The Road to Science Fiction: From Gilgamesh to Wells

by James Gunn (Editor)

Overview

Now in Paperback!

Between an ancient Roman's trip to the moon and the fantastic tales of H.G. Wells lies a journey through time and space and an awesome evolution in scientific thinking. From Gilgamesh's search for immortality to Lucian's odyssey on the moon; from Jonathan Swift's hilarious satire on scientists in Gulliver's Travels to Mary Shelley's horrifying description of a scientist who has gone too far in Frankenstein from Edgar Allan Poe's balloon trip in the year 2848 to Jules Verne's prophesies of the impact of scientific inventions on future civilization; from Edward Bellamy's utopian escape from the industrial Revolution to H.G. Wells's magnificent story of Earth threatened by an inescapable menace-here are the chief ancestors of the modern science fiction story. For the first time, these and other key works are gathered together in one anthology, complete with revealing commentary on the authors, their eras, and the role each played in establishing what we today recognize as science fiction.

The Road to Science Fiction is a six-volume anthology of science fiction that covers the development of science fiction from its earliest prototypes in the Sumerian Gilgamesh and the Greek epics to approximately 1990. Created originally to provide anthologies for use in classes, these volumes have become mass-market sellers as well, since they are not only a source of outstanding stories but also explain what constitutes science fiction, how it developed and the contribution the authors and the stories have made to the evolution of science fiction.

Cloth edition previously published in 1979.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810844148
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/21/2002
Series:	Road to Science Fiction Series , #1
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.06(w) x 8.92(h) x 0.78(d)

About the Author

James Gunn is Emeritus Professor of English at University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 The First Voyage to the Moon Chapter 3 From A True Story—by Lucian of Samosata Chapter 4 Strange Creatures and Far Traveling Chapter 5 From The Voyages and Travels of Sir John Mandeville—Anonymous Chapter 6 The Good Place That Is No Place Chapter 7 From Utopia—by Thomas More Chapter 8 The New Science and the Old Religion Chapter 9 From The City of the Sun—by Tommaso Campanella Chapter 10 Experience, Experiment, and the Battle for Men's Minds Chapter 11 From The New Atlantisby Francis Bacon Chapter 12 A New Look at the Heavens and Another Trip to the Moon Chapter 13 Somnium, or Lunar Astronomy—by Johannes Kepler Chapter 14 Commuting to the Moon Chapter 15 From A Voyage to the Moon—by Cyrano de Bergerac Chapter 16 The Age of Reason and the Voice of Dissent Chapter 17 From "A Voyage to Laputa"—by Jonathan Swift Chapter 18 Imaginary Voyages in the Other Direction Chapter 19 From The Journey to the World Underground—by Ludvig Holberg Chapter 20 Visitors From Space Chapter 21 Micromegas—by Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire Chapter 22 Science and Literature: When Worlds Collide Chapter 23 FromFrankenstein—by Mary Shelley Chapter 24 Science as Symbol Chapter 25 Rappaccini's Daughter—by Nathaniel Hawthorne Chapter 26 Anticipations of the Future Chapter 27 Mellonta Tauta—by Edgar Allen Poe Chapter 28 Expanding the Vision Chapter 29 The Diamond Lens—by Fitz-James O'Brien Chapter 30 The Indispensable Frenchman Chapter 31 From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Chapter 32 From Around the Moon—by Jules Verne Chapter 33 Lost Civilizations and Ancient Knowledge Chapter 34 From She—by H. Rider Haggard Chapter 35 The New Frontier Chapter 36 From Looking Backward—by Edward Bellamy Chapter 37 New Magazines, New Readers, New Writers Chapter 38 The Damned Thing—by Ambrose Bierce Chapter 39 A Flying Start Chapter 40 With the Night Mail—by Rudyard Kipling Chapter 41 The Father of Modern Science Fiction Chapter 42 The Star—by H.G. Wells Chapter 43 About the Editor

Editorial Reviews

The best series, historically arranged, of SF anthologies ever assembled...All six volumes belong in the library of every university, school, and teacher and reader of science fiction. Gunn has gathered stories of importance to the development of SF and stories that represent the best writing of the genre.

5th Edition Anatomy of Wonder

An excellent introduction to the history of the genre.

The New York Times

...of great use to teachers and students of science fiction. However, Gunn's work is accessible to any serious reader. I recommend it for anyone with an interest in acquiring a useful vocabulary of texts and authors for use during those conversations in which the value of science fiction is questioned...Gunn's prose is serious and well informed without being prolix.

Sfrevu

...provides one of the most comprehensive views of the field and should be required reading for all students of sf. It has withstood the test of time, with classic stories....Gunn's headnotes and introductions remain provocative, even years later. The Road to Science Fiction can be read as an historical document, one that says much about Gunn, his mind, and his take on sf as it does about the state of sf from its roots to its full maturity as a genre.

Science Fiction Studies

...of great use to teachers and students of science fiction. However, Gunn's work is accessible to any serious reader. I recommend it for anyone with an interest in acquiring a useful vocabulary of texts and authors for use during those conversations in which the value of science fiction is questioned...Gunn's prose is serious and well informed without being prolix.

...provides one of the most comprehensive views of the field and should be required reading for all students of sf. It has withstood the test of time, with classic stories....Gunn's headnotes and introductions remain provocative, even years later. The Road to Science Fiction can be read as an historical document, one that says much about Gunn, his mind, and his take on sf as it does about the state of sf from its roots to its full maturity as a genre.

An excellent introduction to the history of the genre.

The best series, historically arranged, of SF anthologies ever assembled...All six volumes belong in the library of every university, school, and teacher and reader of science fiction. Gunn has gathered stories of importance to the development of SF and stories that represent the best writing of the genre.

From the Publisher

An excellent introduction to the history of the genre.

The New York Times