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Art of Imagination: 20th Century Visions of Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy
Since the beginning of his existence, man has used imagination to create magical worlds that would transport him beyond the borders of reality. Art of Imagination is a trilogy consisting of the award winning Illustrated History series: Science Fiction of the 20th Century (Year 2000 Hugo Award Winner), Horror of the 20th Century (Bram Stoker Award nominee), and Fantasy of the 20th Century creating the ultimate collection. It was in the twentieth century that book, magazine, and poster artists reached new pinnacles of creativity in depicting the unknown. This collection of works by artists and designers of movie posters, books, and magazines provides a hearty feast for the eyes of the enchanted reader. These artisans and their works are the subject of this new must-have book for not only collectors of memorabilia, but for every person who has longed to step into his or her imaginary world, be it one of fantasy, flight, or fear -- if only for a moment.
768 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2002
3 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Frank M. Robinson
122 books58 followersFrank M. Robinson was an American science fiction and techno-thriller writer. he got his start writing for the old pulp fiction magazines. He wrote several novels with Thomas N. Scortia until Scortia's death in 1986.
Born in Chicago, Illinois. Robinson was the son of a check forger. He started out in his teens working as a copy boy for International News Service and then became an office boy for Ziff Davis. He was drafted into the Navy for World War II, and when his tour was over attended Beloit College, where he majored in physics, graduating in 1950. Because he could find no work as a writer, he ended up back in the Navy to serve in Korea, where he kept writing, read a lot, and published in Astounding magazine.
After the Navy, he attended graduate school in journalism, then worked for a Chicago-based Sunday supplement. Soon he switched to Science Digest, where he worked from 1956 to 1959. From there, he moved into men's magazines: Rogue (1959–65) and Cavalier (1965–66). In 1969, Playboy asked him to take over the Playboy Advisor column. He remained there until 1973, when he left to write full-time.
After moving to San Francisco in the 1970s, Robinson, who was gay, was a speechwriter for gay politician Harvey Milk; he had a small role in the film Milk. After Milk's assassination, Robinson was co-executor, with Scott Smith, of Milk's last will and testament.
Robinson is the author of 16 books, the editor of two others, and has penned numerous articles. Three of his novels have been made into movies. The Power (1956) was a supernatural science fiction and government conspiracy novel about people with superhuman skills, filmed in 1968 as The Power. The Glass Inferno, co-written with Thomas N. Scortia, was combined with Richard Martin Stern's The Tower to produce the 1974 movie The Towering Inferno. The Gold Crew, also co-written Scortia, was a nuclear threat thriller filmed as an NBC miniseries and re-titled The Fifth Missile.
He collaborated on several other works with Scortia, including The Prometheus Crisis, The Nightmare Factor, and Blow-Out.
In 2009 he was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame
Born in Chicago, Illinois. Robinson was the son of a check forger. He started out in his teens working as a copy boy for International News Service and then became an office boy for Ziff Davis. He was drafted into the Navy for World War II, and when his tour was over attended Beloit College, where he majored in physics, graduating in 1950. Because he could find no work as a writer, he ended up back in the Navy to serve in Korea, where he kept writing, read a lot, and published in Astounding magazine.
After the Navy, he attended graduate school in journalism, then worked for a Chicago-based Sunday supplement. Soon he switched to Science Digest, where he worked from 1956 to 1959. From there, he moved into men's magazines: Rogue (1959–65) and Cavalier (1965–66). In 1969, Playboy asked him to take over the Playboy Advisor column. He remained there until 1973, when he left to write full-time.
After moving to San Francisco in the 1970s, Robinson, who was gay, was a speechwriter for gay politician Harvey Milk; he had a small role in the film Milk. After Milk's assassination, Robinson was co-executor, with Scott Smith, of Milk's last will and testament.
Robinson is the author of 16 books, the editor of two others, and has penned numerous articles. Three of his novels have been made into movies. The Power (1956) was a supernatural science fiction and government conspiracy novel about people with superhuman skills, filmed in 1968 as The Power. The Glass Inferno, co-written with Thomas N. Scortia, was combined with Richard Martin Stern's The Tower to produce the 1974 movie The Towering Inferno. The Gold Crew, also co-written Scortia, was a nuclear threat thriller filmed as an NBC miniseries and re-titled The Fifth Missile.
He collaborated on several other works with Scortia, including The Prometheus Crisis, The Nightmare Factor, and Blow-Out.
In 2009 he was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 10, 2017
This is one big book that lives up to it's size. It is a collection of three books on the art and history of science fiction, horror and fantasy. Each book has excellent reproduction of book and magazine covers. Besides the art, Frank M. Robinson, Randy Broecker and Robert E. Weinberg each do a good job of covering the history of their respective genre. Definitely, would recommend this book or the individual books to any fan of these three genre.
September 3, 2024
Incredible book. The artwork inspires awe, the depth of history covered is matched only by the Clute encyclopedias, and is a must for fans, readers and students of genre. Sure it might be expensive, and reading it can be a work-out as well as entertaining (light, this book is not - it'll test the strength of your coffee table). But it is worth every penny. Essential.
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July 18, 2020Volume is a compilation of three books, "Science Fiction of the 20th Century," "Horror of the 20th Century," and "Fantasy of the 20th Century." The title pages of "The Book of Horror" and "The Book of Fantasy" have been switched.
July 28, 2025
Beautiful artwork. Heavily focused on the early history of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy with little discussion on more recent titles and their importance despite being published in 2002. A wealth of information about pulps and their impact.
December 5, 2011
Art of Imagination is an eleven pound, 768 page book of glorious information and artwork. It is a monster of a book (10.25 x 13.25 x 2.25)which allows for near actual size reproductions of various covers. The presentation, color, text is outstanding and guaranteed to last a good long time.
I simply cannot stress enough how beautiful this book is and along with it's good looks, it is very informative.
If you can find a copy (plentiful online), buy it, read it, share it and cherish it. This is heard a lot, but Art of Imagination truly is a must have book for the fans of everything fiction and art.
I simply cannot stress enough how beautiful this book is and along with it's good looks, it is very informative.
If you can find a copy (plentiful online), buy it, read it, share it and cherish it. This is heard a lot, but Art of Imagination truly is a must have book for the fans of everything fiction and art.
August 15, 2007
This is an absolutely lovely oversized volume of science fiction, fantasy, and horror art. It's great to return to and leaf through again and again. It also serves as a terrific history of the field.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews