Peace on Earth – Stanislaw Lem (1995) (1st UK ed)

S$72.00

Peace on Earth – Stanislaw Lem (1995) (1st UK ed)

S$72.00

A hilarious novel about moon colonisation by the author of Solaris.

Title: Peace on Earth

Author: Stanislaw Lem, Elinor Ford (trans), Michael Kandel (trans)

Publisher: Andre Deutsch, London, 1995. First UK edition.

Condition: Hardcover, with dust jacket. Near fine. Very faint and slight foxing to edges, else fine.

SKU: lem-peace Categories: , Tag:

About the book (from Wikipedia):

Peace on Earth is a 1985 science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. The novel describes, in a satirical tone, the ultimate implications of the arms race. It is a continuation of the adventures of Ijon Tichy.

The evolution of artificial intelligence has allowed major world powers to sign a rather curious treaty: the Moon is divided into national zones (proportional to each nation’s Earth real estate) and all weapons development and production must be moved there to be handled by factories. This is supposed to completely demilitarize Earth, achieving the long-sought dream of world peace. A MAD stabilizing factor is apparently preserved by the ability of countries, in case of war, to quickly ship weapons down from the Moon.

Unknown to most people, a problem arises. The ever-increasing amount of autonomy given to Moon’s automata, in order to conduct more-effective espionage in neighbors’ nation facilities and also to defend one’s own, leads to localized robotic conflicts on the Moon’s surface. Eventually, after a number of events, there is a total discontinuation of any communication with the Moon. After a number of failed expeditions to reveal the truth on what is going on beneath the Moon’s surface, Ijon Tichy is called to the rescue.

About the author (from Wikipedia):

Stanisław Lem (12/13 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical and humorous character. Lem’s books have been translated into over 40 languages and have sold over 45 million copies. Worldwide, he is best known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has been made into a feature film three times. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science fiction writer in the world. Lem’s science fiction works explore philosophical themes through speculations on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of communication with and understanding of alien intelligence, despair about human limitations, and humanity’s place in the Universe. His essays and philosophical books cover these and many other topics.