For most of the 1950s and into the early 1960s, John Wyndham was one of the most widely read English writers of speculative fiction. His books were reviewed not only by the science-fiction publications of the time but by such periodicals as Kirkus Reviews, The New Statesman, The New York Times, Library Journal, The Times Literary Supplement (TLS), and The New York Herald Tribune Book Review. Two of his novels were made into well-received feature-length movies, two others into BBC radio plays, and two of his shorter pieces into episodes of television series. More than twenty-five years after his death, new editions or reprints of his novels and short-fiction collections still appeared regularly. Certain of his works were still to be found on the recommended reading lists or syllabi of many British schools. The message repeated in his most important books--that humanity's continued viability as a species is...