Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction

Astounding Science Fiction. Rarely does a title promise so much in so few words. And yet, for decades, Astounding Science Fiction delivered nothing but, introducing the world to luminaries like Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and many more. It was the benchmark, the measuring stick against all other titles were compared, and it also served as the launching pad for science fiction as a whole.

Astounding does a thoroughly impressive job of exploring the influence and history of Astounding Science Fiction, revealing how mind-blowingly small the world of science fiction once was as it details in riveting, in-depth, ruthless honest fashion the successes and shortcomings of sci-fi legends.

The book does spend too much time on L. Ron Hubbard’s post-sci-fi life, particularly Dianetics, but it also reveals how blindingly bad a con artist L. Ron Hubbard was. (And yet, he pulled it off.) But despite those lengthy detours, Astounding remains an amazing glimpse into how one person can shape an entire genre, and a tribute to the incredible, wondrous, inspiring power of the written word.