This collection traces the evolution of a literary genre: the British speculative future war novel. Taking science fiction from the 1890s, this set explores the various ways in which the science fiction tradition can be interpreted.

Edogawa Rampo (pseudonym of Hirai Taro, 1894-1965) is the acknowledged grand master of Japan's golden age of crime and mystery fiction. He is also a major writer in the tradition of Japanese Modernism, and exerts a massive influence on the popular and literary culture of today's Japan. The Edogawa Rampo Reader presents a selection of outstanding examples of his short fiction, and a selection of his non-fiction prose. Together, they present a full and accurate picture of Rampo as a major contributor to the Japanese literary scene, helping to clarify his achievements to the English-speaking...

Takayuki Tatsumi is one of Japan's leading cultural critics, renowned for his work on American literature and culture. With his encyclopedic knowledge and fan's love of both Japanese and American art and literature, he is perhaps uniquely well situated to offer this study of the dynamic crosscurrents between the avant-gardes and pop cultures of Japan and the United States. In "Full Metal Apache," Tatsumi looks at the work of artists from both sides of the Pacific: fiction writers and poets, folklorists and filmmakers, "anime" artists, playwrights, musicians, "manga" creators, and performance...