This is a fascinating and beautifully illustrated cultural
history of ideas about what might exist under the Earth''s surface.
Beliefs in mysterious Underworlds are as old as humanity. From the
ancient Sumerians to Incas to modern Christians, nearly every
culture has had its special version. However, the idea that the
earth has a hollow interior where strange lands, creatures and
civilizations may exist was first proposed as a scientific theory
in 1692 by Sir Edmund Halley of Halley''s Comet fame. Since then,
it has been used as a popular literary motif by writers as varied
as Edgar Allen Poe, Jules Verne, Lewis Carroll, L Frank Baum and
Edgar Rice Burroughs to name a few. "Hollow Earth" traces this
notion through the centuries and cultures, exploring how each era''s
relationship to the notion of a hollow earth reflected its
particular hopes, fears and values. Lavishly illustrated
throughout, it features a wide collection of artwork including
Bosch''s inspired surreal nightmares of Hell, seventeenth-century
maps and diagrams of the interior, illustrations from early Jules
Verne editions and other novels plus film posters and much more.
Unique and fascinating, "Hollow Earth" will appeal to readers of
many sorts: those interested in the history of science, religion,
utopian fiction and real-life experiments, sci-fi fans, film buffs
and those intrigued by the remarkable evolution of ideas over the
centuries.
關於作者:
David Standish is the author of The Art of Money and teaches
magazine writing at Northwestern University''s School of Journalism.
He has written for several American magazines including Esquire,
Playboy, Smithsonian, Chicago Magazine and Travel Leisure. He
lives in Chicago.
目錄:
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1: I-Iollow Science
2: Symmes'' Holes
3: Polar Gothic: Reynolds and Poe
4: Jules Verne: A Journey to the Center of Geology
5: Cyrus Teed and Koreshanity
6: Hollow Utopias, Romances, and a Little Kiddie Lit
7: Edgar Rice Burroughs at the Earth''s Core
8: The Hollow Earth Lives: Evil Nazis, Flying Saucers, Superman,
New Age Utopias
Bibliography
Index