Project Gutenberg 2010-06-01 Public domain in the USA. 1013 Venable, Lyn Venable, Marilyn Venable, Lynn A. Time Enough at Last Produced from IF Worlds of Science Fiction January 1953. Greg Weeks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "Time Enough at Last" by Lyn Venable is a short story originally published in the January 1953 issue of IF Worlds of Science Fiction. The narrative follows the theme of human desire and the ironic twists of fate, particularly focusing on one man's longing for solitude and time to indulge in reading. The story explores post-apocalyptic consequences where characters find their ambitions and desires confronted by the harsh realities of survival. The plot centers around Henry Bemis, a bespectacled bank teller with a strong yearning to read books, often thwarted by his demanding life and overbearing wife, Agnes. After a catastrophic event reduces the world to ruins, Henry emerges from the destruction to find himself in a desolate landscape, bereft of civilization and loved ones. Initially overwhelmed by sorrow for those lost, he soon discovers the remnants of a library, filled with books he has longed to read. In a moment of bittersweet triumph, Henry settles down to read, only to accidentally break his glasses, rendering him unable to see the text before him. This poignant twist emphasizes the irony of finally achieving his dream, only to have it slip through his fingers, underscoring the story's themes of longing, loss, and the futility of human desire in the face of overwhelming circumstance. (This is an automatically generated summary.) http://book.klll.cc/files/32633/32633-h/images/cover.png Reading ease score: 83.0 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Books and reading -- Fiction Nuclear warfare -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: American Literature 41272 2025-08-13T09:39:15.291510 text/html 17258 2024-02-18T13:03:12 text/html 186250 2025-08-13T09:39:16.990499 application/epub+zip 185079 2025-08-13T09:39:15.731549 application/epub+zip 68254 2025-08-13T09:39:15.500487 application/epub+zip 132555 2025-08-13T09:39:18.172490 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 125474 2025-08-13T09:39:16.770499 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 71189 2022-09-15T05:39:22.926592 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 33845 2025-08-13T09:39:15.196527 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 14104 2024-02-18T13:03:12 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17276 2025-08-13T09:39:18.296463 application/rdf+xml 23926 2025-08-13T09:39:15.569478 image/jpeg 3898 2025-08-13T09:39:15.533520 image/jpeg 180858 2025-08-13T09:39:15.310471 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia