Inside Science Fiction: : James Gunn: Scarecrow Press

Inside Science Fiction

Description

James Gunn has had a long and distinguished career in science fiction. In addition to his stories and novels, he has written extensively about the reading, writing, and criticism of science fiction. Many of these essays were published in The Science of Science-Fiction Writing (Scarecrow, 2002). A second collection of essays, Inside Science Fiction, was originally published in 1992, and is now available in this revised, updated, and expanded edition. With the addition of five new articles written since 1992, Inside Science Fiction represents Gunn's latest thoughts about the genre.

The book is divided into four major sections that tackle various aspects of the genre:

· "Getting Inside Science Fiction," in which Gunn discusses his relationship with the genre
· "Science Fiction and the Teacher" illustrates various approaches to teaching science fiction
· "Science Fiction on Film and Television" deals with the film industry's approaches to science fiction, in particular, Gunn's experiences of seeing his novel The Immortals turned into a made-for-television movie and subsequent series
· "Science Fiction and the Real World" examines the impact of science fiction on the world and what the future holds for the genre

Inside Science Fiction offers a complete overview of science fiction for readers and viewers from an author, reader, and teacher who has seen it from all sides for more than seventy years.

Part 1 Introduction
Part 2 Part 1. Getting inside Science Fiction
Chapter 3 1. The Education of a Science Fiction Teacher
Chapter 4 2. From the Pulps to the Classroom: The Strange Journey of Science Fiction
Chapter 5 3. Science Fiction and the Mainstream
Chapter 6 4. The Gatekeepers
Chapter 7 5. Fifty Amazing, Astounding, Wonderful Years
Chapter 8 6. The Worldview of Science Fiction
Part 9 Part 2. Science Fiction and the Teacher
Chapter 10 7. Teaching Science Fiction
Chapter 11 8. Teaching Science Fiction Revisited
Chapter 12 9. The Academic Viewpoint
Chapter 13 10. Science Fiction as Literature
Chapter 14 11. The City and the Critics
Chapter 15 12. Libraries in Science Fiction
Chapter 16 13. The Protocols of Science Fiction
Part 17 Part 3. Science Fiction on Film and Television
Chapter 18 14. The Tinsel Screen
Chapter 19 15. Television and The Immortal
Chapter 20 16. The Great Science Fiction Radio Show
Chapter 21 17. Looking Backward at 2001
Part 22 Part 4. Science Fiction and the Real World
Chapter 23 18. The Uses of Space
Chapter 24 19. A Short History of the Space Program; or, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon
Chapter 25 20. Shapechangers and Fearmongers
Chapter 26 21. Science Fiction and the Future
Chapter 27 22. Science Fiction in the Nineties
Chapter 28 23. Science Fiction in the Second Millennium
Part 29 A James Gunn Bibliography
Part 30 Index
Part 31 About the Author

Product details

Published	Mar 21 2006
Format	Paperback
Edition	2nd
Extent	260
ISBN	9780810857148
Imprint	Scarecrow Press
Dimensions	229 x 170 mm
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

In this collection of essays, Gunn (English, U. of Kansas, emeritus) discusses his relationship with science fiction as a writer and critic and offers several approaches to teaching works in the genre. He also discusses the film industry's treatment of science fiction and its impact on the "real world." This revised and expanded edition includes five articles published since the book's first publication in 1992.

Reference and Research Book News
...Gunn writes clearly and directly. He doesn't talk down to a mass audience, and he doesn't lapse into jargony shorthand when he's with a supposedly better-informed group. Moreover, the essays are studded with wry wit....as a model of clear, well-informed writing for general readers, it's worth recommending strongly to your neighborhood library.

The New York Review Of Science Fiction
...a fascinating set of essays...this is a valuable addition to the historical literature on science fiction...

Green Man Review