Gary Westfahl's Books

William Gibson

By: Gary Westfahl

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The leading figure in the development of cyberpunk, William Gibson (born in 1948) crafted works in which isolated humans explored near-future worlds of ubiquitous and intrusive computer technology and cybernetics. This volume is the first comprehensive examination of the award-winning author of the seminal novel Neuromancer (and the other books in the Sprawl trilogy, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive), as well as other acclaimed novels including recent bestsellers Pattern Recognition, Spook Country, and Zero History. Renowned scholar Gary Westfahl draws upon extensive research to provide a compelling account of Gibson's writing career and his lasting influence in the science fiction world. Delving into numerous science fiction fanzines that the young Gibson contributed to and edited, Westfahl delivers new information about his childhood and adolescence. He describes for the first time more than eighty virtually unknown Gibson publications from his early years, including articles, reviews, poems, cartoons, letters, and a collaborative story. The book also documents the poems, articles, and introductions that Gibson has written for various books, and its discussions are enriched by illuminating comments from various print and online interviews. The works that made Gibson famous are also featured, as Westfahl performs extended analyses of Gibson's ten novels and nineteen short stories. Lastly, the book presents a new interview with Gibson in which the author discusses his correspondence with author Fritz Leiber, his relationship with the late scholar Susan Wood, his attitudes toward critics, his overall impact on the field of science fiction, and his recently completed screenplay and forthcoming novel.

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Page Count

225

Publisher

University of Illinois Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0252095081

ISBN 13

9780252095085

Arthur C. Clarke

By: Gary Westfahl

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Arthur C. Clarke

By: Gary Westfahl

Already renowned for his science fiction and scientific nonfiction, Arthur C. Clarke became the world’s most famous science fiction writer after the success of 2001: A Space Odyssey. He then produced novels like Rendezvous with Rama and The Fountains of Paradise that many regard as his finest works. Gary Westfahl closely examines Clarke's remarkable career, ranging from his forgotten juvenilia to the passages he completed for a final novel, The Last Theorem. As Westfahl explains, Clarke’s science fiction offered original perspectives on subjects like new inventions, space travel, humanity’s destiny, alien encounters, the undersea world, and religion. While not inclined to mysticism, Clarke necessarily employed mystical language to describe the fantastic achievements of advanced aliens and future humans. Westfahl also contradicts the common perception that Clarke’s characters were bland and underdeveloped, arguing that these reticent, solitary individuals, who avoid conventional relationships, represent his most significant prediction of the future, as they embody the increasingly common lifestyle of people in the twenty-first century.

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189

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University of Illinois Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0252050630

ISBN 13

9780252050633

The Stuff of Science Fiction

Hardware, Settings, Characters

By: Gary Westfahl

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The Stuff of Science Fiction

Hardware, Settings, Characters

By: Gary Westfahl

While students and general readers typically cannot relate to esoteric definitions of science fiction, they readily understand the genre as a literature that characteristically deals with subjects such as new inventions, space, robot and aliens. This book looks at science fiction in precisely this manner, with twenty-one chapters that each deal with a subject that is repeatedly addressed in science fiction of recent centuries. Based on a packet of original essays that the author assembled for his classes, the book could serve as a supplemental textbook in science fiction classes, but also contains material of interest to science fiction scholars and others devoted to the genre. In some cases, chapters offer thorough surveys of numerous works involving certain subjects, such as imagined vehicles, journeys beneath the Earth and undersea adventures, discovering intriguing patterns in the ways that various writers developed their ideas. When comprehensive coverage of ubiquitous topics such as robots, aliens and the planet Mars is impossible, chapters focus on major themes referencing selected texts. A conclusion discusses other science fiction subjects that were omitted for various reasons, and a bibliography lists additional resources for the study of science fiction in general and the topics of each chapter.

