The Golden Age of Science Fiction: A Journey into Space with 1950s Radio, TV, Films, Comics and Books - Softcover

Wade, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1526751593 ISBN 13: 9781526751591

Publisher: Pen and Sword History, 2019

Synopsis

John Wade grew up in the 1950s, a decade that has since been dubbed the ‘golden age of science fiction’. It was a wonderful decade for science fiction, but not so great for young fans. With early television broadcasts being advertised for the first time as ‘unsuitable for children’ and the inescapable barrier of the ‘X’ certificate in the cinema barring anyone under the age of sixteen, the author had only the radio to fall back on – and that turned out to be more fertile for the budding SF fan than might otherwise have been thought. Which is probably why, as he grew older, rediscovering those old TV broadcasts and films that had been out of bounds when he was a kid took on a lure that soon became an obsession. For him, the super-accuracy and amazing technical quality of today’s science fiction films pale into insignificance beside the radio, early TV and B-picture films about people who built rockets in their back gardens and flew them to lost planets, or tales of aliens who wanted to take over, if not our entire world, then at least our bodies. This book is a personal account of John Wade’s fascination with the genre across all the entertainment media in which it appeared – the sort of stuff he revelled in as a young boy – and still enjoys today.

About this title

About the Author

John Wade is a freelance writer and photographer, with more than forty years’ experience in both fields. He has written, illustrated, edited and contributed to more than thirty books, plus numerous magazine articles, for book and magazine publishers in the UK, US and Australia. His specialities are photographic history and techniques, as well as social history. His most recent books include _The Ingenious Victorians_ (Pen & Sword, 2016), and _London Curiosities_ (Pen & Sword, 2017).

Review

grab your secret decoder ring and your blaster, strap yourself in for liftoff, and enjoy. . . . The pictures in this book are reason enough to buy it. (New York Journal of Books)

Edition details

• Publisher: Pen and Sword History
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1526751593
• ISBN 13: 9781526751591
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224