Philip Gordon Wylie
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Philip Gordon Wylie (May 12, 1902 - October 25, 1971) was a U.S. author.
Philip Gordon Wylie was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1902. His family moved to Montclair, New Jersey and he later attended Princeton University during 1920-1923. A writer of fiction and nonfiction, his output included hundreds of short stories, articles, serials, syndicated newspaper columns, novels, and works of social criticism. He also wrote screenplays while in Hollywood, was an editor for Farrar & Rinehart, served on the Dade County, Florida Defense Council, was a director of the Lerner Marine Laboratory, and at one time was a special advisor to the chairman of the Joint Committee for Atomic Energy. Most of his major writings contain critical, though often philosophical, views on man and society as a result of his studies and interest in psychology, biology, ethnology, and physics. He died in 1971.
While today he would be considered a techno-thriller writer, similar to Tom Clancy, two of his earliest books exercised great influence in twentieth-century science fiction pulp magazines and comicbooks:
- "Gladiator" (1930) inspired the comic-book character "Superman".
- "The Savage Gentleman" (1932) inspired the pulp-fiction and radio character "Doc Savage".
He also co-wrote When Worlds Collide with Edwin Balmer. It was adapted into a film by producer George Pal.
Writing as he did when we had less potent current technology available to us, he applied engineering principles and the scientific method quite broadly in his work. His the Disappearance is about what happens when everyone wakes up one day and finds that anyone of the opposite sex is missing (all the men have to get along without women, and vice versa). Many people at the time considered it as relevant to science fiction as his Experiment in Crime.
In non-fantasy related subjects: his book of essays, Generation of Vipers, was a best-seller during the 1940s and inspired the term "Momism". Some people have accused Generation of Vipers of being misogynistic. The Disappearance shows his thinking on the subject is very complex. His novel of manners Finley Wren was also highly regarded in its time. His "Crunch and Des" stories, an apparent influence on John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee books have a following today.
External Links:
Fantastic Fiction's bibliography of his works. (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Philip_Wylie.htm)