Future West - 9780700616091

Future WestUtopia and Apocalypse in Frontier Science Fiction\nAuthor(s): William Katerberg\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: University Press of Kansas, United States\nImprint: University Press of Kansas\nISBN-13: 9780700616091, 978-0700616091\nSynopsis\nWhat is the future of the American West? Is it fated to shine with the benign promise of Ernest Callenbach's \""\""Ecotopia\""\""? Or will it instead dissolve into postapocalyptic dust, as in Walter Miller's classic novel \""\""A Canticle for Leibowitz\""\"", or devolve into relentlessly dark and rain-soaked urban landscapes, as in Ridley Scott's \""\""Blade Runner\""\""?William Katerberg takes a new look at works of utopian, dystopian, and apocalyptic science fiction to show how narratives of the past and future powerfully shape our understanding of the present-day West. Combining intellectual history, literary analysis, and political philosophy, his study boldly encourages readers to reframe their understanding of both popular Western culture and .