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298

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476686599

ISBN 13

9781476686592

A Sense-of-Wonderful Century

Explorations of Science Fiction and Fantasy Films

By: Gary Westfahl

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A Sense-of-Wonderful Century

Explorations of Science Fiction and Fantasy Films

By: Gary Westfahl

This book gathers together many of the illuminating essays on science fiction and fantasy film penned by a major critic in the SF field. The pieces are roughly organized in the chronological order of when the movies and television programs being discussed first appeared, with essays providing more general overviews clustered near the beginning and end of the volume, to provide the overall aura of a historical survey. Although this book does not pretend to provide a comprehensive history of science fiction and fantasy films, it does intermingle analyses of films and TV programs with some discussions of related plays, novels, stories, and comic books, particularly in the essays on This Island Earth and 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequels. Inciteful, entertaining, and full of intelligent and witty observations about science fiction and its sometimes curious relationship with the visual media, these essays will both delight and entertain critics, fans, and viewers alike.

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316

Publisher

Wildside Press LLC

Published Date

ISBN 10

143444371X

ISBN 13

9781434443717

A Day in a Working Life [3 volumes]

300 Trades and Professions through History [3 volumes]

By: Gary Westfahl

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A Day in a Working Life [3 volumes]

300 Trades and Professions through History [3 volumes]

By: Gary Westfahl

Ideal for high school and college students studying history through the everyday lives of men and women, this book offers intriguing information about the jobs that people have held, from ancient times to the 21st century. This unique book provides detailed studies of more than 300 occupations as they were practiced in 21 historical time periods, ranging from prehistory to the present day. Each profession is examined in a compelling essay that is specifically written to inform readers about career choices in different times and cultures, and is accompanied by a bibliography of additional sources of information, sidebars that relate historical issues to present-day concerns, as well as related historical documents. Readers of this work will learn what each profession entailed or entails on a daily basis, how one gained entry to the vocation, training methods, and typical compensation levels for the job. The book provides sufficient specific detail to convey a comprehensive understanding of the experiences, benefits, and downsides of a given profession. Selected accompanying documents further bring history to life by offering honest testimonies from people who actually worked in these occupations or interacted with those in that field.

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1424

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

1610694031

ISBN 13

9781610694032

Hugo Gernsback and the Century of Science Fiction

By: Gary Westfahl

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Hugo Gernsback and the Century of Science Fiction

By: Gary Westfahl

An examination of science fiction editor and author Hugo Gernsback's career, this critical study explores the many ways in which his work influenced the genre. It summarizes the science fiction theories of Gernsback and his successors, considers his efforts to define science fiction both verbally and visually, and for the first time offers detailed studies of his rarest periodicals, including Technocracy Review, Superworld Comics, and Science-Fiction Plus. An analysis of his ground-breaking novel, Ralph 124C 41+: A Romance of the Year 2660, and its influences on a variety of science fiction novels, films and television programs is also offered.

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284

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McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786430796

ISBN 13

9780786430796

Arthur C. Clarke

By: Gary Westfahl

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Arthur C. Clarke

By: Gary Westfahl

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189

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University of Illinois Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0252050630

ISBN 13

9780252050633

The Spacesuit Film

A History, 1918-1969

By: Gary Westfahl

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The Spacesuit Film

A History, 1918-1969

By: Gary Westfahl

Filmmakers employ various images to suggest the strangeness of outer space, but protective spacesuits most powerfully communicate its dangers and the frailty of humans beyond the cradle of Earth. (Many films set in space, however, forgo spacesuits altogether, reluctant to hide famous faces behind bulky helmets and ill-fitting jumpsuits.) This critical history comprehensively examines science fiction films that portray space travel realistically (and sometimes not quite so) by having characters wear spacesuits. Beginning [A] with the pioneering Himmelskibet (1918) and Woman on the Moon (1929), it discusses [B] other classics in this tradition, including Destination Moon (1950), Riders to the Stars (1954), and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); [C] films that gesture toward realism but betray that goal with melodramatic villains, low comedy, or improbable monsters; [D] the distinctive spacesuit films of Western Europe, Russia and Japan; and [E] America's spectacular real-life spacesuit film, the televised Apollo 11 moon landing (1969).

