"L Ron Hubbard - Battlefield Earth" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hubbard L. Ron)

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 Introduction.

Recently there came a period when I had little to do. This was novel in a life
so crammed with busy years, and I decided to amuse myself by writing a novel
that was pure science fiction.
In the hard-driven times between 1930 and 1950, I was a professional writer not
simply because it was my job, but because I wanted to finance more serious
researches. In those days there were few agencies pouring out large grants to
independent workers. Despite what you might hear about Roosevelt “relief,” those
were depression years. One succeeded or one starved. One became a top-liner or a
gutter bum. One had to work very hard at his craft or have no craft at all. It
was a very challenging time for anyone who lived through it.
I have heard it said, as an intended slur, “He was a science fiction writer,
”and have heard it said of many. It brought me to realize that few people
understand the role science fiction has played in the lives of Earth's whole
population.
I have just read several standard books that attempt to define “science fiction”
and to trace its history. There are many experts in this field, many
controversial opinions. Science fiction is favored with the most closely knit
reading public that may exist, possibly the most dedicated of any genre.
Devotees are called “fans,” and the word has a special prestigious meaning in
science fiction.
Few professional writers, even those in science fiction, have written very much
on the character of "sf". They are usually too busy turning out the work itself
to expound on what they have written. But there are many experts on this subject
among both critics and fans, and they have a lot of worthwhile things to say.
However, many false impressions exist, both of the genre and of its writers. So
when one states that he set out to write a work of pure science fiction, he had
better state what definition he is using.
It will probably be best to return to the day in 1938 when I first entered this
field, the day I met John W. Campbell, Jr., a day in the very dawn of what has
come to be known as The Golden Age of science fiction. I was quite ignorant of
the field and regarded it, in fact, a bit diffidently. I was not there of my own
choice. I had been summoned to the vast old building on Seventh Avenue in dusty,
dirty, old New York by the very top brass of Street and Smith publishing
company- an executive named Black and another, F. Orlin Tremaine. Ordered there
with me was another writer, Arthur J. Burks. In those days when the top brass of
a publishing company- particularly one as old and prestigious as Street and
Smith-'invited" a writer to visit, it was like being commanded to appear before
the king or receiving a court summons. You arrived, you sat there obediently,
and you spoke when you were spoken to.
We were both, Arthur J. Burks and I, top-line professionals in other writing
fields. By the actual tabulation of A. B. Dick, which set advertising rates for
publishing firms, either of our names appearing on a magazine cover would send
the circulation rate skyrocketing, something like modern TV ratings.
The top brass came quickly to the point. They had recently started or acquired a