Suggested Readings

GENERAL
Asminov, Issac. Futuredays: A Nineteenth Century Vision of the Year 2000. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1986.

Armytage, W.H.G. Yesterday's Tomorrows: A Historical Survey of Future Societies. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1968.

Canto, Christophe. The History of the Future: Images of the 21st Century. Trans. by Francis Cowper. Paris: Flammadon, 1993.

Clarke, Arthur C. July, 20, 2019: Life in the 21st Century. New York: Macmillan Press, 1986.

Clarke, Arthur C. Profiles of the Future. New York: Harper and Row, 1962. Clarke, I.F. The Pattern of Expectation. New York: Basic Books, 1979.

Corn, Joseph J. Imagining Tomorrow: History, Technology, and the American Future. Cambridge, Mass. and London: The MIT Press, c1986.

Crichton, Judy. America 1900: The Turning Point. New York: Holt and Co., 1998.

Hothaus, Gary, Limerick, Patricia Nelson, Wilkinson, Charles F. and Musen, Eve Stryker, eds. A Society to Match the Scenery: Personal Views of the Future of the American West.

King, Moses. King's Views of New York, 1896-1915 & Brooklyn, 1905. New York: Benjamin Bloom, Inc., 1974

Kurian, George Thomas and Molitor, Graham T.T. Encyclopedia of the Future. New York: Simon and Schuster Macmillan, 1996.

Manuel, Frank E., and Fritzie P. Manuel. Utopian Thought in the Western World. Cambridge: Belknap/Harvard, 1979.

Meikle, Jeffrey. Twentieth Century Limited. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1979.

Museum of the City of New York. Drawing the Future: Design Drawings for the 1939 World's Fair.

Walter, Dave. Today, Then: The World Future Society. The Future: A Guide to Information Sources. Washington, D.C.: The World Future Society, 1979.

Robots

Desrochers, Alan A. ed. Intelligent Robotic Systems for Space Exploration. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992.

Engleberger, Joseph F. Robotics in Service. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1989.

Geduld, Harry M., and Ronald Gottesman, eds. Robots Robots Robots. Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1978.

Malone, Robert. The Robot Book. New York: Harvest/HBJ, 1978.

Reichardt, Jasia: Fact, Fiction, and Predictions. New York: Penguin Books, 1978.

Waldman, Harry. Dictionary of Robotics. New York: Macmillan, 1985.

FINDING THE FUTURE

Science Fiction and Utopian Fiction

Ashley, Mike, and Robert A. W. Lowndes. The Gernsback Days: The Evolution of Modern Science Fiction from 1911-1936. San Bernardino, Calif.: Borgo Press, 1995.

Carter, Paul A. The Creation of Tomorrow: Fifty Years of Magazine Science Fiction. New York: Columbia University Press, 1977.

Nicholls, Peter, ed. The Science Fiction Encyclopedia. Garden City, N.Y.: Dolphin/Doubleday, 1979.
With over 4,360 entries, this is a jam-packed sourcebook on science fiction authors, books, subgenres, movements, and history. An invaluable reference work and resource for fans and writers.

Roemer, Kenneth. The Obsolete Necessity. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1976.

Siegel, Mark. Hugo Gernsback, Father of Modern Science Fiction: With Essays on Frank Herbert and Bram Stoker. San Bernardino, Calif.: Borgo Press, 1988.

Taves, Brian. The Jules Verne Encyclopedia. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1966.
The Jules Verne Encyclopedia utilizes a variety of approaches to reveal the author as cultural phenomenon whose influence has radiated throughout science and the arts. The work includes a critical overview of Verne's life, compilation of autobiographical interviews, novella "The Humbug," and a meticulous biography.

Hobby Magazines

Onosko, Tim. Wasn't the Future Wonderful? New York: Dutton, 1979.

Advertising

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. New York: Penguin, 1972.
Ways of Seeing is the book of the ground breaking 1970s television series of Berger and Mike Dibb, focusing on a discussion of theories of advertising and art.

Fox, Richard W., and T.J. Jackson Lears. The Culture of Consumption. New York: Pantheon, 1983.

Movies, Radio, Television

Adams, Douglas, and Geoffrey Perkins. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy": The Original Radio Scripts. New York: Harmony Books, 1985.
Hapless hero Arthur Dent travels the galaxy with his intrepid pal Ford Prefect, getting into horrible messes and wreaking hilarious havoc. Adams is a master of intelligent satire, barbed wit, and comedic dialogue.

Brosnan, John. Future Tense: The Cinema of Science Fiction. New York: St. Martin's, 1978.

Dunning, John. Tune In Yesterday. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1976.

Gifford, Denis. Science Fiction Film. New York: Dulton Pictureback, 1971.

Grossman, Gary. Saturday Morning T.V. New York: Delacorte, 1981.

