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strategineer's review against another edition
4.0
A compelling historical portrayal of the lives of the men involved in writing for and/or editing the influential Astounding science-fiction magazine since it was first published in the 1930s.
tomstbr's review
5.0
Extremely well-written overview of how early science fiction (and, well, science fiction as a whole) was shaped by these men in particular. Each of them is hideously flawed, but each is also a genius of the imagination. Fascinating insights and background, including how Campbell missed on Dune! Loved it.
spaceman5000's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating overview of a fascinating time. Who knew these highly respected authors were such skirt-chasers and perverts! Asimov as a grab-asser? Priceless! I loved every page!
rbixby's review against another edition
4.0
Thoroughly enjoyable.
Asimov and Heinlein were my bread and butter in my teen years. By that time, Hubbard was the nutball Scientology guy, the one who pulled a fast one over all those suckers who thought Dianetics and, later, Scientology was actual science and not just a steaming pile of bullshit the rest of us knew it to be. I remember Battlefield Earth coming out around that time. I avoided it because Hubbard, but I took a Science Fiction class in college and a fellow student convinced me to give it a try. I put it down a third of the way in, it's just so bad.
At the time I first read Heinlein's Past Through Tomorrow or Asimov's first three Foundation novels in the late '70s and early '80s, not to mention all of the Niven, Zelazny, et. al., I was sucking up like a sponge, there was no way for me to know just how much Campbell influenced those stories. Back then, I was dimly aware there was a thing that was organized sci-fi fandom, and that such things as sci-fi magazines existed, but as a teenager I had no way of tapping into that infrastructure, so was unaware of Campbell's influence on all those stories I loved.
This book fixed that. It also helped me understand the context around some of the books I've read that didn't seem like they came from those writers even though their name was on the cover. I remember reading The Sixth Column as a freshman and being struct by just how racist it was. It struck me as way out of character for Heinlein, but I looked at the copyright date, saw that it was published the year the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and figured it was how people felt at the time. Now I know. Now I know also that Heinlein had disavowed writing that and how he regretted it.
This biography is a must read for any serious Science Fiction fan.
Asimov and Heinlein were my bread and butter in my teen years. By that time, Hubbard was the nutball Scientology guy, the one who pulled a fast one over all those suckers who thought Dianetics and, later, Scientology was actual science and not just a steaming pile of bullshit the rest of us knew it to be. I remember Battlefield Earth coming out around that time. I avoided it because Hubbard, but I took a Science Fiction class in college and a fellow student convinced me to give it a try. I put it down a third of the way in, it's just so bad.
At the time I first read Heinlein's Past Through Tomorrow or Asimov's first three Foundation novels in the late '70s and early '80s, not to mention all of the Niven, Zelazny, et. al., I was sucking up like a sponge, there was no way for me to know just how much Campbell influenced those stories. Back then, I was dimly aware there was a thing that was organized sci-fi fandom, and that such things as sci-fi magazines existed, but as a teenager I had no way of tapping into that infrastructure, so was unaware of Campbell's influence on all those stories I loved.
This book fixed that. It also helped me understand the context around some of the books I've read that didn't seem like they came from those writers even though their name was on the cover. I remember reading The Sixth Column as a freshman and being struct by just how racist it was. It struck me as way out of character for Heinlein, but I looked at the copyright date, saw that it was published the year the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and figured it was how people felt at the time. Now I know. Now I know also that Heinlein had disavowed writing that and how he regretted it.
This biography is a must read for any serious Science Fiction fan.
rogoreads's review
4.0
A detailed history of the golden age of sci-fi, centered on John W. Campbell and three of his biggest writers: Asimov, Heinlein, and Hubbard. I wanted a little more about the wider context of how Campbell shaped the genre, especially in what he gatekept out, although we did get some of that in the last section. Otherwise, I got a sense of all four of these men as people that goes a long way to explaining why their work was the way it was and how they became entangled with and shaped the culture of science fiction and surrounding fandom. Campbell himself has a lot to answer for, even just for the boost he gave Hubbard and the ideas that would become Scientology.
whami's review against another edition
5.0
Anyone with a passing knowledge of the Golden Age of science fiction knows of the four men named on the cover, but the amount of details available about each of them varies. Little has been published about John W. Campbell, but this book remedies that, using Campbell as a central figure and telling his story, both alone and through his interactions with the other three. The product is a great biography that is both readily readable and wonderfully satisfying.
In the case of the Asimov, Heinlein, and Hubbard, all of whom have the subject of previous biographies, Nevala-Lee expands their stories by showing their faults along with their virtues. One of my favorite aspects of Astounding is the amount of attention paid to the women. Many of these women wielded vast influence on the four men and on science fiction itself. With the exception of Virginia Heinlein, previous works have, at best, relegated these women to the sidelines, or worse, cast them into the role of villain and hung all of the man’s faults and missteps on them.
Astounding tells the story of these figures instead of just chronologically listing facts about them, resulting in a book that even a casual fan will appreciate.
In the case of the Asimov, Heinlein, and Hubbard, all of whom have the subject of previous biographies, Nevala-Lee expands their stories by showing their faults along with their virtues. One of my favorite aspects of Astounding is the amount of attention paid to the women. Many of these women wielded vast influence on the four men and on science fiction itself. With the exception of Virginia Heinlein, previous works have, at best, relegated these women to the sidelines, or worse, cast them into the role of villain and hung all of the man’s faults and missteps on them.
Astounding tells the story of these figures instead of just chronologically listing facts about them, resulting in a book that even a casual fan will appreciate.
loonyboi's review against another edition
4.0
A bit dry at times, but loaded with revelations about the founding titans of science fiction, and heroes of my youth. Highly recommend, if you're interested in the subject.
geoatrophy's review
challenging
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
I am not going to lie this is the book that made me decide I wanted to go into a creative field.