Astounding

Astounding is a major work of popular culture scholarship that science fiction fans will devour Publishers Weekly Alec Nevala Lee has brilliantly recreated the era A remarkable work of literary history Robert Silverberg Science fiction has been awaiting this history biography for than half a century Here it is This is the most important historical and critical work my field has ever seen Alec Nevala Lee s superb scholarship and insight have made the seemingly impossible a radiant and irreplaceable gift Barry N Malzberg, author of Beyond ApolloAstounding is the landmark account of the extraordinary partnership between four controversial writers John W Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A Heinlein, and L Ron Hubbard who set off a revolution in science fiction and forever changed our world This remarkable cultural narrative centers on the figure of John W Campbell, Jr., whom Asimov called the most powerful force in science fiction ever Campbell, who has never been the subject of a biography until now, was both a visionary author he wrote the story that was later filmed as The Thing and 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 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lasting fame and infamy as the founder of the Church of Scientology Drawing on unexplored archives, thousands of unpublished letters, and dozens of interviews, Alec Nevala Lee offers a riveting portrait of this circle of authors, their work, and their tumultuous private lives With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 Do a 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 Campbell s influence on the ideas that evolved into Scientology, which prompted Asimov to observe I knew Campbell and I knew Hubbard, and no movement can have two Messiahs 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. Download Astounding – kino-fada.fr Received an ARC at ALA Well written book that weaves together the stories of four key players in the Golden Age of SF, and in doing so provides some interesting insights Having just finished William H Patterson Jr s Heinlein In Dialogue With His Century, I m a bit struck by the slight differences in framing about some of the same events Nevala Lee is somewhatforgiving of his subject s foibles But overall, the parallels between the four particularly between Heinlein and Hubbard Received an ARC at ALA Well written book that weaves together the stories of four key players in the Golden Age of SF, and in doing so provides some interesting insights Having just finished William H Patterson Jr s Heinlein In Dialogue With His Century, I m a bit struck by the slight differences in framing about some of the same events Nevala Lee is somewhatforgiving of his subject s foibles But overall, the parallels between the fo...Let s just start off that I ve needed this book in my life for a long long time Alec Nevala Lee gives us a biography of John W Campbell, editor of Astounding magazine and the midwife of what is generally called The Golden Age of Science Fiction Along the way he also gives us bios of Campbell s two most important writers Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, and L Ron Hubbardwho was a fairly huge writer at the time and went on to greater heights of infamy while his fiction has generally been f Let s just start off that I ve needed this book in my life for a long long time Alec Nevala Lee gives us a biography of John W Campbell, editor of Astounding magazine and the midwife of what is generally called The Golden Age of Science Fiction Along the way he also gives us bios of Campbell s two most important writers Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, and L Ron Hubbardwho was a fairly huge writer at the time and went on to greater heights of infamy while his fiction has generally been forgotten or discounted This is a warts and all bio for all of those involved And there are ple...Of course I heard of John Campbell but never did I Know about him Great book Loving history, it was fun to watch these lives during WW2 Best part of the book was the research The book has all the incredible things they did and all the warts that is life Well done Hubbard, while likable, is ajerk.Received as ARC from Dry Street Books Enjoying it so far All kinds of stuff I never knew about John W Campbell, Jr., L Ron Hubbard and all the great science fiction writers involved with the magazine which really took SF out of the realm of fringe, fare into quality, well written literature.Originally published at Reading RealityThey were the men who sold the moon as well as the rest of the universe Together they were the Golden Age of science fiction in some ways both the quip that says that the golden age of SF is 12 and in the historical sense.John W Campbell, Jr was the editor of what became the premiere outlet for science fiction writing during its and his heyday, from 1937 through 1946 Back in the days before SF became mainstream, the pulps were all there were, and Ca Originally published at Readi...If science fiction has a name, it s John W Campbell As editor of Astounding Science Fiction during the crucial Golden Age of Science Fiction from 1937 until the end of the Second World War, he defined the form and tropes of the genre He was responsible for nurturing it as a serious endeavor, as real literature, and as a form distinct from fantasy, horror, adventure, and other speculative fiction Even as the genre grew beyond the control of any one man, and Campbell slipped towards crankdom, If science fiction has a name, it s John W Campbell As editor of Astounding Science Fiction during the crucial Golden Age of Science Fiction from 1937 until the end of the Second World War, he defined the form and tropes of the genre He was responsible for nurturing it as a serious endeavor, as real literature, and as a form distinct from fantasy, horror, adventure, and other speculative fiction Even as the genre grew beyond the control of any one man, and Campbell slipped towards crankdom, he was still the Institution, the editor who authors measured their ambition against Nevala Lee links Campbell to the three most important men in his life Asimov, Heinlein, and L Ron Hubbard, and provides a fascinating story of the immense work of these v...A weaving of the biographies of four giants of science fiction, this is an excellent read It helps that I ve read most of the stories and novels mentioned The author doesn t sugarcoat much about his subjects weaknesses and eccentricities, which is appreciated There s plenty of hero worshiping views of the topic available.While I knew something of the subject matter from other histories of SF, I was unaware that Campbell was a part of launching Dianetics Campbell didn t learn a damn thing fr A weaving of the biographies of four giants of science fiction, this is an excellent read It helps that I ve read most of the stories and novels mentioned The author doesn t sugarcoat much about his subjects weaknesses and eccentricities, which is appreciated There s plenty of hero worshiping views of the topic available.While I knew something of the subject matter from other histories of SF, I was unaware that Campbell was a part of launching Dianetics Campbell didn t learn a damn...Poor Informative, yet ultimately flat and lifeless It did itself untold damage with its unwarranted and seemingly arbitrary inclusion of Hubbard the liar, charlatan and fantasist His presence within was unworthy of such company I ca...The Golden Age of Science Fiction was brought about by a strange collection of characters You have got to love the scheming and soap opera quality to their stories And, the strangest of all was L Ron Hubbard, but not necessarily for the reasons you might think at first.It s a well known adage that you should never meet your heroes heroines, presumably because you will be disappointed I m pleased to say, based on my own experiences, that generally in the Fantasy SF Horror genres with some notable exceptions it isn t true.However, after reading this book I might want to reconsider that view again Indeed, if you see the early founders of the golden age of SF of the 20th century as any so...

• 24 February 2018
Alec Nevala-Lee
• ebook
• 544 pages
• 0062571966
• Alec Nevala-Lee
• Astounding