Star-Begotten

A Life Lived in Science Fiction

by James Gunn

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Pub Date Nov 01 2017 | Archive Date Dec 31 2017

McFarland

Nonfiction (Adult) | Sci Fi & Fantasy

Description

Hugo Award winning writer James Gunn (1923–) has been called “the last Golden Age author” of science fiction. In a career spanning almost 70 years, he has written 28 books and dozens of short stories and participated in the production of films, radio and television programs and comic books. Gunn’s memoir provides an intimate account of his unusual life and career, and of the colorful world of science fiction during the latter half of the 20th century.

Advance Praise

“Star-Begotten is a heartfelt, revealing, and surprising memoir, but it is more than that. It is a book that tells the story of modern science fiction from the Golden Age to the 21st century, and of its transformation from ‘pulp’ literature into the preeminent creative genre of popular culture...as seen through the eyes of an author who has not only been a witness to that transformation, but who has been one of its driving forces. As a writer, teacher, and scholar of science fiction whose work has spanned seven decades, James Gunn’s influence in the field is unparalleled. His own transformation from ordinary child of the Midwest to Grand Master of Science Fiction is both remarkable and inspiring, and Star-Begotten reveals the love of family, the societal turmoil, the devotion to teaching and writing, and the personal determination and persistence that made it happen. Thousands of Professor Gunn’s readers and students have reaped the benefits, and I am beyond fortunate to count myself among them. And everyone who reads the amazing story of Star-Begotten will feel the same way.”—Bradley Denton, Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede (winner, John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel);

“It is a privilege to read Star-Begotten, a book that is so many different things at once. It’s a memoir but it’s also an eyewitness account of how America progressed through the 20th century, always toward an uncertain future. For that alone, it’s invaluable. It’s also an eyewitness account of how science fiction found itself and came of age, by one of its most important writers and educators, and that makes it even more invaluable. The history of science fiction is the history of the human imagination, in which we can discern our hopes, our ambitions, our goals, and, yes, our fears, too. As science fiction came of age, it was unfairly derided as trivial, an element of popular culture that is especially disposable, unfit for the same kind of consideration as ‘real’ literature. James Gunn was one of the few university professors who defied this literary snobbery not only by teaching a course in science fiction but by instituting the first university program for the teaching of science fiction.”—Patricia Cadigan, Synners and Fools (winners, Arthur C. Clarke Award);

“James Gunn’s writing has bridged much of the history of modern science fiction, and his scholarship has helped to define it, but this memoir offers much more than a history of his career. It is full of insights and delights, nine decades’ worth: a grounded life spent exploring humanity’s future in the stars.”—Kij Johnson, The University of Kansas;

"Let’s save the world through science fiction,’James Gunn suggests to us, and Star-Begotten is the story of his life. Gunn, the only person ever to serve as president of both the Science Fiction Writers of America and the Science Fiction Research Association, has lived science fiction as a reader, a writer, an editor, a scholar, a teacher, a spokesperson, an organizer, a role model, and a visionary. Star-Begotten is full of profiles of people who made 20th century science fiction, but more than that, I am struck by the journey it takes from the early 1920s in Kansas City through a century of change. Gunn brings us the reality of a life lived, day by day, in a time in which human history has been transformed by technological change, ideological conflict, scientific and political and cultural revolutions—the very stuff of science fiction. His story made me think, and made me feel, and I am glad he has taken the time to tell us these things.”—John Kessel, NC State University.