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372

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786489995

ISBN 13

9780786489992

The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s

By: Gary Westfahl

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The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s

By: Gary Westfahl

By examining important aspects of science fiction in the twentieth century, this book explains how the genre evolved to its current state. Close critical attention is given to topics including the art that has accompanied science fiction, the subgenres of space opera and hard science fiction, the rise of SF anthologies, and the burgeoning impact of the marketplace on authors. Included are in-depth studies of key texts that contributed to science fiction's growth, including Philip Francis Nowlan's first Buck Rogers story, the first published stories of A. E. van Vogt, and the early juveniles of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein.

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312

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McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476674949

ISBN 13

9781476674940

The Mechanics of Wonder

The Creation of the Idea of Science Fiction

By: Gary Westfahl

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The Mechanics of Wonder

The Creation of the Idea of Science Fiction

By: Gary Westfahl

This is a sustained argument about the idea of science fiction by a renowned critic. Overturning many received opinions, it is both controversial and stimulating Much of the controversy arises from Westfahl's resurrection of Hugo Gernsback - for decades a largely derided figure - as the true creator of science fiction. Following an initial demolition of earlier critics, Westfahl argues for Gernsback's importance. His argument is fully documented, showing a much greater familiarity with early American science fiction, particularly magazine fiction, than previous academic critics or historians. After his initial chapters on Gernsback, he examines the way in which the Gernsback tradition was adopted and modified by later magazine editors and early critics. This involves a re-evaluation of the importance of John W. Campbell to the history of science fiction as well as a very interesting critique of Robert Heinlein's Beyond the Horizon, one the seminal texts of American science fiction. In conclusion, Westfahl uses the theories of Gernsback and Campbell to develop a descriptive definition of science fiction and he explores the ramifications of that definition. The Mechanics of Wonder will arouse debate and force the questioning of presuppositions. No other book so closely examines the origins and development of the idea of science fiction, and it will stand among a small number of crucial texts with which every science fiction scholar or prospective science fiction scholar will have to read.

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360

Publisher

Liverpool University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0853235635

ISBN 13

9780853235637

The Mechanics of Wonder

The Creation of the Idea of Science Fiction

By: Gary Westfahl

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The Mechanics of Wonder

The Creation of the Idea of Science Fiction

By: Gary Westfahl

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360

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Liverpool University Press

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0853235635

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9780853235637

Science Fiction Literature through History [2 volumes]

An Encyclopedia [2 volumes]

By: Gary Westfahl

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Science Fiction Literature through History [2 volumes]

An Encyclopedia [2 volumes]

By: Gary Westfahl

This book provides students and other interested readers with a comprehensive survey of science fiction history and numerous essays addressing major science fiction topics, authors, works, and subgenres written by a distinguished scholar. This encyclopedia deals with written science fiction in all of its forms, not only novels and short stories but also mediums often ignored in other reference books, such as plays, poems, comic books, and graphic novels. Some science fiction films, television programs, and video games are also mentioned, particularly when they are relevant to written texts. Its focus is on science fiction in the English language, though due attention is given to international authors whose works have been frequently translated into English. Since science fiction became a recognized genre and greatly expanded in the 20th century, works published in the 20th and 21st centuries are most frequently discussed, though important earlier works are not neglected. The texts are designed to be helpful to numerous readers, ranging from students first encountering science fiction to experienced scholars in the field.

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814

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

1440866171

ISBN 13

9781440866173

The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s

By: Gary Westfahl

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The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s

By: Gary Westfahl

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312

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McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476674949

