C.M. Kornbluth: The Life and Works of a Science Fiction Visionary

by Mark Rich

Overview

Cyril Kornbluth is a legendary figure in science fiction. As a teenager in the years before World War II, he wrote prolifically and brilliantly under multiple pennames. After military service he developed a voice distinctive for its commanding intelligence, passion, and wit, displaying it in a string of novels and short stories including his award-winning "The Little Black Bag." His sudden death in 1958, at the early age of 35, marked the end of an era--it was a time when his chosen literary field was contemplating its potential demise. This comprehensive biography tells the story of this remarkable writer and his works for the first time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786443932
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	12/18/2009
Pages:	451
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Mark Rich has written multiple books on toys and toy history, along with numerous articles on science fiction literature. He lives in Cashton, Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Preface     
Introduction: Cyril Kornbluth, 1923–1958     

Part I. Life and Works
1. Futurians     
2. In the North of Manhattan     
3. George Washington Hill     
4. An Irreverent Puck     
5. The Mutant Title and the Fifth Convention     
6. The Pirate and the Garbageman     
7. An Interview with S.D. Gottesman     
8. Cecil Corwin and the Fiction Avalanche     
9. The Ineluctable Modality     
10. The Ogre and the Literary Cabal     
11. Before the Bodies Were Buried     
12. The Detective Ace and the Flying Saucer     
13. The Little Black Story     
14. The New Face of Science Fiction     
15. The Little Mother of Science Fiction     
16. Vogting Old Van     
17. Pack the Venus Ship with Connies     
18. Launch of an Angry Novelist     
19. The Miracle-Year of 1953     
20. The Easy (Equals Bad) Way     
21. The Sparrow in the Badminton Game     
22. The Satellite of Mass Control     
23. Tioga House     
24. Hypertensive Year     
25. The Death of Science Fiction     
26. The Magical Number and the Magic Crutch     
27. Two Celestial Lane     
28. The End of the Modern     
29. In the Age of the Masses     

Part II. The Split Personality in the Fiction
30. Everybody Knows Joe     
31. The Bureau Chief, the Hermaphrodite, and the Marching Morons     
32. The Fugue State and the Lonely Man     
33. The Silly Season and Maggie’s Wrong Pressing     
34. Kornbluth, Klass, and the Moral Stance     

Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

a highly recommendable book that is an excellent read”—Operaphile; “This book is an important contribution to our understanding of mid-twentieth-century sf...Rich has done an admirable job researching the man’s life and times”—Science Fiction Studies; “outstanding...thoughtfully written, well-researched and fully annotated...indispensable”—Scientifiction; “a more thorough examination of Kornbluth is probably not possible”—Critical Mass.

From the Publisher

outstanding...thoughtfully written, well-researched and fully annotated...indispensable

Scientifiction

"This book is an important contribution to our understanding of mid-twentieth-century sf...Rich has done an admirable job researching the man's life and times"

Science Fiction Studies