Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950 to 1985 details, celebrates, and evaluates how science fiction novels and authors depicted, interacted with, and were inspired by cultural and political movements in America and Great Britain. Edited by Andrew Nette and Iain McIntyre, this is the third book in their series which includes the celebrated Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, and Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture, 1950 to 1980 and Sticking It to the Man: Revolution and Counterculture in Pulp and Popular Fiction, 1950 to 1980.

Help get this 224-page, full-color, large-format book into more hands! Preorder the book, see samples, and check out all the rewards on our new Kickstarter including other books by the coeditors, related titles and combo packs, and the chance to "upgrade" to a hardcover at any level and add-on the limited throw pillow and handmade high-waisted undies featuring Retro SciFi Pulp Book Cover fabric.

GET ALL THREE BOOKS!

Much has been written about the “long Sixties,” the era of the late 1950s through the early 1970s. It was a period of major social change, most graphically illustrated by the emergence of liberatory and resistance movements focused on inequalities of class, race, gender, sexuality, and beyond, whose challenge represented a major shock to the political and social status quo. With its focus on speculation, alternate worlds and the future, science fiction became an ideal vessel for this upsurge of radical protest.

Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950 to 1985 details, celebrates, and evaluates how science fiction novels and authors depicted, interacted with, and were inspired by these cultural and political movements in America and Great Britain. It starts with progressive authors who rose to prominence in the conservative 1950s, challenging the so-called Golden Age of science fiction and its linear narratives of technological breakthroughs and space-conquering male heroes. The book then moves through the 1960s, when writers, including those in what has been termed the New Wave, shattered existing writing conventions and incorporated contemporary themes such as modern mass media culture, corporate control, growing state surveillance, the Vietnam War, and rising currents of counterculture, ecological awareness, feminism, sexual liberation, and Black Power. The 1970s, when the genre reflected the end of various dreams of the long Sixties and the faltering of the postwar boom, is also explored along with the first half of the 1980s, which gave rise to new subgenres, such as cyberpunk.

Dangerous Visions and New Worlds contains over twenty chapters written by contemporary authors and critics, and hundreds of full-color cover images, including thirteen thematically organised cover selections. New perspectives on key novels and authors, such as Octavia Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, John Wyndham, Samuel Delany, J.G. Ballard, John Brunner, Judith Merril, Barry Malzberg, Joanna Russ, and many others are presented alongside excavations of topics, works, and writers who have been largely forgotten or undeservedly ignored.

Last month, we offered this shirt as an exclusive reward on the Kickstarter to publish Black Metal Rainbows.

By popular demand, we're extending the shirt as a free gift only to those who sign up as a new Friend of PM for the rest of August at the $30 level or higher.

As a Friend of PM, you'll get a monthly package with every new book we publish and 50% off anything and everything on our webstore.

This month you'll get Patriarchy of the Wage by Silvia Federici, Counterpoints by the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project, When to Talk and When to Fight by Rebecca Subar, and the free shirt.

The front text is "Black Metal Rainbows," and "black metal for everyone" is on the back. They're union made and printed and are available in inclusive sizes XS to 5XL.

It's the best way to support our radical publishing project. Learn more below and click to sign up. This offer ends 9/1.

Back of the shirt

August Friends of PM books

What is Friends of PM and how does it work?

Your Friends of PM monthly membership allows you to directly promote radical, independent media, support community-driven ideas for change, and introduce important authors to a wider audience.

For just $30 a month, you'll receive a monthly package with every new book we publish delivered right to your doorstep (shipping and tax included). You will also get 50% off anything and everything on our webstore (old and new releases alike). See all level options below.

Your card will be billed once a month, until you tell us to stop or until our collective efforts succeed in bringing capitalism and the state crumbling to the ground. Whichever comes first. There is no minimum amount of months required, but we ask you try it out for at least a few months. For as long as you're a Friend of PM at the Print level or higher, you'll get the monthly packages and the 50% discount.

*This free shirt offer does not apply to Sustainer levels under the $30/month "Print Plus" level. But current Sustainers can switch to a full Friend of PM at any time to receive the free shirt. Paypal cannot be accepted for the membership, so please use a bank card at checkout. In the order comments at the end of checkout, please enter "Black Metal Rainbows shirt" and your preferred shirt size, XS to 5XL.

Choose from the following options

Print plus: For $30 a month* get all books and pamphlets printed each month and 50% off all webstore purchases.

e-Book subscription: For those who don’t want paper books (or can’t stand international shipping costs), we’re introducing the e-Books FOPM membership for $15 a month. Members receive three recent e-Books via email each month plus a 50% discount on all purchases from our website.

Gift subscription: In addition to your own subscription, sign up a friend for only $25 a month*. Sign up a second friend for only $20 a month*! 

Pay in advance: Pay for a full-year subscription up front and you only pay $25 a month ($300 for one year). Pay for two years up front for only $20 a month ($480 for two years). 

Sustainer: Short on cash or out of shelf space? Become a sustainer today! $100, $50, $15, $10, or $5 each month and you'll receive a free PM Press logo T-shirt and 50% discount on all webstore purchases.

*Please note: For gift subscriptions or for those beyond the imaginary borders of the United States, email [email protected].

Frequently Asked Questions

C’mon, what’s the catch!? Hidden fees? This sounds too good to be true.

There’s no catch. We bill your card each month and send you a large package of new books. Period. There are no hidden fees and you can cancel your subscription anytime. You can also choose to pay for a year in advance to lower your subscription fee. Oh, and we also cover all shipping costs and all applicable sales tax. 

How many books will I receive each month and do I get to choose my books? 

Some months it might be two books; others four. We publish around thirty titles per year, and each month, you’ll get a package with everything new that has come out that month. By subscribing, you’re already choosing to get everything new that appears. And as a subscriber, you’re also entitled to a 50% discount on all of our already-published titles and everything else on our website, including CDs, DVDs, and stylish apparel. 

I’m starting a radical library at our local community space. Can the library join the Friends of PM Book Club? Can we resell the books? 

Absolutely! Sign up your radical library, local café, punk house, record store, or any other community space. A Friends of PM subscription is probably the cheapest and easiest way to stock any bookcase. You can’t beat a package of new books for such an incredibly low price. Additionally, you can use your Friends of PM discount to receive 50% off at our webstore.

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