ISBN 13

9781476674940

The Cute and the Cool

Wondrous Innocence and Modern American Children's Culture

By: Gary Cross

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The Cute and the Cool

Wondrous Innocence and Modern American Children's Culture

By: Gary Cross

The twentieth century was, by any reckoning, the age of the child in America. Today, we pay homage at the altar of childhood, heaping endless goods on the young, reveling in memories of a more innocent time, and finding solace in the softly backlit memories of our earliest years. We are, the proclamation goes, just big kids at heart. And, accordingly, we delight in prolonging and inflating the childhood experiences of our offspring. In images of the naughty but nice Buster Brown and the coquettish but sweet Shirley Temple, Americans at mid-century offered up a fantastic world of treats, toys, and stories, creating a new image of the child as "cute." Holidays such as Christmas and Halloween became blockbuster affairs, vehicles to fuel the bedazzled and wondrous innocence of the adorable child. All this, Gary Cross illustrates, reflected the preoccupations of a more gentle and affluent culture, but it also served to liberate adults from their rational and often tedious worlds of work and responsibility. But trouble soon entered paradise. The "cute" turned into "cool" as children, following their parental example, embraced the gift of fantasy and unrestrained desire to rebel against the saccharine excesses of wondrous innocence in deliberate pursuit of the anti-cute. Movies, comic books, and video games beckoned to children with the allures of an often violent, sexualized, and increasingly harsh worldview. Unwitting and resistant accomplices to this commercial transformation of childhood, adults sought-over and over again, in repeated and predictable cycles-to rein in these threats in a largely futile jeremiad to preserve the old order. Thus, the cute child-deliberately manufactured and cultivated--has ironically fostered a profoundly troubled ambivalence toward youth and child rearing today. Expertly weaving his way through the cultural artifacts, commercial currents, and parenting anxieties of the previous century, Gary Cross offers a vibrant and entirely fresh portrait of the forces that have defined American childhood.

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284

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195348133

ISBN 13

9780195348132

Evaporating Genres

Essays on Fantastic Literature

By: Gary K. Wolfe

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Evaporating Genres

Essays on Fantastic Literature

By: Gary K. Wolfe

A series of provocative essays on how the fantastic genres evolve and grow In this wide-ranging series of essays, an award-winning science fiction critic explores how the related genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror evolve, merge, and finally "evaporate" into new and more dynamic forms. Beginning with a discussion of how literary readers "unlearned" how to read the fantastic during the heyday of realistic fiction, Gary K. Wolfe goes on to show how the fantastic reasserted itself in popular genre literature, and how these genres themselves grew increasingly unstable in terms of both narrative form and the worlds they portray. More detailed discussions of how specific contemporary writers have promoted this evolution are followed by a final essay examining how the competing discourses have led toward an emerging synthesis of critical approaches and vocabularies. The essays cover a vast range of authors and texts, and include substantial discussions of very current fiction published within the last few years.

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280

Publisher

Wesleyan University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0819571040

ISBN 13

9780819571045

An Alien Abroad

Science Fiction Columns from Interzone

By: Gary Westfahl

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An Alien Abroad

Science Fiction Columns from Interzone

By: Gary Westfahl

This book, for the first time, makes available a body of my work that has long remained inaccessible and largely unknown to American readers: the thirty-seven bimonthly columns that I contributed to the British science fiction magazine "Interzone" from 1998 to 2004. For while it has long been respected as the best (and at times, the only) British science fiction magazine, Interzone has historically attracted few American subscribers, and it is never found in the university libraries or library databases that include most of my other publications. Only five of these columns may be familiar to American readers: the third column was extensively reworked to serve as a chapter in Hugo Gernsback and the Century of Science Fiction (2007), though it appears here in its original form; I posted three columns to my World of Westfahl website; and the piece that was submitted to become my thirty-eight column, included here in its original form, was revised to appear as a commentary for the website Locus Online. The other thirty-three columns are being republished for the first time, and as a bonus for those few readers who have read all of my columns, the book concludes with a brand-new, thirty-ninth column, never published before.

