To Save Earth

Ludwig, Edward W., 1920-1990Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 61K words
Chapters: 7

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.To Save Earth by Edward W. LudwigAuthor: Ludwig, Edward W., 1920-1990,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Sep 16, 2016

Editor's review

To Save Earth is a short science fiction work by the American author Edward W. Ludwig. It is not long and has the typical character of mid-twentieth-century science fiction magazine pieces: it starts from a crisis that concerns the survival of Earth, quickly establishes conflict within a limited space, and drives toward a twist. Such works often do not aim for elaborate world-building but rely on a core premise and a final reversal to create tension, making them suitable for reading in one sitting and then mulling over. As a public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg, it is easy to obtain and serves as a sample of early English-language short science fiction. While reading, pay attention to how the author builds a crisis narrative with few characters and scenes, and to where the value judgment lands at the end. Readers interested in the genre can treat it as a light genre reading experience.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy short science fiction and want to finish a complete story in a short time
Science fiction fans who want to understand the style of mid-twentieth-century English-language short science fiction
Teachers and students who need English short stories for extensive reading or classroom discussion

Not a good fit for

Hard science fiction readers who prefer long-form world-building and complex premises
Readers looking for the latest themes and narrative techniques in contemporary science fiction

Reading tips

Read it through in one go without stopping to look up words, then revisit the key turning points afterward.
After reading, try to summarize the core crisis and its resolution in a few sentences to check your understanding.
Read it alongside other early science fiction short stories and compare themes and techniques.

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 work a novel or a short story?

From the information available, it is a short science fiction work of limited length, suitable for reading in one or two sittings. Do not expect elaborate long-form development; the focus is on the core premise and the twist at the end.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for English learners?

As a mid-twentieth-century English-language science fiction short story, the language is relatively direct and the narrative pace is fast, making it suitable for extensive reading by readers with intermediate English ability. Skim over specialized or period-specific vocabulary and deal with it after finishing the whole piece.

What should I watch for when reading a public-domain ebook?

Public-domain ebooks are easy to obtain, but the quality of layout and proofreading varies. If you notice obvious errors or omissions, check against other public-domain sources. For citation, confirm the source of the text and avoid relying on a single electronic version.

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About the author

Ludwig, Edward W., 1920-1990 Author

Edward W. Ludwig (1920–1990) was an American author of science fiction whose life and writing career are poorly documented in publicly available sources. Seven of his works are held in this collection, including A Coffin for Jacob, Spacemen Die at Home, The Lonely Ones, To Save Earth, The Holes and John Smith, Juvenile Delinquent, and The Drivers. These pieces are mostly short science fiction and fantasy stories, often dealing with space exploration, threats to Earth, and the predicaments of marginal figures. His narrative style is concise and typical of mid-twentieth-century science fiction magazine fiction. Though not a widely known star author, Ludwig's short stories circulated in the science fiction periodicals of his day and are now regarded as part of the genre literature of that period, retaining some reference value for readers studying early short science fiction.