From the (e)Bookshelf: Astounding [...] the Golden Age of Science Fiction

I happened to see a report the winner of a science fiction award named after John W. Campbell had criticized that editor during her acceptance speech. Campbell may be dead almost fifty years by now, but I’ll admit to knowing enough about his prejudices (implied, perhaps, in a big slice of science fiction “old” may be too quick a description of seeming capable of imagining everything but the inclusion of visible diversity) to think they’re unfortunately still a problem. (The specific criticism could also have had something to do with a somewhat convergent slice of science fiction ready enough to write off any form of democracy to have some jumped-up variant or another of aristocracy rule the future in perpetuity instead of finding some more imaginative solution, which I’ll admit irks me too.) As I took in a discussion of this, though, I did happen to see a recent biography on Campbell and some of his most widely recognizable authors brought up. When I looked up the e-book version on a whim, it seemed affordable enough to take a chance on and see a new perspective on things, so I bought Alec Nevala-Lee’s Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction.
( Is the golden age twelve? )