This one took forever to read, almost three months. That's what happens when you pick up another book before finishing the first. Anyway, the book is subtitled "American Science Fiction of the Nineteenth Century--An Anthology." You can tell by the phrasing that this is an academic book. But even though Franklin reads like the college prof that he is, he picked out some fine tales for his examples. I loved reading these stories--to catch a glimpse of the worldview of the authors as well as to smile at the glimpses of "the future" offered in some of the tales. (I wonder if some reader in 2101 will likewise chuckle over the writings of Asimov, Clark, Niven and Ellison.) Like a good anthology, I enjoyed perusing the tales and like a good literary survey, it made me want to go out and read some more of the authors featured. This one's going on my shelf, and if you like history and science fiction, I recommend you do the same.
--J. ( )