{"product_id":"imagination-and-evolution-john-j-pierce-9781649324542","title":"Imagination and Evolution: A Truer History of Science Fiction","description":"\u003cp\u003eImagination and Evolution is the history of that conversation, which brought what we now call science fiction into existence and saw it grow into a global phenomenon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOthers have long traced its origins to the satirical travel tales and serious utopian theories of ancient Greek and Roman times. But there was nothing inevitable about that; it took revolutions in science and literature to create a climate for the genre, with cultural parallels that parallel Darwinian evolution.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere were a number of mutations among ancestors of sf, most notably what French critics called \u003cem\u003evoyages imaginaires\u003c\/em\u003e and utopian tracts, spread through adaptive radiation. Later came several proto-sf genres that didn't converse with one another. They, too, spread through adaptive radiation, and there were cultural equivalents of Darwin's finches and even DNA.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnly with the scientific romances of Jules Verne did sf as we know it inspire a common conversation that absorbed those of proto-sf, to create a literature of ideas that has spread around the world and speaks to us as no other genre can.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn J. Pierce, born in 1941, is a long time science fiction fan and critic, who started out with his own fanzines but went on to edit several Best Of collections for Ballantine\/Del Rey and commentaries on Cordwainer Smith, He was editor of Galaxy magazine for one year, He made his living as a journalist, but had a long interest in history, beginning at the University of Missouri (1964), That led to the first version of his sf history in 1984-6. He is married to Marcia, née Feinbaum, and they live in northern New Jersey.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e John J. Pierce\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1649324545\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781649324542\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Hollywood Comics\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 392\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.87d","brand":"John J. Pierce","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48114164695295,"sku":"9781649324542","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_c848f6c3-07da-4077-98d0-1e1dc34b171c.jpg?v=1769619508","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/imagination-and-evolution-john-j-pierce-9781649324542","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}