New light through old windows: exploring contemporary science through 12 classic science fiction tales

摘要

Science fiction has often been prophetic—sometimes wrongly so, sometimes very much on point. New light through old windows is a collection of science fiction stories—the earliest is from the early 19th century and the most recent is from the mid-1930s. Each story comes with a brief essay about the author and the story; a scientific discussion of what the science relating to the story looks like today; and a brief bibliography. The stories are often written in the language of the time, and as such may not be entirely appealing to a modern reader's taste, but the visions range from silly to compelling to very much on point.