{"product_id":"1956-a-year-of-wonder-in-science-fiction-and-beyond-paperback-1","title":"1956: A Year of Wonder in Science Fiction and Beyond - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eStephen Webb\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1956 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis book explores how the year's landmark works - films such as \u003cem\u003eForbidden Planet\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eInvasion of the Body Snatchers\u003c\/em\u003e, and stories such as Asimov's \u003cem\u003eThe Last Question \u003c\/em\u003eand Clarke's \u003cem\u003eThe City and the Stars\u003c\/em\u003e - 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing a first-class honours degree in Physics from the University of Bristol and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Manchester \u003cstrong\u003eStephen Webb\u003c\/strong\u003e has worked at a number of UK universities. In addition to shorter works, he has published twelve books - one of which won the SETI League award and was shortlisted for the Aventis Prize (now Royal Society Winton Prize) for best science book. He is active in outreach activities, having spoken at numerous international conferences, podcasts and radio shows, and his 2018 TED Talk has been viewed over 6 million times. He has published an undergraduate textbook \u003cem\u003eMeasuring the Universe\u003c\/em\u003e (Springer, 1999) as well as several popular science books, among them \u003cem\u003eNew Eyes on the Universe\u003c\/em\u003e (Springer, 2012) and the second edition of \u003cem\u003eIf the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens ... WHERE IS EVERYBODY?\u003c\/em\u003e (Springer, 2015).\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 393\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 24, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48229437997277,"sku":"9783032165732","price":36.26,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/6j1npuRZPr9783032165732_edc24d1e-dc36-4baf-95c6-1c82d204a9c6.webp?v=1784738510","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/1956-a-year-of-wonder-in-science-fiction-and-beyond-paperback-1","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}