Available Editions

EDITION	Paperback
ISBN	9781476670263
PRICE	$25.00 (USD)

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Featured Reviews

Joseph K, Reviewer

At the risk of repeating myself (see my review of James Gunn's TRANSGALACTIC back in October of 2016), at the WorldCon in Kansas City in 2016 I attended a panel made up entirely of SFWA Grandmasters: Connie Willis, Robert Silverberg, Larry Niven, Joe Haldeman, and James Gunn. Those five science fiction luminaries represent more combined years of writing and awards than I think any of us can comprehend. Of the five, James Gunn has not only been writing the longest, he's also been with us the longest, having been born in 1923 (which by my math makes him 94 years old). To quote a statement that I've read many times in conjunction with the publication of his autobiography, STAR-BEGOTTEN: A LIFE LIVED IN SCIENCE FICTION, Gunn "has been called -the last Golden Age author of science fiction." That's probably true, as I can't think of any other writer still with us that had work published back in the 1940s (although I'm sure someone who reads this review will remind me of someone I've forgotten). The final book in The Transcendental Machine trilogy, TRANSFORMATION, was just published by Tor. While the rest of that illustrious panel are still active in the field one way or another - either still writing or attending conventions - it seems that Gunn has decided it's time to take stock in his life and his contributions to the field of science fiction, and so he was written STAR-BEGOTTEN to share his memories with fans and friends.

I've not read many autobiographies that I can remember, if any at all. The last biography I read was of the great New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio (a book which I reviewed in September of 2005). As a result, I didn't know what to expect. I suspect that there are as many ways to write autobiographies as there are people who write them. The way Gunn went about it was to start at the beginning and go through his life until he got to the present day. I suppose that's a pretty good way to do it. If I lived a life interesting enough to other people to write an autobiography, I would probably do it the same way.

What amazes me about Gunn is that he remembers in such detail his home, neighborhood, and friends growing up. 1923 is a long time ago, and while he obviously doesn't remember events starting at birth, it seems as if he remembers everything in vivid detail from those long ago days. Later on in the book he does admit that he doesn't remember everything any more, and honestly who would when you're 94 years old?

The subtitle of this book is "A Life Lived in Science Fiction". It's a bit misleading, perhaps, in that a good portion of Gunn's life was spent outside of science fiction, including spending time in the military and in administrative academia. However, he does recall an incident early in his life in which he went to hear H.G. Wells speak. It was that event which probably sent him on the path toward his prolific writing career and his eventually being named an SWFA Grandmaster. Along the way, we learn about Gunn's fits and starts with writing, college education, and romance. We learn about his life with his family and how they shaped and supported his
career. And of course, we do learn about the fiction and non-fiction he wrote and was involved with all along the way.

And certainly that's a long career, a career that saw him crossing paths with some of the biggest names of the field from the past: Fred Pohl, Ted Sturgeon, Damon Knight, Cliff Simak, Horace Gold, John W. Campbell, John
Brunner, Samuel R. Delany, and others. We learn about his involvement with teaching students about science fiction, both by creating college level classes in the field and traveling the world to spread the word about the genre. Gunn indeed is a force for spreading the word about how the field works and about how it influences our lives. He was always willing to lend his name and time to endeavors that would enlighten people about science fiction. I suspect that while there is a significant number of writers that are more prolific with regard to their fiction than Gunn, I believe that his contributions to globally spreading the word about the field may be unmatched.

What's also fascinating is that Gunn has been around long enough to see the transformation of the field from the Golden Age of the 40s through today, from a time when there were few enough personalities in the field that he could know most of them, to today where if you know who a handful of them are you're doing a good job. In that way, STAR-BEGOTTEN provides an interesting insight into the massive change in the field in the last 70 years. Indeed, if you look at the list of names I provided in the last paragraph, other than Delany, you won't find any diversity at all. Today's field would be unrecognizable to that H.G. Wells of long ago, but Gunn has seen that change and continues to be part of it.

If I have one issue with the book, it is that there is a lot of repetition - Gunn repeats events and stories multiple times during the book. This jarred me out of the book on occasion, but in the long run it didn't significantly
detract from the memoir.

As I've said a couple of times, James Gunn is 94. If this is the last thing he writes before he calls it a career, STAR-BEGOTTEN is a fitting end to his life in science fiction.