The Millennium | 
| Author: Upton Sinclair
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $2.83
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Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 983965
Media: Paperback
Pages: 196
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.5
ISBN: 1583220216
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
EAN: 9781583220214
ASIN: 1583220216
Publication Date: July 1, 2003
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Condition: new PAPERBACK copy, no marks,great gift copy, buy with confidence, fast shipping=9460
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Product Description
This is the first edition of The Millennium since the author self-published it in 1924. In the year 2000, capitalism reaches its zenith with the construction of the Pleasure Palace, a glittering half-mile-high structure in the middle of Central Park. During the grand opening, a scientific experiment with radiumite explodes, killing everyone on Earth except 11 people in the Pleasure Palace. Their attempt to rebuild a capitalist society results instead in the world's first successful utopian state.
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| Customer Reviews:
 not what i expected September 26, 2000
JONATHAN HARTZELL (charlotte, nc United States)
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
I bought this book expecting another 1984, Anthem, or Brave New World. It came close to fulfilling my wishes, but it didn't quite live up to what i expected. Where 1984, Anthem, and BNW all preach the social philosophies of the authors, they still provide an enjoyable read. Millenium, on the other hand, is just a forum for Sinclair's communist philosophy. It is very interesting, but the story itself is somewhat lacking. Perhaps if i was to have gone into it knowing that the plot was thin and the characters so unlikable, then i would have enjoyed it more. My advice would be to buy it, but try to be patient with the storyline.
 I, Socialist March 12, 2003
Dean Sands (Houston, TX)
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
The man wrote a book, and we should be proud of him. He wrote many books, more than I could ever hope to, but the quality of this one leaves something to be desired. A bully-pulpit for socialism, The Millenium makes its point (Oh, that we were all socialists!) and rubs it in until one feels it necessary to wretch vehemently. The plot was semi-existent. The characters were laughable and implausible, not to mention that the reader has trouble deciding who the hero is because the supposed hero leaves in the beginning and doesn't come back until the end of the book. The author's portrayal of Tuttle is, I'll admit, semi-plausible, as a repressed proletariat usurping a dictactorship. I, however, disliked his final incarnation as a vicious drunkard slave-master. I won't go into Granville for fear of nauseatic spasms. As for the theme, it damns capitalism for its vices but never highlighting its virtues, all the while aggrandizing socialism. Conveniently, socialism's vices are swept under the rug and forgotten. My recommendation is for everyone to buy and read this book, laugh ourselves into hysterics, and learn to appreciate what we have.
Good Story February 17, 2002
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
After reading The Jungle, I decided to read this book. Compared to Upton Sinclair's other work of literature, I found that the writing style was very different. Perhaps this story was truly meant to be a play due to it's extensive dialogue. The story does not lack in it's humor. There was always something to laugh about from the beginning till the end.
A nice, if heavy-handed, surprise March 18, 2008
Dave (Dallas, TX USA)
Scanning the shelves of my local used bookstore for a copy of Upton Sinclair's OIL! (the basis for the movie There Will Be Blood), I instead came upon THE MILLENNIUM. I had never heard of this book, and with good reason. I don't see it as a candidate for multiple reprints, but I'm glad I found it.
THE MILLENNIUM arose in 1924 from the ashes of an unproduced play that Sinclair originally wrote in 1907. The theatrical origins of the story show through, with distinct acts and grandiose dialogue. It fits well into the post-apocalyptic fiction genre, almost sounding like a JG Ballard plot: in the year 2000, Central Park is occupied by a towering building containing the nation's pampered and isolated elite. A radiumite bomb goes off, killing everyone on the planet except a handful of "lucky" occupants who are able to escape the effects of the blast in a plane. On their return to New York, they begin to repeat the mistakes of the past. As a complete breakdown of civilization looms nearer, the question arises: is there any hope?
Well, there is hope for these unfortunates, and if you are familiar with Upton Sinclair, you can probably guess the answer. I can see the point that Sinclair was trying to make with this story; actually, his point is impossible to miss, as he repeatedly clobbers you over the head with it. The dialogue is somewhat cheesy, but sometimes funny - certainly enough to keep me interested. While I don't feel that it reads well as basic literature, it certainly makes for literate sci-fi, especially having been written when it was.
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