Section 19 (39:36): https://archive.org/download/back_to_methuselah_2306_librivox/backtomethuselah_19_shaw_64kb.mp3