Themes in Science Fiction: A Journey Into Wonder

Patterns in literary art

by McGraw-Hill Education (Editor)

Stories by Isaac Asimov, Harlan Ellison, Arthur C. Clarke, Kurt Vonnegut and others probe the future of man and modern technology

Genres: Science Fiction

428 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

McGraw-Hill Education traces its history back to 1888 when James H. McGraw, co-founder of the company, purchased the American Journal of Railway Appliances. He continued to add further publications, eventually establishing The McGraw Publishing Company in 1899. His co-founder, John A. Hill, had also produced several technical and trade publications and in 1902 formed his own business, The Hill Publishing Company.

In 1909 both men agreed upon an alliance and combined the book departments of their publishing companies into The McGraw-Hill Book Company. John Hill served as President, with James McGraw as Vice-President. 1917 saw the merger of the remaining parts of each business into The McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, Inc.

Reviews

[Chris Brimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A high school text book so good I actually stole it.

[Frode · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my second time through the book. I used it as the text for a high school class I taught back in the late 1970's, and I read through it second time recently. Because there are multiple authors, there are a mix of stories, some quite good and others rather forgettable. Kelley provides some thoughtful questions at the end of each story. He groups the stories by themes and gives some introduction to each grouping.

My purpose when teaching the class was to introduce students to the fact that sci-fi was not just rockets and robots but that it dealt with all sorts of social and scientific questions. In that respect, this text succeeds.

Three stories/authors stand out for me. Fredric Brown's "Puppet Show" is classic stuff with his peculiar twist at the end. It is just fun while still poking at man's inherent prejudices. Keith Laumer writes about Bolo in "The Last Command." He has a whole book about the Bolos, which I read back in the day. The third story which is really a great love story is by Robert F. Young, "One Love Have I." It is very nice and shows what lengths true love will go to.

If you have never tried any sci-fi and are at all curious about the genre, I recommend this book.