1956 was a momentous year for science fiction, with the release of timeless films and the publication of classic novels and stories. It was also a pivotal year for the world at large, with events producing ripples we still feel seven decades later. This book explores how the year’s landmark works – films such as Forbidden Planet and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and stories such as Asimov’s The Last Question and Clarke’s The City and the Stars – emerged from their cultural context.
Writers, artists, and film directors reflected the era’s tension between optimism and anxiety, between the promise and peril of progress. The book traces, month-by-month, events in five themes: science and technology; politics and the economy; entertainment and arts; celebrity culture; and competitive sport.
This was a climate defined by rapid change – from the Suez Crisis to Elvis Presley’s meteoric rise; from early computers to space race dreams. The science fiction emerging from this turbulent year helped form our collective imagination of tomorrow.
| Format |
Häftad |
| Omfång |
393 sidor |
| Språk |
Engelska |
| Förlag |
Springer Nature Switzerland AG |
| Utgivningsdatum |
2026-04-24 |
| ISBN |
9783032165732 |
