Stop Look and Dig

George Oliver SmithProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 33K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Stop Look and Dig by George O. SmithAuthor: Smith, George O. (George Oliver), 1911-1981,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 29, 2006

Editor's review

Stop Look and Dig is an English-language science fiction work by George O. Smith, released as a free ebook by Project Gutenberg. Smith was active in mid-twentieth-century science fiction, and his work often carries the technological optimism and speculative spirit characteristic of the genre in that era. The book is short and serves as a window into early American science fiction short-form writing. As a public-domain ebook, it costs nothing to obtain and can be opened at any time on an electronic device. For readers who want to trace the development of the science fiction genre or to approach original English-language science fiction in a light way, this book offers a convenient entry point. While reading, note the scientific ideas and narrative pacing, and consider how early science fiction differed from contemporary science fiction in its concerns. Note that the book is in the original English and that available information provides no more detailed summary; readers should sample it to judge whether it suits their taste.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want a low-cost way to approach original English-language science fiction
Those interested in mid-twentieth-century American science fiction short stories
Readers who want public-domain ebooks for fragmented reading time
Enthusiasts studying the development of early science fiction as a genre

Not a good fit for

Readers who need a Chinese translation and do not wish to read the English original
Readers expecting a complete, long-form science fiction world
Those who are uncomfortable with the narrative pacing of early science fiction

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the plot; do not look up every unfamiliar word, so as not to interrupt the reading rhythm.
Adjust font and line spacing on an e-reader and read in segments during commutes or before bed.
After finishing, revisit the key scientific premises and consider how they differ from contemporary science fiction imaginings.
If the author interests you, look up his other public-domain works on Project Gutenberg.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?

The book is in the original English, with the language labeled as English, and is a free ebook released by Project Gutenberg. Available information shows no official Chinese translation, so Chinese readers need some ability to read English.

Is this book suitable for science fiction beginners?

It can serve as light English-language science fiction sampling, but it is an early work whose narrative style differs from contemporary science fiction. If you are just starting to read English science fiction, try the first few pages to see whether the language difficulty and pacing suit you.

How can I get this book?

The book is released by Project Gutenberg as a free public-domain ebook and can be found on its platform by searching the title. The download formats available are those shown on the platform page.

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About the author

George Oliver Smith Author · American · 1911–1981

George Oliver Smith (1911–1981) was an American science fiction writer and electronics engineer. Active during the Golden Age of science fiction in the 1940s, he is known for the "Venus Equilateral" series of space-communications-station stories, which often combine engineering detail with space adventure. The library holds 10 of his works, including Operation Interstellar, The Fourth R, History Repeats, Amateur in Chancery, Instinct, Highways in Hiding, The Troublemakers, and The Big Fix. Most of these are short stories or novellas dealing with interstellar communication, future societies, and the ethics of technology, reflecting his preference for exploring technological consequences from an engineer's perspective. Public information about his life and career is limited, but these works sufficiently show his distinctive place in Golden Age science fiction.