Star Maker

by Olaf Stapledon

Overview

Widely regarded as one of the true classics of science fiction, Star Maker is a poetic and deeply philosophical work. The story details the mental journey of an unnamed narrator who is transported not only to other worlds but also other galaxies and parallel universes, until he eventually becomes part of the "cosmic mind." First published in 1937, Olaf Stapledon's descriptions of alien life are a political commentary on human life in the turbulent inter-war years. The book challenges preconceived notions of intelligence and awareness, and ultimately argues for a broadened perspective that would free us from culturally ingrained thought and our inevitable anthropomorphism. This is the first scholarly edition of a book that influenced such writers as C.S. Lewis and Arthur C. Clarke and which Jorge Luis Borges called "a prodigious novel."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781773233543
Publisher:	Reading Essentials
Publication date:	12/04/2018
Sold by:	StreetLib SRL
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	572,504
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

OLAF STAPLEDON (1886-1950) served as Lecturer in Psychology and Philosophy at Liverpool University. PATRICK A. MCCARTHY is Professor of English at the University of Miami, author of Olaf Stapledon (1982) and editor of The Legacy of Olaf Stapledon (1989). FREEMAN J. DYSON is Professor of Physics, Emeritus, at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, NJ. He conceived the Dyson Sphere, has designed nuclear reactors and writes on the relationship of science to literature and theology.

Table of Contents

	Foreword	xi
	Acknowledgments	xvii
	Introduction	xix
	Preface	3
I	The Earth	7
1.	The Starting Point	7
2.	Earth Among the Stars	11
II	Interstellar Travel	16
III	The Other Earth	27
1.	On the Other Earth	27
2.	A Busy World	32
3.	Prospects of the Race	47
IV	I Travel Again	60
V	Worlds Innumerable	70
1.	The Diversity of Worlds	70
2.	Strange Mankinds	77
3.	Nautiloids	87
VI	Intimations of the Star Maker	94
VII	More Worlds	100
1.	A Symbiotic Race	100
2.	Composite Beings	111
3.	Plant Men and Others	120
VIII	Concerning the Explorers	131
IX	The Community of Worlds	137
1.	Busy Utopias	137
2.	Intermundane Strife	146
3.	A Crisis in Galactic History	158
4.	Triumph in a Sub-Galaxy	161
5.	The Tragedy of the Perverts	168
6.	A Galactic Utopia	172
X	A Vision of the Galaxy	177
XI	Stars and Vermin	187
1.	The Many Galaxies	187
2.	Disaster in Our Galaxy	189
3.	Stars	194
4.	Galactic Symbiosis	204
XII	A Stunted Cosmical Spirit	210
XIII	The Beginning and the End	213
1.	Back to the Nebulae	213
2.	The Supreme Moment Nears	218
3.	The Supreme Moment and After	223
XIV	The Myth of Creation	232
XV	The Maker and His Works	236
1.	Immature Creating	236
2.	Mature Creating	246
3.	The Ultimate Cosmos and the Eternal Spirit	253
XVI	Epilogue: Back to Earth	258
	A Note on Magnitude	265
	Time Scales	267
	Glossary	271
	Notes	281
	Bibliography	307

What People are Saying About This

Robert Shelton

“Star Maker is a masterpiece in the field of science fiction, a bursting to the brim compendium of ideas for later science fiction writers.”

From the Publisher

"A buried treasure of 20th century literature reemerges in this splendid and practical edition. McCarthy's revealing introduction and notes display the genius of Star Maker to a new century."—Robert Crossley, author of Olaf Stapledon: Speaking for the Future

"A buried treasure of 20th century literature reemerges in this splendid and practical edition. McCarthy's revealing introduction and notes display the genius of Star Maker to a new century."—Robert Crossley, author of Olaf Stapledon: Speaking for the Future

"Star Maker is a masterpiece in the field of science fiction, a bursting to the brim compendium of ideas for later science fiction writers."—Robert Shelton, Associate Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Michigan State University

Robert Crossley

"A buried treasure of 20th century literature reemerges in this splendid and practical edition. McCarthy's revealing introduction and notes display the genius of Star Maker to a new century."
— Robert Crossley, author of Olaf Stapledon: Speaking for the Future

Editorial Reviews

The Wesleyan Early Classics of Science Fiction presents the first scholarly edition of Olaf Stapledon's 1937 masterpiece, Star Maker, edited by Patrick A. McCarthy. Physicist Freeman Dyson provides a foreword. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

"A buried treasure of 20th century literature reemerges in this splendid and practical edition. McCarthy's revealing introduction and notes display the genius of Star Maker to a new century."—Robert Crossley, author of Olaf Stapledon: Speaking for the Future

"A buried treasure of 20th century literature reemerges in this splendid and practical edition. McCarthy's revealing introduction and notes display the genius of Star Maker to a new century."—Robert Crossley, author of Olaf Stapledon: Speaking for the Future

"Star Maker is a masterpiece in the field of science fiction, a bursting to the brim compendium of ideas for later science fiction writers."—Robert Shelton, Associate Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Michigan State University

From the Publisher