Ron Miller Classics of Science Fiction Bundle Four
The first true space travel stories weren't written until after 1610. Before then, no one knew for sure that there even were other worlds than this one. But Galileo's great discoveries changed all that. People began to wonder what these other worlds might be like and authors lost no time in getting their interplanetary stories into print. The earliest authors were at a loss regarding exactly how to get their heroes to the Moon and other worlds and had to resort to magic and other unlikely devices. The invention of the balloon was a godsend. For the first time a man-made device enabled humans to leave the surface of the Earth---and there was a renewed surge of space travel stories. Most of these authors merely used the Moon and planets as a convenient backdrop for social satire, but others took some pains to get the science correct---or at least as correct as knowledge of the time permitted. The books in this series run the gamut from from balloons to antigravity, from what may be the first interplanetary story ever written to the first suggestion ever for a passenger-carrying rocket.
Many of these books and stories have not been available in any form for decades. They all contain historical essays and other material written specially for this series by Ron Miller.
The first true space travel stories weren't written until after 1610. Before then, no one knew for sure that there even were other worlds than this one. But Galileo's great discoveries changed all that. People began to wonder what these other worlds might be like and authors lost no time in getting their interplanetary stories into print. The earliest authors were at a loss regarding exactly how to get their heroes to the Moon and other worlds and had to resort to magic and other unlikely devices. The invention of the balloon was a godsend. For the first time a man-made device enabled humans to leave the surface of the Earth---and there was a renewed surge of space travel stories. Most of these authors merely used the Moon and planets as a convenient backdrop for social satire, but others took some pains to get the science correct---or at least as correct as knowledge of the time permitted. The books in this series run the gamut from from balloons to antigravity, from what may be the first interplanetary story ever written to the first suggestion ever for a passenger-carrying rocket.
Many of these books and stories have not been available in any form for decades. They all contain historical essays and other material written specially for this series by Ron Miller.
Featured in Ron Miller’s “The Conquest of Space Book Series.” One of the most obscure and fascinating of all pre-spaceflight books, this fictional "autobiography" by “Akkad Pseudoman (E.F. Northrup) includes detailed descriptions (with photos and a technical appendix) of the first-ever practical experiments with an electromagnetic railgun. Originally published in 1937.
Featured in Ron Miller’s “The Conquest of Space Book Series.” Combines for the first time in one volume two of the rarest space travel novels: Voice From Another World (1874) and Letters From the Planets (1883), by the Rev. W.S. Lach-Szyrma. A strange combination of Christianity and hard science, the books argue persuasively for the habitability of other worlds and the necessary existence of non-human races. The novels also contain an early description of interplanetary spacecraft.
Featured in Ron Miller’s “The Conquest of Space Book Series.” In the decades preceding World War II, Germans and Austrians had every reason to believe that if anyone were to conquer space it would be them. Few nationalities had made as much progress in rocketry and astronautics in as short a period of time as they had. This is a young adult novel first published in 1928, about the first rocket ship flight to the moon, the story is based on the solid scientific work of Hermann Oberth and Max Valier and the lunatic pseudoscientific theories of Hans Horbiger. Gail was one of the most popular science fiction authors in Germany during the early 20th century.
Featured in Ron Miller’s “The Conquest of Space Book Series.”One of the earliest science fiction novels to feature an atomic-powered spacecraft, Garrett Serviss' 1894 classic describes a thrilling trip to Venus, where his astronauts face both danger and romance.
Includes the original illustrations by Boy Scouts of America’s founder, Dan Beard
Featured in Ron Miller’s “The Conquest of Space Book Series.” One of the most prophetic science fiction novels of all time, by one of SF's most unusual, and unexpected, authors: multimillionaire John Jacob Astor. Descriptions ranging from life on earth in the year 2000 to the bizarre landscapes of a trans-Neptunian planet are part of the story. Originally published in 1894.
Features the prequel, The Man Who Rocked the Earth
Now with an Historical Afterword by Ron Miller
Includes the original illustrations
Featured in Ron Miller’s “The Conquest of Space Book Series.” An atomic-powered spaceship on a mission to divert an asteroid from an impending collision with earth might sound like an up-to-date SF scenario...unless the book was written in 1916! Discoverer of the asteroid and passenger on the dangerous space mission is beautiful Rhoda Gibbs, an extraordinary woman 50 years ahead of her time. The novel's science is impeccable and remains accurate even by today's standards. Includes the prequel, The Man Who Rocked the Earth, which includes the first-ever realistic description of a nuclear explosion...right down to the gruesome effects of lingering radiation poisoning.
Featured in Ron Miller’s “The Conquest of Space Book Series.” One of the earliest books to accurately describe in detail the uses to which rockets might be put in space exploration, John Munro's novel is also an exciting, humorous adventure on another world. Originally published in 1897.
Featured in Ron Miller’s “The Conquest of Space Book Series.” Mark Twain’s classic of American humor was the last book to be published in the author's lifetime. It tells the story of a crusty American sea-dog who travels to heaven aboard a comet...a year later Twain himself died as Halley's Comet glowed in the sky above his home, Stormfield, Connecticut.
Ron Miller Classics of Science Fiction Bundle Four
The first true space travel stories weren't written until after 1610. Before then, no one knew for sure that there even were other worlds than this one. But Galileo's great discoveries changed all that. People began to wonder what these other worlds might be like and authors lost no time in getting their interplanetary stories into print. The earliest authors were at a loss regarding exactly how to get their heroes to the Moon and other worlds and had to resort to magic and other unlikely devices. The invention of the balloon was a godsend. For the first time a man-made device enabled humans to leave the surface of the Earth---and there was a renewed surge of space travel stories. Most of these authors merely used the Moon and planets as a convenient backdrop for social satire, but others took some pains to get the science correct---or at least as correct as knowledge of the time permitted. The books in this series run the gamut from from balloons to antigravity, from what may be the first interplanetary story ever written to the first suggestion ever for a passenger-carrying rocket.
Many of these books and stories have not been available in any form for decades. They all contain historical essays and other material written specially for this series by Ron Miller.