Hickerson, Jay. The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide to All Circulating Shows. Hamden, CT : J. Hickerson, c1992.

Owen, David. Fantastic Planets. Danbury, NH: Reed Books, 1979.

Widner, James F. and Meade Frierson III. Science Fiction on Radio: A Revised Look at 1950-1975. Birmingham, AL : A.F.A.B., c1996.

Wright, Bruce Lanier. Yesterday's Tomorrows: The Golden Age of Science Fiction Movie Posters, 1950-1964. Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing Co., 1993.

Computers

Kidwell, Peggy A. and Ceruzzi, Paul E. Landmarks in Digital Computing: A Smithsonian Pictorial History. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994.

Oslin, George P. The Story of Telecommunications. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1992.
Recounting in epic detail the fascinating history of mankind's continuing quest for simpler, faster, and more accurate means of communicating with each other and the world, this is a story not just of machines, but of dreamers and schemers--a chronicle fleshed out and verified by thousands of company documents, newspaper, magazine and book accounts, and more than 1000 letters and diaries of telecommunications pioneers.

Sterling, Christopher H. History of Telecommunications Technology: An Annotated Bibliography. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2000.
Designed as a handy desk-top reference resource, this annotated guide leads users to more than 2500 print and on-line English-language resources concerning the development of telecommunications over the past 175 years.

Stork, David G., ed. HAL's Legacy: 2001's Computer as Dream and Reality. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1997.
If you loved "2001: A Space Odyssey," you'll be delighted by this book that asks, "How realistic was HAL?" Contributions by various scientists include essays on supercomputer design with regard to speech synthesis, common sense reasoning, emotions, lip reading, and even playing chess. As the authors explore what is science fiction fantasy and what is technological fact, they also look at how HAL influenced technological development in the past 30 years.

[Time-Life Books]. Understanding Computers: Computer Basics. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1985.

Wiener, Norbert. Cybernetics; or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. Cambridge, MA: Technology Press, 1961.

Williams, Michael R. A History of Computing Technology. 2nd ed. Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press, 1997.

Toys

Lesser, Robert. A Celebration of Comic Art and Memorabilia. New York: Hawthorn, 1975.

Peyton, Crystal and Leland. Space Toys. Sedalia, Mo.: Collectors' Compass, 1982.

HOME OF TOMORROW

Celehar, Jane H. Kitchens and Gadgets, 1920-1950. Des Moines, IA: Wallace-Homestead Book Co, c1982.

Celehar, Jane H. Kitchens and Kitchenware. Lombard, IL: Wallace-Homestead Book Co, c1985.

Hines, Thomas S. Richard Neutra and the Search for Modern Architecture. New York: Oxford, 1982.

Mason, Roy, and Lane Jennings. Xanadu: Your Home of Tomorrow. Washington, D.C.: Acropolis, 1983.

Menocal, Narciso G. Keck and Keck, Architects. Madison, Wis.: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 1980.

COMMUNITY OF TOMORROW

Banham, Reyner. Megastructure. New York: Harper and Row, 1976. Bel Geddes, Norman. Magic Motorways. New York: Random House, 1976.

Bel Geddes, Norman. Magic Motorways. New York: Random House, 1976.
Bel Geddes shares his vision of a planned Midwest metropolis 20 years in the future at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Norman Bel Geodes designed a Futurama ride, Magic Motorways, for General Motors, putting the user in chairs that moved across the model of an idealized United States from one coast to another flying over cities of the future, with cars on spacious roads and pedestrians on elevated walkways.

Ferriss, Hugh. The Metropolis of Tomorrow. Reprint of NY: I. Washburn, 1929. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Architectural Press, c1986.
From the 1920s through the 1950s, Hugh Ferriss was America's most celebrated architectural artist, famous for his dramatic charcoal renderings. First published in 1929, The Metropolis of Tomorrow was the quintessential document of the prosperity of the 1920s, as well as a personal manifesto of visionary urbanism. In it, Ferriss drew and discussed the American Skyscraper and presented his romantic vision for an ideal city of the future.

Fishman, Robert. Urban Utopias of the Twentieth Century. New York: Basic Books, 1977.

Fuller, R. Buckminster, and Robert Marks. The Dymaxion World of Buckminster Fuller. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1973.

Harrison, Helen, et al. Dawn of a New Day: The New York World's Fair 1939/40. New York: The Queens Museum/New York University Press, 1980.

Leich, Jean Ferriss. Architectural Visions: The Drawings of Hugh Ferriss. New York: Whitney Library of Design, 1980.

Mattie, Erik. World's Fairs. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1998.
As showcases of design, architecture, technology, industry, and politics, world's fairs have served as overviews of society's accomplishments as well as barometers of our optimism about the future. They have captured the imagination of the hundreds of millions of people who attend them, and are ongoing objects of fascination, as witnessed by the collectibles, web sites, histories, and memoirs that surround them. World's Fairs looks back on 150 years of looking forward. Surprisingly, this is the first illustrated history of all major exhibitions from 1851 to 2000.

Mohney, David, and Keller Easterling, eds. Seaside: Making a Town in America. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1991.

Sky, Alison, and Michelle Stone. Unbuilt America. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976.

Soleri, Paolo. Arcology: The City in the Image of Man. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1969.

Williamson, Mary Lou, ed. Greenbelt: History of a New Town, 1937-1987. Norfolk, VA: Donning Co., Publishers, c. 1987.
New Towns or Greenest Towns as they are known, are cities in which all aspects of development are determined before construction begins. In reaction against the dirty, crowded cities associated with the Industrial Revolution, Ebenezer Howard began the Planned City Movement early in the Twentieth Century. Greenest: History of a New Town, examines one of the government sponsored "greenest" towns.

TRANSPORTATION OF TOMORROW

Bush, Donald J. The Streamlined Decade. New York: Braziller, 1975.

Corn, Joseph J. The Winged Gospel: America's Romance with Aviation, 1900-1950. New York: Oxford, 1983.

Frostick, Michael. Dream Cars, Design Studies and Prototypes. London: Dalton Watson, Ltd., 1980.

Kimes, Beverly Rae and Clark, Henry Austin Jr. Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942.

McCurdy, Howard E. Space and the American Imagination. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997.

Piccard, Jean-Rodolphe. The Automobile Year Book of Dream Cars. New York: Norton, 1981.

Vranich, Joseph. Supertrains: Solutions to America's Transportation Gridlock. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991.

Wilson, Paul C. Chrome Dreams: Automobile Styling Since 1893. Radnor, Pa.: Chilton, 1976.

PERIODICAL ARTICLES/REPORTS

Anderson, Dan. "How Yield Monitor Works." Farm Journal March 1999, p.33-39

Beardsley, Tim. "The Way to Go in Space." Scientific American, February 1999.

Biemiller, Lawrence. "Completing a Great Architect's Designs in Contructions of Zeros and Ones", The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 14, 1999.

Bekey, Ivan and Mayer, Harris. "1980-2000 Raising Our Sights for Advance Space Systems". Astronautics & Aeronautics. July/August 1976.

Handy, Bruce. "Tomorrowland Never Dies". Vanity Fair. March 2000

"Home of the Future". Home. 1998 Series.

Knepper, Cathy D. "Greenbelt: A New Deal Remnant in Our Midst." Maryland Humanities. November 1998.

Langdon, Philip. "A Good Place to Live". The Atlantic Monthly, March 1998.

Levy, Steven. "The New Digital Galaxy". Newsweek. May 31, 1999.

Matthews, Anne. "Tomorrowland: The City in 2050". Preservation. September/October 1999

McDonald, Kim A. "NASA Sattelites May 'Revolutionize' Earth Sciences". The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 9, 1999.

[National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL]. Flight Test of a One Man Flying Vehical Summary Report. Textron's Bell Aerosystems Company, Report #2330-950001, July 1967.

Oberg, James. "Missionaries to Mars". Technology Review. January/Febrary 1999. pp. 54-59.

Ostrow, Judy. "Natural Habitats". Home, March 2000.

Pennar, Karen. "One Hundred Years of Innovation." Business Week. Summer 1999.

Wilson, Hugh K., Goerhing, Janet B. and Reed, James B. "High Speed Trains for the United States? History and Options." Transportation Series No. 2 Environment, Energy and Transportation Program, National Conference of State Legistatures, March 1966.

Wolkomir, Richard. "Will the Kitchen Please Shut Up!" Smithsonian. Sept. 1999

For Children

Children's Books about the Future

The following children's books were recommended by children's librarians across Michigan.

Ages 2-8

Rolie Polie Olie, William Joyce
Way up high in the Rolie Polie Sky is a little round planet of a really swell guy... Rolie Polie Olie lives on a fantastic planet of blue skies and friendly robots, where every day is a surprise and literally everything comes to life. Harking back to the happy cartoon shorts of the 1930s, it's a world where machines act like people and where Mom and Dad seem to know all the answers. The whole mechanical Rolie Polie family Ping-Pongs around their smiley teapot house, playing and having fun from morning to noon to night. In Rolie Polie Olie land, it's one for all and all for one, little sister Zowie worships her big brother, and ever-loyal Spot is a pal to the end of time. And when things go wrong and all seems lost, a rumba dance can make everything okey dokey once again.