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264

Published Date

ISBN 10

1479408034

ISBN 13

9781479408030

The Spacesuit Film

A History, 1918-1969

By: Gary Westfahl

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The Spacesuit Film

A History, 1918-1969

By: Gary Westfahl

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372

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786489995

ISBN 13

9780786489992

Islands in the Sky

The Space Station Theme in Science Fiction Literature [Second Edition]

By: Gary Westfahl

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Islands in the Sky

The Space Station Theme in Science Fiction Literature [Second Edition]

By: Gary Westfahl

Pilgrim Award-winning critic Gary Westfahl here updates his classic study of the space station theme in science fiction, providing the most comprehensive examination of the topic ever written. From "The Brick Moon" (1869) to Star Trek's Deep Space 9, these literary and cinematic outposts have provided waystations for the imaginative exploration of new worlds and new civilizations. Westfahl's balanced and detailed study will be a necessary addition to modern critical collections on genre fiction. Complete with comprehensive bibliographies of primary and secondary sources, plus a detailed index.

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265

Publisher

Wildside Press LLC

Published Date

ISBN 10

1434403564

ISBN 13

9781434403568

Science Fiction, Children's Literature, and Popular Culture

Coming of Age in Fantasyland

By: Gary Westfahl

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Science Fiction, Children's Literature, and Popular Culture

Coming of Age in Fantasyland

By: Gary Westfahl

In a constantly changing world, individuals are forever growing to meet the challenges and developments that emerge around them. In contemporary society, technology is at the heart of change. Literature, too, reflects the evolution of culture and increasingly represents and considers technology. And as children become young adults, their reading helps shape their understanding of the world. This book examines representative works of science fiction, children's literature, and popular culture to show how these works reflect the process of growing up in a technological world. The volume looks at the simple picture books and comic books that appeal to small children; the formulaic adventures that fascinate older children; the films and television programs that are watched by children and young adolescents; the music videos and programming that appeal to young adults; and the popular novels that interest older readers. Included are discussions of Superman, the Hardy Boys, Star Trek, science fiction films, and music videos. The book points to similarities among popular culture, science fiction, and children's literature and demonstrates the relevance of these works to contemporary society.

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174

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0313030286

ISBN 13

9780313030284

A Sense-of-Wonderful Century

Explorations of Science Fiction and Fantasy Films

By: Gary Westfahl

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A Sense-of-Wonderful Century

Explorations of Science Fiction and Fantasy Films

By: Gary Westfahl

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316

Publisher

Wildside Press LLC

Published Date

ISBN 10

143444371X

ISBN 13

9781434443717

The Killing Game

By: Gary Webb

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The Killing Game

By: Gary Webb

Gary Webb had an inborn journalistic tendency to track down corruption and expose it. For over thirty-four years, he wrote stories about corruption from county, state, and federal levels. He had an almost magnetic effect to these kinds of stories, and it was almost as if the stories found him. It was his gift, and, ultimately, it was his downfall. He was best known for his story Dark Alliance, written for the San Jose Mercury News in 1996. In it Webb linked the CIA to the crack-cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles during the Iran Contra scandal. His only published book, Dark Alliance is still a classic of contemporary journalism. But his life consisted of much more than this one story, and The Killing Game is a collection of his best investigative stories from his beginning at the Kentucky Post to his end at the Sacramento News & Review. It includes Webb's series at the Kentucky Post on organized crime in the coal industry, at the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Ohio State’s negligent medical board, and on the US military’s funding of first-person shooter video games. The Killing Game is a dedication to his life’s work outside of Dark Alliance, and it’s an exhibition of investigative journalism in its truest form.

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Page Count

450

Publisher

Seven Stories Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1609801431

ISBN 13

9781609801434

Stolen in the Night

The True Story of a Family's Murder, a Kidnapping and the Child Who Survived

By: Gary C. King

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Stolen in the Night

The True Story of a Family's Murder, a Kidnapping and the Child Who Survived

By: Gary C. King

The horrific, grisly true crime account of a child abuser, kidnapper, and serial killer from the bestselling author of An Almost Perfect Murder. Joseph Duncan had been convicted of raping and torturing a fourteen-year-old boy in Tacoma, Washington. On the Internet he proudly boasted of his perversions. But the system turned Duncan loose, and no one would stop him from committing an even more horrifying act . . . This time, he prepared meticulously. He chose his getaway car. He chose his murder weapon and loaded a video camera. Then, when he saw young Shasta and Dylan Groene playing outside their Idaho home, he struck—killing their mother and her boyfriend, and their older brother . . . and vanishing into the night with Shasta and Dylan. Detectives pored over the bloody murder scene. The FBI scrambled to find the children and the abductor. And even when Duncan was finally located, the story was not yet over: Dylan was still missing—and the depth of one man’s evil was still coming horribly to light . . . Please note: This ebook edition does not contain the photos found in the print edition.

