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Learn moreThe Cold War saw scientists in East and West racing to create amazing new technologies, the like of which the world had never seen. Yet not everyone was taken by surprise. From super-powerful atomic weapons to rockets and space travel, readers of science fiction (SF) had seen it all before.
Sometimes reality lived up to the SF vision, at other times it didn’t. The hydrogen bomb was as terrifyingly destructive as anything in fiction, while real-world lasers didn’t come close to the promise of the classic SF ray gun. Nevertheless, when the scientific Cold War culminated in the Strategic Defense Initiative of the 1980s, it was so science-fictional in its aspirations that the media dubbed it “Star Wars.”
This entertaining account, offering a plethora of little known facts and insights from previously classified military projects, shows how the real-world science of the Cold War followed in the footsteps of SF—and how the two together changed our perception of both science and scientists, paving the way for the world we live in today.
Andrew May is a freelance writer and science consultant. He has written on subjects as diverse as the physical sciences, military technology, British history, and the paranormal. His recent books include pocket-sized biographies of Newton and Einstein, an eye-opening study of the relationship between pseudoscience and science fiction, and Destination Mars and Cosmic Impact in the Hot Science series.
AudioFile named Alexander Adams one of the Best Voices of the Century and now includes him in their annual Golden Voices roundup of top narration talent. He has recorded over 500 audiobooks. To date he has won eighteen of AudioFile's coveted Earphone Awards and one Audie Award.
Reviews
“A solid contribution to the history of science fiction and its relation to the real world, alongside a reminder of Cold War technologies that now seem like something from a very distant past.”
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