Ages 8-14

Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars, Ellen MacGregor
One in a series of charming science adventures for youngsters. Miss Pickerell goes to visit her pet cow one morning and finds a rocketship in the pasture! It's a mission to Mars, and a curious Miss Pickerell finds herself accidentally locked inside! The science is a tad bit dated, being written in the 1950's, but the adventure and fun will introduce scientific concepts to children and may even awake an interest in science. There are many other Miss Pickerell books, in which she visits the Arctic, space stations, lunar colonies, and goes diving in an atomic submarine! Charming fun and adventure with a science backdrop is all too rare. Though a bit out of date science-wise, Miss Pickerell's adventures are sure to be treasured by youngsters.

The Giver, Lois Lowry
In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World , Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price. Winner of 1994 Newbery Award

A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle
Meg and Charles journey through space with their friend, Calvin, to rescue their father, who disappeared while working on a wrinkle in time. Caruso's superb reading instantly draws the listener into a fantasy world. She differentiates the characters using subtle inflections and expressive tones appropriate to the dialogue and narrative. The strange beings the children encounter get their own unique voices. Caruso reads with credibility to the very end of this timeless 1963 Newbery Award winner.

Alien Blood, Chris Archer
Ashley Rose never believes in aliens until she finds one in the scariest place of all.

Shake-Shifter, Chris Archer
Believed to have been abducted by aliens, strange things are happening to Todd.

Star Hatchling, Margaret Bechard
The female-dominated culture of a distant planet encounters human beings for the first time.

Shape-Changer, Bill Brittain
Two friends help a shape-changing policeman from another planet s he tries to recapture an alien master criminal who can also change form.

The Hermit Thrush Sings, Susan Butler
After a natural disaster has all but destroyed the earth, the orphaned Leora defies the oppressive laws and joins a band of rebels trying to overthrow the government.

The Door in the Lake, Nancy Butts
After vanishing without a trace one night during a camping trip, Joey reappears two years later showing no signs of having aged and carrying memories of a strange light in the sky.

The White Mountains, John Christopher
In this first book of a trilogy, Will Parker and his companions make a perilous journey toward an outpost of freedom, where they hope to escape from the ruling Tripods, who capture humans and make them servants.

I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X, Bruce Coville
Rod and his bratty cousin Elspeth are snatched into another dimension by the monstrous alien Smorkus Flinders.

The Watertower, Gary Crew
On a scorching hot day in Preston, Australia, Spike and Bubba go for a swim in the old water tower, which casts a long dark shadow across everything in the area.

Alien Game, Catherine Dexter
As the students at her school become increasingly caught up in the annual game of Elimination, Zoe grows more and more convinced that the new girl in her class in not what she seems.

Eva, Peter Dickinson
After a terrible accident, a young girl wakes up to discover that her brain has been transplanted into the body of a chimpanzee to save her life.

The Ear, the Eye and the Arm, Nancy Farmer
In 2194 in Zimbabwe, General Matsika's three children are kidnapped and put to work in a plastic mine, while three mutant detectives use their special powers to search for them.

My Life Among the Aliens, Gail Gauthier
Two brothers begin to wonder if it is their mother's unusual cooking that is attracting the aliens that keep showing up at their house.

Max and Me and the Time Machine, Gery Greer
Stever buys a time maching at a garage sale and takes his friend Max to the year 1250, where they land in the middle of a jousting match. This is the first book in a series.

Amy, Number Seven, Mailyn Kaye
Amy learns that she is only one of many clones in this first book in the Replica series.

Alien Secrets, Annette Curtis Klause
On her journey to the distant plant where her parents are working, Puck befriends a troubled alien and becomes involved in a dangerous mystery involving a precious artifact.

Angela's Aliens, Janet Lisle
Angela seems to have become a totally different person as she tells her friends of being abducted by aliens and living among them.

Z is for Zachariah, Robert C. O'Brien
Seemingly the only person left alive after the holocaust of a war, a girl is relieved to see a man arrive in her valley until she realizes that he is a tyrant and she must somehow escape.

Lost in Cyberspace, Richard Peck
Josh and his friend Aaron use the computer at their New York prep school to travel through time.

Princess Nevermore, Dian Curtis Regan
An alien princess winds up on Earth alone and without the ability to return home.

Stinker from Space, Pamela F. Service
An alien fleeing enemy ships crash lands on Earth, transfers his mind to the body of a skunk, and enlists the aid of two children in getting back to his home planet.

The Boy Who Reversed Himself, William Sleator
When Laura discovers that the unpopular boy living next door to her has the ability to go into the fourth dimension,she makes the dangerous decision to accompany him on his journeys there.

The Night the Heads Came, Stephanie Tolan
When four child prodigies transfer from a center for research and rehabilitation to an experimental group home, they face another way of connecting with their world.

The Green Book, Jill Paton Walsh
As their small stock of essential supplies dwindles, a group of refugees from Earth struggles to make their strange new planet provide life's necessities.