The End of Eternity was published by Doubleday in 1955. The Eternals are an organization that exists outside normal time. They monitor all of human history and make carefully calculated “Minimum Necessary Changes” — small interventions that prevent wars, plagues, and disasters. Andrew Harlan is a Technician who specializes in calculating these changes. When he falls in love with Noÿs Lambent, a woman from the 482nd century, he begins making unauthorized changes to protect her, and discovers that Eternity itself may be humanity’s greatest obstacle.
The novel was Asimov’s most sophisticated exploration of temporal mechanics and the ethics of social engineering — the question of whether any organization, no matter how well-intentioned, has the right to manipulate the course of human history.
Collecting The End of Eternity
First edition (Doubleday, New York, 1955): Boards with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine in dust jacket: $500–$1,500
- Very good in jacket: $200–$500
- Without jacket: $40–$100