Starmaker, Last and First Men and Sirius by Olaf Stapledon
Extremely ambitious stuff. The entire history of man. A history of the universe right up to the end. And an attempt to extrapolate intelligence.

Doesn't use the usual withholding tricks to keep you turning the pages. Instead keeps the ideas coming. Still though, the ideas are too simplistic IMO. Like Jack Vance though, this is one of the few writers who found a different way to write. And like Vance not a good idea to attempt to imitate. Might be personally useful to reread Last and First Men though.

No injustice to be righted, no vague wonderful thing looming keeps one turning the pages. Just ideas.

I don't think such would get published in modern times. Even something along the same lines yet twice as good.