Posljednji dani ljudi

Camille Flammarion (1842–1925), a famous French astronomer, popularizer of science and writer, is the author of the book La Fin du Monde (1893/1894). The Croatian edition under the title The Last Days of Men was published in 1920 in Zagreb as the second part of the popular book The Doom of the World.

The work is speculative-popular science. In it, Flammarion imagines what life on Earth will be like in ten million years, describes the gradual cooling of the planet, climate changes, evolutionary changes in plant and animal life, and the final end of humanity. He combines astronomical, geological and biological knowledge of his time with imaginative visions of the future, creating a hybrid between popular science and science fiction.

The style is typical of Flammarion — clear, picturesque, sometimes poetic and philosophical. The author does not depict a dramatic catastrophe (like the collision with a comet in the first part), but a peaceful, natural and inevitable end of human civilization due to changes on the planet. The book has an optimistic-philosophical tone: humanity will disappear, but the cosmos and life in other forms continue on.

The Croatian edition from 1920 is particularly appreciated because the cover (vignette and equipment) was made by Ljubo Babić, one of the leading Croatian painters and graphic designers of the time. The design is in the modernist spirit, which is typical of Matica and similar editions from that period.