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Return From the Stars by Stanislaw Lem. New York. 1980. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 0151770824. Translated from the Polish by Barbara Marszal and Frank Simpson. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book. 312 pages. hardcover. Jacket design by Alan Henderson.

DESCRIPTION - Hal Bregg is a man without a world, an astronaut who returns from a space mission to find the earth changed beyond recognition. Although only ten biological years have passed for him, 127 years have elapsed on earth. Harrowed by the unthinkable things he has experienced and witnessed during his expedition, he reels, baffled and overwhelmed, through what is essentially an alien land. He finds cities shaped into psychedelic proportions by technology he cannot even imagine, social customs and conveniences so incomprehensible that he stumbles from humorous misadventure to terrifying encounter; sophisticated robots running everything; human beings denatured by a medical procedure, administered in early childhood, that effectively neutralizes most of their aggressive impulses. How does an astronaut—who represents the height of his culture's emphasis on pioneering, on knowledge at all costs—find his way clear to join a civilization that shuns the slightest hint of risk, that channels the vestiges of curiosity and appetite into outlets where they can spend themselves harmlessly, that turns its citizens into pursuers of pleasure, youth, and ease who have forgotten what it means to yearn or wonder? He falls in love with a young woman whom he seeks to win by the sheer force of his passion for her. Bull-headed but tender-hearted, he struggles to understand. And, ultimately, he confronts a choice that no man has ever had to make before, in a dazzling conclusion in which the author gives soaring expression to his own commitment to life. Stanislaw Lem, best known for his inspired tales about cosmic matters, focuses here on more intimate, terrestrial concerns, and the result is an engrossing, intriguing novel that glints with possibility and uncannily vivid perceptions.

Stanislaw Lem (12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has been made into a feature film three times. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world. In 1996, he received the prestigious Polish award, the Order of the White Eagle. His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humanity's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult due to passages with elaborate word formation, alien or robotic poetry, and puns.

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The Chain of Chance by Stanislaw Lem. New York. 1978. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 0151165890. Translated from the Polish by Louis Iribarne. 192 pages. hardcover. Jacket design by Wendell Minor.  

DESCRIPTION - A series of mysterious deaths baffles the Italian police. At a seaside resort in Southern Italy, a number of tourists - all of them middle-aged men and foreigners - vanish, go mad, or die. What is the plot behind this pattern? A former astronaut turned private investigator is dispatched from the U.S. to unravel the mystery, which he tries to do by setting himself up as a decoy. Just as he is on the verge of giving up in despair, violent events erupt. But the pattern of cause and effect reveals itself only through a series of extraordinary yet fully credible coincidences. The author charges his plot with dimensions new to the genre. Advanced speculative thought and sophisticated knowledge of cybernetic technology inform The Chain of Chance, giving each startling twist of the story depth and density and truly challenging the reader's mind.

Stanislaw Lem (12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has been made into a feature film three times. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world. In 1996, he received the prestigious Polish award, the Order of the White Eagle. His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humanity's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult due to passages with elaborate word formation, alien or robotic poetry, and puns.

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The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem. New York. 1974. Seabury Press. 081649164x. Illustrated by Daniel Mroz. Translated from the Polish by Michael Kandel. 295 pages. hardcover. Jacket drawing by Daniel Mroz Jacket design by Ted Menten.  

DESCRIPTION - An extraordinary contemporary classic by the world-renowned Polish author who has been compared to Voltaire and Rabelais. The Cyberiad is a cycle of tales recounting the escapades of the robot "cosmic constructors" Trurl and Klapaucius as they out-invent each other at home or take up the Gargantuan tasks thrust upon them in other galaxies, creating laser-eyed beasts and dragons of improbability, electronic bards and machines that can make anything beginning with n. Lem draws upon the vocabularies of fairy tale, folk tale, and mythology - and those of twentieth-century scientific, philosophical, and mathematical thought as well. The result is intellectual slapstick of the highest order: a brilliantly funny display of heroes and antiheroes, matters and antimatters, to enchant readers of every order, from Thurber and Tolkien fans to information theorists.

Stanislaw Lem (12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has been made into a feature film three times. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world. In 1996, he received the prestigious Polish award, the Order of the White Eagle. His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humanity's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult due to passages with elaborate word formation, alien or robotic poetry, and puns.

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The Star Diaries by Stanislaw Lem. New York. 1976. Seabury Press. 0816492832. Translated from the Polish by Michael Kandel.  Line Drawings By Lem. 275 pages. hardcover. Jacket design by Spencer Drate.  

