I enjoy literary nonfiction, and recently came across The Modern Myths: Adventures in the Machinery of the Popular Imagination by Philip Ball. Dr. Ball is a frequent contributor to Nature, and delving into modern myths is something of a departure from his usual wheelhouse, but I found the book engaging nonetheless.
It's interesting how advances in technology shift science fiction stories. In the early Victorian era, writers used the moon as a destination, but advances in telescope technology revealed the moon as an airless desert. In response, writers shifted to setting stories on Mars, especially once the "canals" were discovered. This lasted well into the 1950s, when the better writers began to use a more realistic setting on Mars. It actually wasn't until the space probes the 1960s that the true nature of the Red Planet was settled.
It's interesting how advances in technology shift science fiction stories. In the early Victorian era, writers used the moon as a destination, but advances in telescope technology revealed the moon as an airless desert. In response, writers shifted to setting stories on Mars, especially once the "canals" were discovered. This lasted well into the 1950s, when the better writers began to use a more realistic setting on Mars. It actually wasn't until the space probes the 1960s that the true nature of the Red Planet was settled.