Clifford Geary

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Clifford Geary
Born(1916-02-26)February 26, 1916
Somerville, Massachusetts, US [1]
Died May 31, 2008(2008-05-31) (aged 92)
Milford, Massachusetts, US [1]
Nationality American
Known for Illustration

Clifford N. Geary (February 26, 1916 – May 31, 2008) [1] was an American illustrator of science fiction, [2] especially Robert A. Heinlein's "juvenile series" published by Scribner's from 1948 to 1956, and of popular science.

Science fiction genre of fiction

Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction, typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a "literature of ideas".

Robert A. Heinlein American science fiction author

Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science-fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and retired Naval officer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", He was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.

Heinlein juveniles are the young adult novels written by Robert A. Heinlein. The twelve novels were published by Scribner's between 1947 and 1958, which together tell a single story of space exploration. A thirteenth, Starship Troopers, was submitted to Scribner's but rejected and instead published by Putnam. A fourteenth novel, Podkayne of Mars, is often listed as a "Heinlein juvenile", although Heinlein himself did not consider it to be one.

Contents

Many of his Heinlein illustrations are done in a reversed-ground white-on-black style. Alexei Panshin's "Heinlein in Dimension" (a controversial work that Heinlein is said to have disavowed) acknowledges Geary's contribution to this important element of the Heinlein oeuvre, calling his work "quite unusual and quite striking."

Geary was raised in the Boston area and was educated at the Massachusetts School of Art. In later life he lived in Brooklyn and the Adirondacks. His book illustrations were sometimes credited to "Clifford Geary".

Massachusetts School of Art

The Massachusetts School of Art is an historic academic building at 364 Brookline Avenue in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The four-story Gothic/Art Deco building was designed by the architectural firm of Henry & Richmond, and was built in 1929-30 for the Massachusetts College of Art. The school occupied the building until 1983, when it moved to its present campus on Huntington Avenue. The building is now part of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Books illustrated

By Geary

Heinlein

<i>Space Cadet</i> novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Space Cadet is a 1948 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein about Matt Dodson, who joins the Space Patrol to help preserve peace in the Solar System. The story translates the standard military academy story into outer space: a boy from Iowa goes to officer school, sees action and adventure, shoulders responsibilities far beyond his experience, and becomes a man. It was published as the second of the series of Heinlein juveniles and inspired the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet media empire, including the 1950s television series and radio show which made "Space Cadet" a household phrase whose meaning later shifted in popular culture.

<i>Red Planet</i> (novel) novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Red Planet is a 1949 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein about students at boarding school on the planet Mars. It represents the first appearance of Heinlein's idealized Martian elder race. The version published in 1949 featured a number of changes forced on Heinlein by Scribner's, since it was published as part of the Heinlein juveniles. After Heinlein's death, the book was reissued by Del Rey Books as the author originally intended.

<i>Farmer in the Sky</i> 1950 novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Farmer In The Sky is a 1950 science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein about a teenaged boy who emigrates with his family to Jupiter's moon Ganymede, which is in the process of being terraformed. Among Heinlein's juveniles, a condensed version of the novel was published in serial form in Boys' Life magazine, under the title "Satellite Scout". The novel was awarded a Retro Hugo in 2001.

Margaret O. Hyde

Other

Lynn Poole was the creator and host of an early U.S. science television program, The Johns Hopkins Science Review (1948–1955), and the author of more than 20 popular science books. In 2002, Patrick Lucanio and Gary Coville wrote that "In retrospect, Lynn Poole created one of those unique series that allowed television to fulfill its idealized mission as both an educational and an entertainment medium." The "pioneering program" made Poole a "surprise star". Marcel LaFollette argues that contemporary science television such as NOVA and the Discovery Channel are derived from the innovations of Poole and others.

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<i>Between Planets</i> novel by Robert A. Heinlein

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Gnome Press American small-press publishing company

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Clifford N. Geary". Obituaries; Chesmore Funeral Home (Chesmorefuneralhome.com). Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  2. "Geary, Clifford". Paid Notice: Deaths. The New York Times July 14, 2008. Retrieved 2010-06-06.

The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy fiction and horror fiction. The ISFDB is a volunteer effort, with both the database and wiki being open for editing and user contributions. The ISFDB database and code are available under Creative Commons licensing and there is support within both Wikipedia and ISFDB for interlinking. The data are reused by other organizations, such as Freebase, under the creative commons license.

Library of Congress (de facto) national library of the United States of America

The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. The Library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; it also maintains the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia. The Library's functions are overseen by the Librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol. The Library of Congress has claims to be the largest library in the world. Its "collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 450 languages."