Rating: 
Summary: Great Sci-Fi Novel Inspired the Movie
Review: I have been trying to order an Interociter from "Technical Service Unit Ten" since the first time I read this book in the mid 1950's. Sigh .... It has a great theme which is excellently explained by other reviewers here. I want to comment on the quality of the printing. I don't know who "Forrest J. Ackerman" is, but I would bet that either he or his Bean Counting Accountants have dictated a book that looks and feels just like one of the Tiajuana Sex books from the late 1940's. Cruddy paper, muddled printing and so many typographical errors I wonder if they even HAVE proof readers? Well, OK, maybe they print this over in Boola-Boola Land or Eastern Fredonia where the English Language is not well known. I think it is outrageous that there is a list price of almost 20 bucks for this lousy printing and binding job. My recommendation is to wait until the PDF version comes out and download it and print it off on your home laser printer. At least then you can run spell check and format it properly without "Widows and Orphans" and other awful mistakes of style.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome Back, Old Friend But the Printing Company Suckz
Review: I have been trying to order an Interociter from "Technical Service Unit Ten" since the first time I read this book in the mid 1950's. Sigh .... It has a great theme which is excellently explained by other reviewers here. I want to comment on the quality of the printing. I don't know who "Forrest J. Ackerman" is, but I would bet that either he or his Bean Counting Accountants have dictated a book that looks and feels just like one of the Tiajuana Sex books from the late 1940's. Cruddy paper, muddled printing and so many typographical errors I wonder if they even HAVE proof readers? Well, OK, maybe they print this over in Boola-Boola Land or Eastern Fredonia where the English Language is not well known. I think it is outrageous that there is a list price of almost 20 bucks for this lousy printing and binding job. My recommendation is to wait until the PDF version comes out and download it and print it off on your home laser printer. At least then you can run spell check and format it properly without "Widows and Orphans" and other awful mistakes of style.
Rating:
Summary: Great '50s science fiction
Review: I was born in 1947 and first read this book when I was in junior high school. I also saw the movie around the same time (say, age 10-13), but it was not as good as the book. Leonard Maltin said of the movie something like "lacks the existential ending of the book." This *really* made me want to reread the book. About 10 years ago, I found a used copy, read it and loved it, then gave it to a friend. So I was thrilled to find this re-issue, produced by Forrest Ackerman, who was the literary agent of Jones and several other science-fiction writers of that era. Jones has a dark view of humanity. As someone who came of age in the '60s, I'm surprised to hear characters in the book (written 1952) express some of the thoughts my friends and I thought were so new during the anti-war movement. Jones is also intrigued by randomness and statistics. This fascination figures in the ending of this book as well as in the theme of his "Non-statistical Man" (also quite worthwhile). As for the existential ending, well, I agree, until we get to the last sentence, which Sartre never could have written. But read it and decide for yourself. Once you do, hook up your interociter and we can trade thoughts.
Rating:
Summary: Great Sci-Fi Novel Inspired the Movie
Review: If you have ever seen the spectatular 1950s science fiction film, This Island Earth, you should read this, the book it's based on. Even if you haven't here is an exceptional sci-fi novel any reader can appreciate. It has a strong heroine, and takes place mostly on Earth. The author was one of the top writers of his time. When engineer Cal Meacham places a routine order for parts, he never dreams he is making himself a pawn in a struggle for galactic supremacy. For a mysterious group of aliens who call themselves "The Peace Engineers" are looking for a few good men and women. When the replacement part arrives, it is far superior to anything Earth science could produce. His attempts to track down the source of this alien technology lead him to the Peace Engineers Arizona laboratory, where he meets Ruth Adams, an industrial psychologist working for the Engineers who is suspicious of their motives. Dazzled by the promise of the Engineers advanced science, Cal ignores Ruth's concerns at first. But soon he discovers two things that will change his life forever: The first is that he is falling in love with Ruth Adams; the second is that the two of them have been drawn into deadly game in which solar systems are the prizes, Earth is but an insignificant island caught between the fire of two cosmic enemies and about to be destroyed! Cal and Ruth realize that if they are to save their home world they will have to outwit the enemy and out-think their friends-or there can be no future for their love or the human race. Go for it!