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253

Publisher

Macmillan + ORM

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429997974

ISBN 13

9781429997973

Drive-by

By: Gary Rivlin

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Drive-by

By: Gary Rivlin

In this compassionate study of a drive-by shooting, Rivlin examines the history of the victims, their families, and their impoverished living conditions.

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287

Publisher

Macmillan

Published Date

ISBN 10

0805029214

ISBN 13

9780805029215

Stalling for Time

My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator

By: Gary Noesner

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Stalling for Time

My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator

By: Gary Noesner

A longtime FBI Lead Hostage Negotiator offers a behind-the-scenes account of the many high-profile cases he worked on--from hijackings and prison riots to religious-cult and right-wing-militia standoffs--and explains how such failures as Ruby Ridge and Waco could have been averted.

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242

Publisher

Random House Incorporated

Published Date

ISBN 10

1400067251

ISBN 13

9781400067251

Stolen in the Night

By: Gary C. King

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Stolen in the Night

By: Gary C. King

Joseph Duncan had been convicted of raping and torturing a 14-year-old boy in Tacoma, Washington. On the Internet he proudly boasted of his perversions. But the system turned Duncan loose, and no one would stop him from committing an even more horrifying act...

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260

Publisher

St. Martin's Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1250092914

ISBN 13

9781250092915

The Devil's Tickets

A Vengeful Wife, a Fatal Hand, and a New American Age

By: Gary M. Pomerantz

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The Devil's Tickets

A Vengeful Wife, a Fatal Hand, and a New American Age

By: Gary M. Pomerantz

Kansas City, 1929: Myrtle and Jack Bennett sit down with another couple for an evening of bridge. As the game intensifies, Myrtle complains that Jack is a “bum bridge player.” For such insubordination, he slaps her hard in front of their stunned guests and announces he is leaving. Moments later, sobbing, with a Colt .32 pistol in hand, Myrtle fires four shots, killing her husband. The Roaring 1920s inspired nationwide fads–flagpole sitting, marathon dancing, swimming-pool endurance floating. But of all the mad games that cheered Americans between the wars, the least likely was contract bridge. As the Barnum of the bridge craze, Ely Culbertson, a tuxedoed boulevardier with a Russian accent, used mystique, brilliance, and a certain madness to transform bridge from a social pastime into a cultural movement that made him rich and famous. In writings, in lectures, and on the radio, he used the Bennett killing to dramatize bridge as the battle of the sexes. Indeed, Myrtle Bennett’s murder trial became a sensation because it brought a beautiful housewife–and hints of her husband’s infidelity–from the bridge table into the national spotlight. James A. Reed, Myrtle’s high-powered lawyer and onetime Democratic presidential candidate, delivered soaring, tear-filled courtroom orations. As Reed waxed on about the sanctity of womanhood, he was secretly conducting an extramarital romance with a feminist trailblazer who lived next door. To the public, bridge symbolized tossing aside the ideals of the Puritans–who referred derisively to playing cards as “the Devil’s tickets”–and embracing the modern age. Ina time when such fearless women as Amelia Earhart, Dorothy Parker, and Marlene Dietrich were exalted for their boldness, Culbertson positioned his game as a challenge to all housebound women. At the bridge table, he insisted, a woman could be her husband’s equal, and more. In the gathering darkness of the Depression, Culbertson leveraged his own ballyhoo and naughty innuendo for all it was worth, maneuvering himself and his brilliant wife, Jo, his favorite bridge partner, into a media spectacle dubbed the Bridge Battle of the Century. Through these larger-than-life characters and the timeless partnership game they played, The Devil’s Tickets captures a uniquely colorful age and a tension in marriage that is eternal.

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