I love it when one of these posts provokes some of you folks to take action, like commenting, but in this case — sharing a relevant scan.
This page shows the quote of Emerson's that inspired the story:
"If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore, and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God!"
John Campbell, the editor at the time, of Astounding Science-Fiction responded to Asimov, "I should think they would go mad."
Thanks OtherEric!
Kolliker — Astounding Science-Fiction— interior pulp illustration
2 comments:
Sorry I didn't say anything in here in addition to shooting you the image; although thinking about it responding to images with more images is perfectly appropriate in its own way.
The Astoundings from 1939 to 1943 or so are utterly mind-boggling if you ever come across an issue; beautiful art and stories that are genuine classics of science-fiction in pretty much every issue.
Asimov originally wrote “Nightfall” with a triumphant ending, but Campbell insisted that the story would be more effective as one in which the best efforts failed.
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