 Ah, how does one describe the work of Clifford D. Simac? He is necessary reading. Any of Simac's work is necessary reading if you want a basic education in science fiction. He is one of the biggest names in science fiction literature that you have probably never heard or read. The book is actually a collection of short stories that are loosely tied together with a wraparound story. They start in basically present day and wind up 10,000 years in the future when all that's left of the human race is a single robot who acted as a butler for a human family and still maintains the house. He periodically tells entertaining stories about the long lost human race to the packs of talking dogs that live in the forest and the rest of the planet has been entirely overtaken by technological ants. This is a dense book that even I found difficult reading in some places. If you're new to science fiction and you want to read Simac, which you should, I would recommend something lighter like Goblin Reservation or Waystation.