The Great Drought

Sterner St. Paul MeekProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 49K words
Chapters: 5

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.The Great Drought by S. P. MeekAuthor: Meek, S. P. (Sterner St. Paul), 1894-1972,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jul 5, 2009

Editor's review

The Great Drought comes from the American early science fiction author S. P. Meek and is a work centered on a large-scale drought, presented as a public-domain ebook by Project Gutenberg. Meek's works are often regarded as representative of pulp-magazine-era science fiction, favoring pushing scientific hypotheses to extremes and then observing how human society responds. The book's appeal lies in the tension between the disaster setting and the characters' responses: when scarcity of resources becomes the norm, order, technology, and human nature are all re-examined. For today's readers, it is both a sample for understanding how science fiction in the first half of the twentieth century imagined environmental crisis and a work that forms an intriguing contrast with contemporary climate issues. The English original is of moderate length, suitable for genre literature fans doing extensive reading and for researchers as a case study of early disaster science fiction. While reading, one should note its period narrative habits and need not judge it by the refined standards of contemporary ecological fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early disaster science fiction and environmental themes
Literature fans studying the pulp-magazine science fiction tradition
Intermediate learners needing English short fiction for extensive reading
Readers who enjoy deducing social responses from extreme settings

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer the delicate character portrayal of contemporary climate fiction
Learners with weak English foundations who rely on Chinese translations
Readers less receptive to old-fashioned science fiction narration

Reading tips

While reading, note how the drought setting drives character decisions and social change
Compare with contemporary climate-themed works to trace changes in disaster imagination
For extensive English reading, proceed in two passes: first grasp the plot, then revisit the unfolding of scientific hypotheses
After reading, record the technological response plans in the book and assess their period plausibility

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

What is the theme of this book?

Judging from the title and the author's style, the work revolves around a large-scale drought and belongs to the early science fiction type that deduces social and human responses from an extreme environmental setting. Specific plot details should be based on the original text; readers may regard it as an early sample of disaster science fiction.

Is it suitable as English learning material?

The original language is English, the length is short, and the narration is direct; learners with intermediate reading ability can finish it with a dictionary. It is better suited as extensive reading material than as a systematic language textbook.

Why is it recommended to read it alongside contemporary works?

Early disaster science fiction focuses on setting-based deduction and social response, while contemporary climate fiction places more emphasis on characters and ecological detail. Comparing the two clearly reveals changes in how genre literature handles issues, making the reading more concretely rewarding.

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About the author

Sterner St. Paul Meek Author · American · 1894–1972

S. P. Meek (Sterner St. Paul Meek, 1894–1972) was an American Army chemist and an early writer of science fiction and children's literature. Born in Chicago and died in Palm Beach, Florida, he published more than twenty science fiction stories in pulp magazines such as Astounding Science Fiction and Amazing Stories between 1929 and 1933, becoming known for serialized tales. His representative works include The Solar Magnet, B. C. 30,000, Giants on the Earth, Poisoned Air, and The Great Drought. After retiring as a colonel in 1947, he turned to children's literature and published over twenty books about dogs and horses. Public information on his life and work is limited; his surviving works show a talent for blending scientific ideas into adventure narratives in an accessible style, making him a noteworthy figure of the pulp science fiction era.