DESCRIPTION - Ijon Tichy is an amiable, innocent cosmic traveler with a magnetic attraction for mishaps of the most unusual kinds; his absurd adventures and misfortunes make pointed and occasionally not-so-gentle mockery of various twentieth-century beliefs and institutions. Called into question as Tichy is beset by mind-boggling time warps and ‘civilizations’ that are curious, to say the least, are: science and the rational mind, human progress, the ‘rightness’ of the universe, theology and Christianity, the sanctity of life, motherhood—and a host of other things that we tend to take for granted, and even pride ourselves on. In compensation for this intellectual rock-throwing, the reader will be entertained by Lem's masterful creations, including the sadomasochistic robots of Cercia (who talk like Chaucer), the squamp hunt wherein squamp (huge beasts with impervious armor) are literally invaded and conquered from within, accounts of Tichy's unwitting cannibalism, and his personal quarrel with Plato. The reader may find, however - and this is characteristic of Lem's deft satire - that the laughter is often at his own expense.

Stanislaw Lem (12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has been made into a feature film three times. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world. In 1996, he received the prestigious Polish award, the Order of the White Eagle. His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humanity's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult due to passages with elaborate word formation, alien or robotic poetry, and puns.

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Mortal Engines by Stanislaw Lem. New York. 1977. Seabury Press.  Translated from the Polish by Michael Kandel. 239 pages. hardcover. Front cover art: Drawing from ‘Une Semaine de Bonte’ by Max Ernst.

  
DESCRIPTION - For Stanislaw Lem, the renowned author of classics in meta-fiction, the creation of machines that think raises troubling moral questions. At the same time, the phenomenon of artificial intelligence presents a delightful opportunity for the mordant satire and verbal slapstick which readers world-wide have come to expect from him. The stories comprising MORTAL ENGINES range stylistically from pathos to fantasy to realism. Here are fables for robots glistening with humor and yet having ominous overtones. ‘The Mask,' on the other hand, with its deeply tragic poetry and its building tension, represents a strange twist of the Frankenstein theme and is reminiscent of the macabre as portrayed by such writers as Edgar Allan Poe. Michael Kandel, whose brilliant translations of Lem's THE CYBERIAD and THE FUTUROLOGICAL CONGRESS were both nominated for the National Book Award in 1975, discusses in his introduction Lem the man and the writer, and provides some scientific background in cybernetics, information theory and advances in artificial intelligence. Stanislaw Lem of Poland, one of Europe's most prolific and articulate writers, has written more than thirty books which have sold millions of copies worldwide. Ranging from novels and film scenarios through philosophy, literary and cultural criticism, to parody and satire, they have been honored with awards and prizes in many countries.

Stanislaw Lem (12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has been made into a feature film three times. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world. In 1996, he received the prestigious Polish award, the Order of the White Eagle. His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humanity's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult due to passages with elaborate word formation, alien or robotic poetry, and puns.

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The Investigation by Stanislaw Lem. New York. 1974. Seabury Press. Translated from the Polish by Adele Milch. 216 pages. hardcover. 0816491658. Jacket design by Ted Menten. Photograph by Bolestaw Lutostawski.

DESCRIPTION - A young officer at Scotland Yard is assigned to investigate a baffling and eerie case of missing-and apparently resurrected-bodies. Encounters with the chief inspector and other key figures (a prominent writer, a scientist) supply Lieutenant Gregory with scientific, religious, and philosophical theories, and with a series of potential clues-but is there in fact a solution to the mystery? Lem’s unique contribution to the detective-mystery genre reflects his fascination with bizarre and random events; it is a disturbing book, and its incredible ending will astonish readers. Literary critic, screenwriter, novelist, essayist, and futurologist, Polish author Stanistaw Lem is one of Europe’s most prolific and articulate writers, with translations in close to thirty languages and a total sale around the world of more than six million copies of his many works. His writing represents an extraordinary range of subject and style, most frequently dealing with the confrontation between human values and other, alien (non-human, random, mechanical) systems.

Stanislaw Lem (12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has been made into a feature film three times. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world. In 1996, he received the prestigious Polish award, the Order of the White Eagle. His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humanity's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult due to passages with elaborate word formation, alien or robotic poetry, and puns.

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The Futurological Congress by Stanislaw Lem. New York. 1974. Seabury Press. Translated from the Polish by Michael Kandel. 149 pages. Front cover art: Paul Klee. 'Old Man Figuring', Etching, printed in brown black. Jacket design by Ted Menten. 0816492220.

DESCRIPTION - The Eighth World Futurological Congress, held in Costa Rica, stands under anything but a lucky star, To be sure, the one hundred and six stories of the Costa Rica Hilton are stocked with provisions to answer a convention guest’s every desire and the restaurant is even better than average — a factor particularly appreciated by the world-renowned cosmonaut Ion Tichy. On the other hand, the events behind the scene in and around the hotel constitute what can only be called a scandal, The streets are swarming with revolutionaries in the throes of battle with members of the military junta, and chemical warfare is the order of the day. Swept into the fray, the visiting futurologists ultimately escape through the sewer sys- tem, pumped to the gills with the latest ‘benignimizers,’ The severely injured Tichy is rescued, treated, and finally vitrified — refrigerated in liquid nitrogen — only to awaken in the year 2039, in the era of total psychemization. Lem’s description of the future, which culminates in an apocalyptic vision, is marked above all by his exquisite gift for language — which is perfectly preserved by Michael Kandels superb translation, His vocabulary for the future includes more than 100 new expressions—linguistically sound derivations that are as beautifully plausible as they are funny. At the same time, Lem offers his satirical vision of a linguistically oriented futurology.

Stanislaw Lem (12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has been made into a feature film three times. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world. In 1996, he received the prestigious Polish award, the Order of the White Eagle. His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humanity's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult due to passages with elaborate word formation, alien or robotic poetry, and puns.

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Solaris by Stanislaw Lem. New York. 1970. Walker & Company. Translated from the Polish by Joanna Kilmartin and Steven Cox. 216 pages. Jacket illustration by Jack Gaughan. 0802755267.

DESCRIPTION - When Kris Kelvin left Earth for Station Solaris, he was prepared for the hazards of space travel - solitude, hardship, exhaustion, perhaps death - but not for the cruel miracle of landing at his destination to find himself as he really is: to confront a presence and emotions long forgotten and suppressed, and no longer feared. An invisible, elusive spirit had taken possession of those stationed at Solaris - one that knew them better than they did themselves and held them prisoners of their own nightmares. One traveler takes his own life, another goes mad, a third disappears before the phenomenon of the 'Psi-creature' is explained. The 'ocean covering Solaris seems to be a gigantic fluid brain, prodigiously powerful and several million years beyond our own civilization, To the explorers on Solaris, it becomes a mysterious, alien force, threatening to their emotional endurance and challenging to their intellectual capacities. From the perspective of Solaris, emerges a new view of the nature of man: a creature who soars off into the cosmos in quest of other worlds and greedy for scientific knowledge, without having explored his own labyrinth of dark passages and secret chambers, without discovering what lies behind doorways that he himself has sealed.

Stanislaw Lem (12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has been made into a feature film three times. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world. In 1996, he received the prestigious Polish award, the Order of the White Eagle. His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humanity's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult due to passages with elaborate word formation, alien or robotic poetry, and puns.

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Eden by Stanislaw Lem. San Diego. 1989. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 0151275807. Translated from the Polish. 262 pages. hardcover. Jacket design by Vaughn Andrews. Jacket illustration by John Alfred Dorn III.  

DESCRIPTION - A spellbinding horror story set in an alien landscape. A crew of six crash-land on Eden, fourth planet from another sun. They set forth into a strange world that grows ever stranger. The sun is not completely circular. The desert ground is soft, spongy, it exudes acrid vapors. Thickets of plants are shaped like hanging spiders; trees, violet and blue, breathe noisily; flower petals lift into the air like a flock of startled pigeons. The men come to a wall that moves in rhythmic waves; they enter an automated factory where mysterious objects are created, destroyed, and created again in a meaningless cycle. They meet an inhabitant of Eden, a large, humped, pearl-colored, naked torso from which protrudes another, smaller torso with a child's head and two small arms—a ‘doubler,’ they call him. One doubler leads to another, to whole communities, to a world of flying saucers and genetic engineering. And everywhere, death. Swollen bodies in ditches and in wells, a beehive structure filled with clusters of glass eggs—a skeleton within each egg.  This is Lem at his outerspace and innerspace best: thought-provoking, ironic, lyrical. Eden—a great new adventure for Lem followers.

Stanislaw Lem (12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has been made into a feature film three times. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world. In 1996, he received the prestigious Polish award, the Order of the White Eagle. His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humanity's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult due to passages with elaborate word formation, alien or robotic poetry, and puns.

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Highcastle: A Remembrance by Stanislaw Lem. New York. 1995. Harcourt Brace. 0151402183. Translated from the Polish by Michael Kandel. 146 pages. hardcover. Jacket design by Steven Cooley.

DESCRIPTION - An affecting childhood memoir by ‘a science fiction writer worthy of the Nobel Prize' - The New York Times. Stanislaw Lem's Highcastle is at once a remembrance and a meditation. Even as Lem gives an account of his childhood in Lvov in the years between the two world wars, he ponders the nature of memory, innocence, and the imagination on his recollections of growing up the son of a bourgeois doctor at Number 4 Brajerska Street are stunningly evocative re-creating with acuity a boy's perception of the world around him: his gossipy French tutor; the magical window of Zalewski's Confectionery; his father's anatomy book and carefully hidden French pornography; a trip to Klaften's Toy Shop; an aborted visit to a tattooed lady at the Eastern Fair; the trams, organ grinders, and halvah stands of Lvov. Full of humor and pathos, by turns mordant and nostalgic, Highcastle is a compelling portrait of the artist as young man by one of the great science fiction writers of our time.

Stanislaw Lem (12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has been made into a feature film three times. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world. In 1996, he received the prestigious Polish award, the Order of the White Eagle. His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humanity's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult due to passages with elaborate word formation, alien or robotic poetry, and puns.

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