Rating: 
Summary: This Island Earth is one of the best of the old pulp SFtales
Review: On the bookshelves today, you will find Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and, if you are lucky, E.E. Doc. Smith. They are all that remain of the myriad of pulp science fiction writers of years ago. The early part of the twentieth century was filled with a number of very good pulp writers in all genres but this style of writing has nearly disappeared. Some of their stories have disappeared for good reasons but many others were lost in the passage of time. This Island Earth is one of those lost. Reading it, you can tell that it was written before political correctness. There is a naivete about the writing with a harshness of someone who has experienced the atrocities of a world at war. It follows the single idea based science fiction writing of the era. The idea is intriguing, 'what would happen if you found a manual of a super high tech machine that seems to be based on scientific ideas no one has seen or heard before.' This Island Earth starts with an engineer, Cal Meacham, receiving an order of parts that look impossible. When Cal asks for a catalogue from the company, he receives a listing of parts that shouldn't exist and instructions on making a device called an interocitor. Forgetting the adage about curiousity killing the cat, Cal orders the parts to make the interocitor. Single mindedly Cal forges ahead more interested in the engineering and science than what it could mean. Cal doesn't see the danger to himself and the earth until it is too late to stop. This Island Earth isn't the best written novel. A common practice in the pulp magazine period is to string a series of short stories together into a novel. This Island Earth is a composite of three short stories written over a period of years and it is possible to tell the change of focus between the novelletes. Although pulp writing sometimes lacks a finished polish, it can be great storytelling. Science fiction readers will appreciate glimpsing the roots of today's genre. Historical readers will enjoy the insight into the social mind set of the post World War II and early Cold War period. But anyone who likes good storytelling will enjoy This Island Earth.
Rating:
Summary: This Island Earth is one of the best of the old pulp SFtales
Review: On the bookshelves today, you will find Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and, if you are lucky, E.E. Doc. Smith. They are all that remain of the myriad of pulp science fiction writers of years ago. The early part of the twentieth century was filled with a number of very good pulp writers in all genres but this style of writing has nearly disappeared. Some of their stories have disappeared for good reasons but many others were lost in the passage of time. This Island Earth is one of those lost. Reading it, you can tell that it was written before political correctness. There is a naivete about the writing with a harshness of someone who has experienced the atrocities of a world at war. It follows the single idea based science fiction writing of the era. The idea is intriguing, 'what would happen if you found a manual of a super high tech machine that seems to be based on scientific ideas no one has seen or heard before.' This Island Earth starts with an engineer, Cal Meacham, receiving an order of parts that look impossible. When Cal asks for a catalogue from the company, he receives a listing of parts that shouldn't exist and instructions on making a device called an interocitor. Forgetting the adage about curiousity killing the cat, Cal orders the parts to make the interocitor. Single mindedly Cal forges ahead more interested in the engineering and science than what it could mean. Cal doesn't see the danger to himself and the earth until it is too late to stop. This Island Earth isn't the best written novel. A common practice in the pulp magazine period is to string a series of short stories together into a novel. This Island Earth is a composite of three short stories written over a period of years and it is possible to tell the change of focus between the novelletes. Although pulp writing sometimes lacks a finished polish, it can be great storytelling. Science fiction readers will appreciate glimpsing the roots of today's genre. Historical readers will enjoy the insight into the social mind set of the post World War II and early Cold War period. But anyone who likes good storytelling will enjoy This Island Earth.
Rating:
Summary: This Island Earth can be your's if ..........
Review: This book is great if anyone saw the movie and wants to read the book you won't be dissapointed. Although it gets diffrent halfway you can still see parts that the movie did put in. If you are a fan of the movie you can tell that in the book they realy picked out the right actors for the movie. It is an interesting way how Russel Johnsons' character (the professer) blew up in the book than he did in the movie. The interociters also can pick up brain waves. There are typos however that make it anoying. But just the fact that Raymond F. Jones' fun story is available you can surpass that. Prepare to find out what is going on out there over are heads above THIS ISLAND EARTH!
Rating:
Summary: Pulp Science Fiction
Review: This is a fun book to read if you are into 50's science fiction. The movie is equally entertaining and if you have seen it yet it's worth a try. Order a pizza, pop some popcorn, and curl up with your woman and enjoy a fun movie.
Rating:
Summary: An imaginitive SF Classic! Dated, but has aged well.
Review: This is a true Science Fiction classic. I first read it when I was in Middle School, and it made quite an impression on me as a fantastic story with a wild premise, well-told. Picking it up thirty-five years later, the novel has lost none of its punch or impact. This is a true science fiction classic. The premise of the novel is simple enough: Earth is being visited by warring factions of a monstrously large inter-galactic conflict. Each side views Earth as an obscure planet of limited importance, much as the US Navy might have viewed certain obscure islands in the Pacific during the Second World War. The protagonists become caught up in this conflict in a very interesting way. More would be telling, but suffice to say, this is a really interesting story, and its premise has not been done better (to my knowledge) in any science fiction novels that have come later. This one is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys good science fiction.
Rating:
Summary: An imaginitive SF Classic! Dated, but has aged well.
Review: This is a true Science Fiction classic. I first read it when I was in Middle School, and it made quite an impression on me as a fantastic story with a wild premise, well-told. Picking it up thirty-five years later, the novel has lost none of its punch or impact. This is a true science fiction classic. The premise of the novel is simple enough: Earth is being visited by warring factions of a monstrously large inter-galactic conflict. Each side views Earth as an obscure planet of limited importance, much as the US Navy might have viewed certain obscure islands in the Pacific during the Second World War. The protagonists become caught up in this conflict in a very interesting way. More would be telling, but suffice to say, this is a really interesting story, and its premise has not been done better (to my knowledge) in any science fiction novels that have come later. This one is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys good science fiction.
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