The Gernsback Days
The Gernsback Days

Author: Mike Ashley

Publisher: Wildside Press LLC

Published: 2004-01-01

Total Pages: 502

ISBN-13: 0809510553

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"In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in Hugo Gernsback, and the start of a serious study of the contribution he made to the development of science fiction. . . . It seemed to me that the time was due to reinvestigate the Gernsback era and dig into the facts surrounding the origins of Amazing Stories. I wanted to find out exactly why Hugo Gernsback had launched the magazine, what he was trying to achieve, and to consider what effects he had-good and bad. . . . Too many writers and editors from the Gernsback days have been unjustly neglected, or unfairly criticized. Now, I hope, Robert A. W. Lowndes and I have provided the grounds for a fair consideration of their efforts, and a true reconstruction of the development of science fiction. It's the closest to time travel you'll ever get. I hope you enjoy the trip."-Mike Ashley, Preface

The History of the Science-fiction Magazine
The History of the Science-fiction Magazine

Author: Michael Ashley

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 2000-01-01

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 9780853238553

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This is the first of three volumes that chart the history of the science fiction magazine from the earliest days to the present. This first volume looks at the exuberant years of the pulp magazines. It traces the growth and development of the science fiction magazines from when Hugo Gernsback launched the very first, Amazing Stories, in 1926 through to the birth of the atomic age and the death of the pulps in the early 1950s. These were the days of the youth of science fiction, when it was brash, raw and exciting: the days of the first great space operas by Edward Elmer Smith and Edmond Hamilton, through the cosmic thought variants by Murray Leinster, Jack Williamson and others to the early 1940s when John W. Campbell at Astounding did his best to nurture the infant genre into adulthood. Under him such major names as Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, A. E. van Vogt and Theodore Sturgeon emerged who, along with other such new talents as Ray Bradbury and Arthur C. Clarke, helped create modern science fiction. For over forty years magazines were at the heart of science fiction and this book considers how the magazines, and their publishers, editors and authors influenced the growth and perception of this fascinating genre.

The Great Crash, 1929
The Great Crash, 1929

Author: John Kenneth Galbraith

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9780395859995

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An examination of the stock market crash of 1929.

Great Shakespeare Actors
Great Shakespeare Actors

Author: Stanley Wells

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2015-04-23

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0191008354

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Great Shakespeare Actors offers a series of essays on great Shakespeare actors from his time to ours, starting by asking whether Shakespeare himself was the first--the answer is No--and continuing with essays on the men and women who have given great stage performances in his plays from Elizabethan times to our own. They include both English and American performers such as David Garrick, Sarah Siddons, Charlotte Cushman, Ira Aldridge, Edwin Booth, Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, Edith Evans, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Peggy Ashcroft, Janet Suzman, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and Kenneth Branagh. Individual chapters tell the story of their subjects' careers, but together these overlapping tales combine to offer a succinct, actor-centred history of Shakespearian theatrical performance. Stanley Wells examines what it takes to be a great Shakespeare actor and then offers a concise sketch of each actor's career in Shakespeare, an assessment of their specific talents and claims to greatness, and an account, drawing on contemporary reviews, biographies, anecdotes, and, for some of the more recent actors, the author's personal memories of their most notable performances in Shakespeare roles.

I Have Seen the Future
I Have Seen the Future

Author: Peter Hartshorn

Publisher: Catapult

Published: 2012-01-10

Total Pages: 545

ISBN-13: 1582438072

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At the dawn of the twentieth century, Lincoln Steffens, an internationally known and respected political insider, went rogue to work for McClure's Magazine. Credited as the proverbial father of muckraking reporting, Steffens quickly rose to the top of McClure's team of investigative journalists, earning him the attention of many powerful politicians who utilized his knack for tireless probing to battle government corruption and greedy politicians. A mentor of Walter Lippmann, friend of Theodore Roosevelt, and advisor of Woodrow Wilson, Steffens is best known for bringing to light the Mexican Revolution, the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times, and the Versailles peace talks. Now, with print journalism and investigative reporters on the decline, Lincoln Steffens' biography serves as a necessary call to arms for the newspaper industry. Hartshorn's extensive research captures each detail of Steffens' life—from his private letters to friends to his long and colorful career—and delves into the ongoing internal struggle between his personal life and his overpowering devotion to the "cause."

Science-fiction
Science-fiction

Author: Everett Franklin Bleiler

Publisher: Kent State University Press

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 780

ISBN-13: 9780873386043

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Complementing Science-Fiction: The Early Years, which surveys science-fiction published in book form from its beginnings through 1930, the present volume covers all the science-fiction printed in the genre magazines--Amazing, Astounding, and Wonder, along with offshoots and minor magazines--from 1926 through 1936. This is the first time this historically important literary phenomenon, which stands behind the enormous modern development of science-fiction, has been studied thoroughly and accurately. The heart of the book is a series of descriptions of all 1,835 stories published during this period, plus bibliographic information. Supplementing this are many useful features: detailed histories of each of the magazines, an issue by issue roster of contents, a technical analysis of the art work, brief authors' biographies, poetry and letter indexes, a theme and motif index of approximately 30,0000 entries, and general indexes. Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years is not only indispensable for reference librarians, collectors, readers, and scholars interested in science-fiction, it is also of importance to the study of popular culture during the Great Depression in the United States. Most of its data, which are largely based on rare and almost unobtainable sources, are not available elsewhere.

The Science of Science Fiction Writing
The Science of Science Fiction Writing

Author: James Gunn

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2000-10-31

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1461673585

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Written by one of the leading authorities on writing, publishing and teaching science fiction, The Science of Science Fiction Writing offers the opportunity to share in the knowledge James Gunn has acquired over the past forty years. He reflects on the fiction-writing process and how to teach it, and the ideas he has shared with his students about how to do it effectively and how to get it published afterwards. The first section discusses why people read fiction, the parts of the short story, the strategy of the science fiction author, scene as the smallest dramatic unit, how to speak well in print, suspense in fiction, how to say the right thing, and how to give constructive criticism. The second section takes a more philosophical approach. Here, Gunn elaborates on the origins of science fiction, its definition, the worldview of science fiction, and the characters that appear in science fiction novels. The third section highlights well-known sci-fi authors: H.G. Wells, Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Henry Kuttner, C.L. Moore, and others, and the impact they have had on the development and progression of science fiction.