Mark Rich

By the middle 1800s, toys were appearing in forms that drew upon--and that inspired--advances in areas such as optics, biology, geography, transportation, and automation. In these decades, too, a new type of wonder tale was being brought to maturity by a Poe-inspired Jules Verne. The modern wonder tale's highly-charged vision expressed the hopes and the fears, and the delights and the traumas, engendered by "new worlds idealism"--that Western pursuit of both mechanical and geographical conquest. Exploring realms belonging to childhood, literature, science, and history, this innovative study weaves together the histories of wonder tales and children's toys, focusing specifically on their modern aspects and how they reflect and express the social attitudes of that time period beginning around 1859 and ending around 1957.

Cyril Kornbluth is a legendary figure in science fiction. As a teenager in the years before World War II, he wrote prolifically and brilliantly under multiple pennames. After military service he developed a voice distinctive for its commanding intelligence, passion, and wit, displaying it in a string of novels and short stories including his award-winning "The Little Black Bag." His sudden death in 1958, at the early age of 35, marked the end of an era--it was a time when his chosen literary field was contemplating its potential demise. This comprehensive biography tells the story of this remarkable writer and his works for the first time.