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Das Land im Mond
»Zu prophetisch, um nicht grauenerregend zu sein...«
So beschreibt Pulitzer-Preisträger Herman Wouk seine in diesem Band enthaltene schreckliche Geschichte des Krieges im All, eine Fiktion, die von der harten Wirklichkeit in der Entwicklung der Waffentechnik der Großmächte durchaus bald eingeholt werden kann.
Wouk erzählt von einem amerikanischen Astronauten, der unter der Mondoberfläche eine Zivilisation entdeckt, deren Methode der Kriegsführung beinahe zu entsetzlich ist, als daß sie noch beschrieben werden kann. Dazu bedarf es wahrlich der Feder eines Herman Wouk.
In seinem einzigartigen Werk verbinden sich atemberaubende Abenteuer mit beißender Satire... und einem Warnruf, gerichtet an die Adresse der menschlichen Rasse.
Der einzige SF-Roman des Bestsellerautors Herman Wouk
So beschreibt Pulitzer-Preisträger Herman Wouk seine in diesem Band enthaltene schreckliche Geschichte des Krieges im All, eine Fiktion, die von der harten Wirklichkeit in der Entwicklung der Waffentechnik der Großmächte durchaus bald eingeholt werden kann.
Wouk erzählt von einem amerikanischen Astronauten, der unter der Mondoberfläche eine Zivilisation entdeckt, deren Methode der Kriegsführung beinahe zu entsetzlich ist, als daß sie noch beschrieben werden kann. Dazu bedarf es wahrlich der Feder eines Herman Wouk.
In seinem einzigartigen Werk verbinden sich atemberaubende Abenteuer mit beißender Satire... und einem Warnruf, gerichtet an die Adresse der menschlichen Rasse.
Der einzige SF-Roman des Bestsellerautors Herman Wouk
- GenresScience FictionFiction
122 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
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About the author
Herman Wouk
162 books1,418 followersHerman Wouk was a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning Jewish American author with a number of notable novels to his credit, including The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.
Herman Wouk was born in New York City into a Jewish family that had emigrated from Russia. After a childhood and adolescence in the Bronx and a high school diploma from Townsend Harris High School, he earned a B.A. from Columbia University in 1934, where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity and studied under philosopher Irwin Edman. Soon thereafter, he became a radio dramatist, working in David Freedman's "Joke Factory" and later with Fred Allen for five years and then, in 1941, for the United States government, writing radio spots to sell war bonds. He lived a fairly secular lifestyle in his early 20s before deciding to return to a more traditional Jewish way of life, modeled after that of his grandfather, in his mid-20s.
Wouk joined the United States Navy and served in the Pacific Theater, an experience he later characterized as educational; "I learned about machinery, I learned how men behaved under pressure, and I learned about Americans." Wouk served as an officer aboard two destroyer minesweepers (DMS), the USS Zane and USS Southard, becoming executive officer of the latter. He started writing a novel, Aurora Dawn, during off-duty hours aboard ship. Wouk sent a copy of the opening chapters to Irwin Edman who quoted a few pages verbatim to a New York editor. The result was a publisher's contract sent to Wouk's ship, then off the coast of Okinawa. The novel was published in 1947 and became a Book of the Month Club main selection. His second novel, City Boy, proved to be a commercial disappointment at the time of its initial publication in 1948.
While writing his next novel, Wouk read each chapter as it was completed to his wife, who remarked at one point that if they didn't like this one, he'd better take up another line of work (a line he would give to the character of the editor Jeannie Fry in his 1962 novel Youngblood Hawke). The novel, The Caine Mutiny (1951), went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. A huge best-seller, drawing from his wartime experiences aboard minesweepers during World War II, The Caine Mutiny was adapted by the author into a Broadway play called The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, and was later made into a film, with Humphrey Bogart portraying Lt. Commander Philip Francis Queeg, captain of the fictional USS Caine. Some Navy personnel complained at the time that Wouk had taken every twitch of every commanding officer in the Navy and put them all into one character, but Captain Queeg has endured as one of the great characters in American fiction.
He married Betty Sarah Brown in 1945, with whom he had three sons: Abraham, Nathanial, and Joseph. He became a fulltime writer in 1946 to support his growing family. His first-born son, Abraham Isaac Wouk, died in a tragic accident as a child; Wouk later dedicated War and Remembrance (1978) to him with the Biblical words, "He will destroy death forever."
In 1998, Wouk received the Guardian of Zion Award.
Herman Wouk died in his sleep in his home in Palm Springs, California, on May 17, 2019, at the age of 103, ten days before his 104th birthday.
Herman Wouk was born in New York City into a Jewish family that had emigrated from Russia. After a childhood and adolescence in the Bronx and a high school diploma from Townsend Harris High School, he earned a B.A. from Columbia University in 1934, where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity and studied under philosopher Irwin Edman. Soon thereafter, he became a radio dramatist, working in David Freedman's "Joke Factory" and later with Fred Allen for five years and then, in 1941, for the United States government, writing radio spots to sell war bonds. He lived a fairly secular lifestyle in his early 20s before deciding to return to a more traditional Jewish way of life, modeled after that of his grandfather, in his mid-20s.
