Overview
An Economist Best Book of the Year
AĀ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Best Book of 2018
āAn amazing and engrossing history...Insightful, entertaining, and compulsively readable.ā ā George R. R. Martin
"Enthrallingā¦AĀ clarion call to enlarge American literary history.ā āĀ Washington Post
āEngrossing, well-researchedā¦ This sure-footed history addresses important issues, such as the lack of racial diversity and gender parity for much of the genreās history.ā āĀ Wall Street Journal
āA gift to science fiction fans everywhere.āĀ āĀ Sylvia Nasar, New York Times bestselling author of A Beautiful Mind
Astounding is the landmark account of the extraordinary partnership between four controversial writersāJohn W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and L. Ron Hubbardāwho set off a revolution in science fiction and forever changed our world.Ā
This remarkable cultural narrative centers on the figure of John W. Campbell, Jr., whom Asimov called āthe most powerful force in science fiction ever.ā Campbell, who has never been the subject of a biography until now, was both a visionary authorāhe wrote the story that was later filmed as The Thingāand the editor of the groundbreaking magazine best known as Astounding Science Fiction, in which he discovered countless legendary writers and published classic works ranging from the I, Robot series to Dune. Over a period of more than thirty years, from the rise of the pulps to the debut of Star Trek, he dominated the genre, and his three closest collaborators reached unimaginable heights. Asimov became the most prolific author in American history; Heinlein emerged as the leading science fiction writer of his generation with the novels Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land; and Hubbard achieved lasting fameāand infamyāas the founder of the Church of Scientology.Ā
Drawing on unexplored archives, thousands of unpublished letters, and dozens of interviews, Alec Nevala-Lee offers a riveting portrait of this circle of authors, their work, and their tumultuous private lives. With unprecedented scope, drama, and detail, Astounding describes how fan culture was born in the depths of the Great Depression; follows these four friends and rivals through World War II and the dawn of the atomic era; and honors such exceptional women as DoƱa Campbell and Leslyn Heinlein, whose pivotal roles in the history of the genre have gone largely unacknowledged. For the first time, it reveals the startling extent of Campbellās influence on the ideas that evolved into Scientology, which prompted Asimov to observe: āI knew Campbell and I knew Hubbard, and no movement can have two Messiahs.ā It looks unsparingly at the tragic final act that estranged the others from Campbell, bringing the golden age of science fiction to a close, and it illuminates how their complicated legacy continues to shape the imaginations of millions and our vision of the future itself.
This book title, Astounding (John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction) - 9780062571953, ISBN: 9780062571953, by Alec Nevala-Lee, published by HarperCollins (July 30, 2019) is available in paperback. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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