{"product_id":"1956-a-year-of-wonder-in-science-fiction-and-beyond","title":"1956: A Year of Wonder in Science Fiction and Beyond","description":"1956 was a momentous year for science fiction, with the release of timeless films and the publication of classic novels and stories. It was also a pivotal year for the world at large, with events producing ripples we still feel seven decades later.   This book explores how the year’s landmark works – films such as Forbidden Planet and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and stories such as Asimov’s The Last Question and Clarke’s The City and the Stars – emerged from their cultural context. Writers, artists, and film directors reflected the era’s tension between optimism and anxiety, between the promise and peril of progress.   The book traces, month-by-month, events in five themes: science and technology; politics and the economy; entertainment and arts; celebrity culture; and competitive sport. This was a climate defined by rapid change – from the Suez Crisis to Elvis Presley’s meteoric rise; from early computers to space race dreams. The science fiction emerging from this turbulent year helped form our collective imagination of tomorrow.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57492429898101,"sku":"9783032165732","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9783032165732.jpg?v=1786529272","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/1956-a-year-of-wonder-in-science-fiction-and-beyond","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}