Title: The artificial paradise
Description: The Artificial Paradise shows how American science fiction is a powerful purveyor of cultural myths that reveals our attitudes toward nature, technology, and the pursuit of happiness. Sharona Ben-Tov sees science fiction as a national mode of thinking that seeks to replace nature with technological worlds - paradoxically in the hope of regaining a mythic, magical American Eden.

Ben-Tov discusses sci-fi classics like Dune, The Dispossessed, Neuromancer, Vonnegut's fiction, and the Aliens movie in relation to ancient and modern myths of nature; to scientific projects like the atom bomb, Strategic Defense Initiative, robotics, and virtual reality; and to cultural psychology.
Subjects: American Science fiction, History, History and criticism, In literature, Literature and history, Literature and technology, National characteristics, American, in literature, Paradise in literature, Science fiction, american, Science fiction, history and criticism, National characteristics, american, United states, in literature
Places: United States
Time periods: 20th century