Karel Čapek was a Czech writer, playwright, critic and journalist. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel War with the Newts (1936) and play R.U.R., which introduced the word robot. He also wrote many politically charged works dealing with the social turmoil of his time. Influenced by American pragmatic liberalism, he campaigned in favor of free expression and strongly opposed the rise of both fascism and communism in Europe.
Karel Čapek
House of Čapek brothers in Prague 10, Vinohrady
Tomb of Karel Čapek and Olga Scheinpflugová at Vyšehrad cemetery
Karel Čapek's handwriting
War with the Newts, also translated as Salamander Wars, is a 1936 satirical science fiction novel by Czech author Karel Čapek. It concerns the discovery in the Indian Ocean of a sea-dwelling race, an intelligent breed of newts, who are initially enslaved and exploited. They acquire human knowledge and rebel, leading to a global war for supremacy. There are obvious similarities to Čapek's earlier R.U.R., but also some original themes.
Cover of 1955 Bantam paperback edition
Fossil of the extinct giant salamander Andrias scheuchzeri, the basis for Čapek's newts