Science and Invention

Science and invention is a very important theme in this short story collection. A lot of the author's stories are science fiction, and many explore the positive and negative effects of science on humans. This is explored on both a small personal scale, and on the much larger scale of what scientific advancement means for mankind.

The most obvious form of scientific advancement seen in the stories is space flight. The author experienced the shift into the Space Age, when in 1957 Russia sent the first satellite into space, in 1961 the first human, and in 1969 the USA sent the first human to walk on the moon. These advancements must have seemed incredible to the author, and it is obvious that they affected him profoundly. In many of his stories he explores the wonder and awe attached to rockets and space travel, as well as ideas about how...