Description
Book SynopsisThe subject of this timely book is that body of fiction which speculates in narrative form about the nature of wars likely to break out in the near or distant future. Although earlier instances occur, the origins of this mode lie primarily in the late nineteenth century but writing about future wars continues to this day with notable fiction on the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ranging widely across periods and conflicts real and imagined, and boasting contributions from the late I. F. Clarke, H. Bruce Franklin and Patrick Parrinder, Future Wars explores the fascinating process of interaction between politics and literature, science fiction and war in a range of classic texts. Individual essays explore Reagan’s ‘star wars’ project, nuclear fiction, Martian invasion, and the Pax Americana among other topics. The use of future war scenarios in military planning dates back to the nineteenth century. Future Wars concludes with an assessment by an officer in the U.S. Army of the continuing usefulness of future wars fiction.
Trade ReviewFuture Wars is a collection of rich, contextualised historical studies. It is a testament to the legacy of I. F. Clarke that the book consists of such strong, original, scholarly work.
Table of Contents
- Introduction - David Seed
- 1. Future-War Fiction: The First Main Phase, 1871-1900 - I. F. Clarke
- 2. How America's Fictions of Future War Have Changed the World - H. Bruce Franklin
- 3. War Is Peace: Conscrption and Mobilization in the Modern Utopia - Patrick Parrinder
- 4. From Unvasion to Liberation: Alternative Visions of Mars, Planet of War - Robert Crossley
- 5. John Henry Palmer's The Invasion of New York, or, How Hawaii Was Annexed: Political Discourse and Emergent Mass Culture in 1897 - John Rieder
- 6. John Wyndham's World War III and his Abandoned Fury of Creation Trilogy - David Ketterer
- 7. Prophesying Neocolonial Wars in 1950s American Science Fiction - Rob Latham
- 8. On the Beach: British Nuclear Fiction and the Spaces of Empire's End - Brian Baker
- 9. Adapting the Absurd Apocalypse: Eugene Burdick's and Harvey Wheeler's Fail-Safe and its Cinematic Progeny - Nicholas Ruddick
- 10. The Strategic Defence Initiative: A Utopian Fantasy - David Seed
- 11. When All Wars Are Done: The Transcendent Humanity of Iain M. Banks - Patricia Kerslake
- 12. 'The Benefit and the Handicap of Hindsight': Modelling Risk and Reassessing Future-War Fiction after the 9/11-Induced Shft to a US National Security Strategy of Pre-emptive Attack - A. Michael Matin
- 13. The War after Next: Anticipating Future Conflict in the New Millennium - Antulio J. Echevaria II
- The Writings of I. F. Clarke: A Checklist
- Bibliography
- Index
