Under the Moons of Mars: A History and Antology of "The Scientific Romance" in the Munsey Magazines, 1912-1920 [Hardcover]

Sam (editor) Moskowitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1970

An anthology of the "scientific romance," featuring selections by Edgar Rice Burroughs, A. Merritt, Murray Leinstar, Charles B. Stilson, and J.U. Giesy. Following the stories is a history of this genre and pulp magazines.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 433 pages
• Publisher: Holt Rinehart Winston; First Ed edition (1970)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0030818583
• ISBN-13: 978-0030818585
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,452,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrifically fun and informative trip through the world of Burroughs and his contemporaries, October 5, 2009

By 

Muzzlehatch (the walls of Gormenghast) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Under the Moons of Mars: A History and Antology of "The Scientific Romance" in the Munsey Magazines, 1912-1920 (Hardcover)

I have no memory of when I first found this book, in a library, but I remember returning to it often over the years. When I moved, to a town which didn't have a copy of it in the local library, I knew I had to get it right away. Sadly this is out of print but as you can see from listings here and elsewhere, it's widely available used at all price levels, and I urge anyone with a real interest in early pulp science fiction/"scientific romance" to get a copy.

Moskowitz' book was most likely the first of its type (published in 1970) and remains one of just a few - the pulp revivals have been sporadic, and at this date few of the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs - the single largest driver of the era covered here (1912-1921) are available, let alone those of other writers. The book is divided into two sections, the first being an anthology of short fiction and chunks of serials from the period, all first published in such magazines as ARGOSY, ALL-STORY, and THE CAVALIER. Here's a listing:

"Under the Moons of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs (from THE ALL-STORY MAGAZINE, February-July 1912)
"Darkness and Dawn" by George Allan England (THE CAVALIER AND THE SCRAP BOOK, January 1912)
"Polaris of the Snows" by Charles B. Stilson (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, December 18 1915-January 1 1916)
"Palos of the Dog Star Pack" by J.U. Giesy (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, July 13-August 10 1918)
"Friend Island" by Francis Stevens (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, September 7 1918)
"The Moon Pool" by A. Merritt (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, June 22 1918)
"The Girl in the Golden Atom" by Ray Cummings (ALL-STORY WEEKLY March 15 1919)
"The Mad Planet" by Murray Leinster (THE ARGOSY, June 12 1920)
"The Blind Spot" by Austin Hall and Homer Eon Flint (ARGOSY ALL-STORY WEEKLY May 14-June 18 1921)

Most of these, be warned, are incomplete sections of longer works, but as Moskowitz explains in the lengthy history of the magazines section that follows, the serials and novels are generally the best-remembered (or were, in 1970; now most of them are forgotten and out of print as well) and best-loved stories from the era. Moskowitz provides short biographical notes on each author, and the stories (or parts of stories) are presented as they originally appeared - if they were later revised.

I've turned to the the second section, the history of the magazines, much more often than to the stories themselves - many of which I have in their complete versions elsewhere. But the history is fascinating, and Moskowitz goes into great detail about Frank Munsey, the "godfather" of the whole pulp era in American publishing, and the era before Burroughs, back to the late 1890s. He explores to some extent the American attitudes about popular literature, the economics of the time which made the pulps viable, etc; but for the most part the focus is on the authors and the waxing and waning fortunes of the magazines and their publishers. It's all very lucid and entertaining, though if you are expecting a scholarly analysis and documentation, you won't find it. Moskowitz has come under fire at times for inaccuracies and prejudices in his quite deliberately "amateur" work - but I don't think such issues are a huge problem in this book - and there's really very else like it that's any more readily available. Just the documenting of the feuds between a young H.P. Lovecraft and others in the letters columns of the magazines alone is worth the price.

In short a hugely entertaining and informative introduction to the pulp era, and a worthy successor to the author's own "Science Fiction by Gaslight", covering the decades just prior to this period.