Wouk joined the United States Navy and served in the Pacific Theater, an experience he later characterized as educational; "I learned about machinery, I learned how men behaved under pressure, and I learned about Americans." Wouk served as an officer aboard two destroyer minesweepers (DMS), the USS Zane and USS Southard, becoming executive officer of the latter. He started writing a novel, Aurora Dawn, during off-duty hours aboard ship. Wouk sent a copy of the opening chapters to Irwin Edman who quoted a few pages verbatim to a New York editor. The result was a publisher's contract sent to Wouk's ship, then off the coast of Okinawa. The novel was published in 1947 and became a Book of the Month Club main selection. His second novel, City Boy, proved to be a commercial disappointment at the time of its initial publication in 1948.
While writing his next novel, Wouk read each chapter as it was completed to his wife, who remarked at one point that if they didn't like this one, he'd better take up another line of work (a line he would give to the character of the editor Jeannie Fry in his 1962 novel Youngblood Hawke). The novel, The Caine Mutiny (1951), went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. A huge best-seller, drawing from his wartime experiences aboard minesweepers during World War II, The Caine Mutiny was adapted by the author into a Broadway play called The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, and was later made into a film, with Humphrey Bogart portraying Lt. Commander Philip Francis Queeg, captain of the fictional USS Caine. Some Navy personnel complained at the time that Wouk had taken every twitch of every commanding officer in the Navy and put them all into one character, but Captain Queeg has endured as one of the great characters in American fiction.
He married Betty Sarah Brown in 1945, with whom he had three sons: Abraham, Nathanial, and Joseph. He became a fulltime writer in 1946 to support his growing family. His first-born son, Abraham Isaac Wouk, died in a tragic accident as a child; Wouk later dedicated War and Remembrance (1978) to him with the Biblical words, "He will destroy death forever."
In 1998, Wouk received the Guardian of Zion Award.
Herman Wouk died in his sleep in his home in Palm Springs, California, on May 17, 2019, at the age of 103, ten days before his 104th birthday.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 1, 2021
Decent concept, flawed execution.
2.5
2.5
September 16, 2023
3.5. i like metal gear solid. i also like epistolary form, and it starts really strong with the government documents. will probably not satisfy an avid SF fan because there is no real attempt to worldbuild or explore the science or fantasy of future tech... and will probably not satisfy the average reader either, now that i think about it, because of its lopsided structure and lack of character. written soon after WWII, this is a treatise on the dangers of nuclear war with a relatively barebones SF veneer.
the illustrations in my edition (pocket book, 1968) were gorgeous. i'll probably be thinking about it for a bit
the illustrations in my edition (pocket book, 1968) were gorgeous. i'll probably be thinking about it for a bit
September 28, 2012
I gave a three and that might have been generous. It has a number of issues that could be associated with the state of SF at the time it was written, but I did NOT factor that in. Rather, I found it to be a bit superficial and simplistic even given its date. It's weak in a number of ways - -lot, action, story-telling, etc. I don;t know why Wouk chose to write a SF story but it is obvious why he didn't continue. I'd be curious to know if he managed to sell this before getting more fame from his other works. I don't think this stands on its own merit. Very short - I read it in about 2 hours without straining myself. The one redeeming idea in it is that of fighting combat free wars where casualties are calculat and then people willingly go off to be killed in an assembly line kind of situation. The original Star Trek did something similar in one episode decades later. So good for Herman if it was his idea first.
December 6, 2012
6 star book.
the rules of reasonable war are given here. Herman Wouk's science fiction novel, the war on the moon has become bloodless, scientific logical and just as deadly and stupid as most wars. this book shaped how i think about war more than any other i've read.
read several times
the rules of reasonable war are given here. Herman Wouk's science fiction novel, the war on the moon has become bloodless, scientific logical and just as deadly and stupid as most wars. this book shaped how i think about war more than any other i've read.
read several times
March 27, 2017
Gave it two stars for the fact it was written before any man made object made it to space. Story is about a Navy Pilot who crashes on the moon and writes of his life after meeting the inhabitants of the moon. Just not a very good or well written story. Do not suggest anyone read it.
March 3, 2018
Somewhat apocalyptic. A moon shot or two, declassified. Is there such a thing as a reasonable war? Even on the moon?
A very short read, too.
A very short read, too.
October 29, 2018
The first half is fascinating, the 2nd half is a boring satire on a Utopian solution to war. The illustrations in this edition are awful.
March 24, 2013
This is classic sci-fi; an attempt by a writer to work out human flaws and events using an alien race. Unfortunately, the appeal and momentum of this book is lost on me because of its age. Written in 1949 it is Wouk's "one effort at science fiction". It is heavily inspired by the events of World War II and everything in history that followed. Being far removed from the threat of nuclear war and having always known that men have walked on the moon, diminishes my appreciation of this book. However Wouk's ideas on Reasonable War from the “Book of Ctuzelawis” were interesting and gave me pause to consider what IS the inherent nature of man.
January 19, 2010
Swiftian satire about the Cold War set on the moon. Written not long after WWII, it provides a fairly interesting take on the real differences between Democracy and Communism as well as a strange reading of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Ultimately, it's clever.
December 24, 2020
This Book was very intriguing and fun too read. I highly suggest reading this book if you are a fan of space-fi novels.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews