Yesterday S Tomorrows

From Jules Verne to the Jetsons, from a 500-passenger flying wing to an anti-aircraft flying buzz-saw, the vision of the future as seen through the eyes of the past demonstrates the play of the American imagination on the canvas of the future.

How the communist revolution failed, presented in a series of catastrophes. The communist project in the twentieth century grew out of utopian desires to oppose oppression and abolish class structures, to give individual lives collective meaning. The attempts to realize these ideals became a series of colossal failures. In Yesterday's Tomorrow, Bini Adamczak examines these catastrophes, proceeding in reverse chronological order from 1939 to 1917: the Hitler-Stalin Pact, the Great Terror of 1937, the failure of the European Left to prevent National Socialism, Stalin's rise to power, and the bloody rebellion at Kronstadt. In the process, she seeks a future that never happened.

2012 was a year of financial crises and ecological disasters, of endings and forebodings. The world did not end on December 21st as the Mayan calendar predicted, but became the stage for new beginnings, utopian communities, protest groups and solidarity movements. The essays in this book form an intertextual space for negotiating meaningful facts and fictions with an aim to understanding the present. Discussions focus on utopia and dystopia from literature and film, not only within the framework of science fiction but also critical theory, gender politics and social sciences. The authors of these essays are international academics whose interest lies in utopian studies and who attended the 13th International Conference of Utopian Studies, “The Shape of Things to Come”, held in Tarragona, Spain, in 2012.

First published in 1968, Yesterday’s Tomorrows elucidates on the favourite occupation of man: forecasting the future. By man’s predictions, he mirrors his own wish-fulfilments, displacements, projections, denials, evasions and withdrawals. These predications can take the form of countries of the imagination, ‘mirror worlds’ like Rabelais’ Ever-Ever lands or the Erewhon of Butler. Alternatively, they may spring from panic, reflecting fear rather than hope, often manifesting themselves, in our technological age, as reports of ‘flying saucers’ or invasions from another planet. In either form, they provide philosophers, scientists, doctors and sociologists with material for evaluating man’s future needs, offering both criticism of our present society, plans for our future, and release from tension and disequilibrium. Professor Armytage shows in this book how such ‘visions’ can, and do, refresh minds for renewed grappling with the present by arming them with ideas for man’s future needs. He indicates that, out of an apparent welter of futuristic fantasies, a constructive debate about tomorrow is emerging, providing us with operational models of what tomorrow could be. This book will hold special interest for students of philosophy and of English literature.

This stark tale describes life in the early years of the 1900s. Yesterday's Tomorrows begins in 1906, when eight-year-old Ruth escapes a fire with her half-sister. However, the rest of her family perish in the blaze and the girls are taken in by their aunt and uncle. Ruth later leaves school to work in the local mill, where she falls for a young man named Billy. Like many couples, Ruth and Billy discuss their future and the children they intend to have. Their plans go awry when Billy enlists in World War I. He goes missing in France and is presumed dead. Meanwhile, Ruth meets another man but refuses a relationship with him until she is certain of Billy's fate. When Ruth learns that Billy was seriously injured, she goes to him and he tells her that he can no longer father children. Deeply in love, Ruth tells him that it doesn't matter and they marry. The Dark Secret comes into play when Ruth is ravished one night and becomes pregnant by her unknown assailant. Billy pretends that he is the father, but before the child is born Billy kills himself. What happens next includes startling revelations that will continue into the book's sequel. Will Ruth find a happy ending?

It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation. Even though he can't spend time in the warm waters of Belize, policeman Conrad Bishop is happy to spend time with his girlfriend, Amber, at a private beachfront home in Nantucket. After a tranquil evening walking the beach, Conrad wakes at 3:00 AM, turns on the television, and hears a disturbing news report about a deadly influenza plague-the direct result of a terrorist attack on the United States. Rushing into his bedroom, he finds his girlfriend unconscious and suffering from a high fever. When he tries to take her to the hospital, the town is in a panic. Cars clog the road, and he's forced to return to the beach house. Amber never regains consciousness, and by that evening, she is dead. Grief stricken, Bishop is suddenly thrust into a world that changes by the minute. Terrorists attack every major city in the United States with car bombs and invade American embassies overseas. With a small group of survivors, Conrad struggles to stay alive. His fight will take him to the very steps of the White House and have him waging a valiant crusade to keep a dying nation alive.

Enjoying freedom and prestige after the battle for Skyport Seven, Jeremiah Hawks walks openly in an alien society. The indigenous culture clashes even more with those influenced by the Gospel when a mysterious cult siren's movement explodes on the scene. After the assassination of the Emperor's wife, political turmoil and a new invasion threat make Commander Candle's mission to protect Professor Hawks almost impossible. When the cult produces their own guardian, the Commander is challenged by a foe every bit his equal. As an interstellar conflict of epic proportions continue to spin out of control, a generation of new champions must arise in time to prevent the ascendancy of a pervading evil.