The Author: Sonja Fritzsche received her B.A. from Indiana University in both History and German. In 1995 she received an M.A. in Modern European History from UCLA and, in 2001, a Ph.D. in Germanic Studies from the University of Minnesota. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor in German and Eastern European Studies at Illinois Wesleyan University. She has published articles on East German science fiction film, fandom, and literature.

«Fritzsche legt mit diesem Buch ein Standardwerk vor, das weitere Untersuchungen zur DDR-Science-fiction erst möglich macht.» (Thomas Kramer, Germanistik)«Fritzsche provides a competent overview of GDR sf for English-language readers.» (Franz Rottensteiner, Science Fiction Studies)

• Contents: German Science Fiction before 1949 – Reconciling Science Fiction with Socialist Realism (1949-1960) – «Fantasy – Idea – Realization» (1961-1970) – Utopian Realism - The Case of Eberhardt Del Antonio’s Return of the Forefathers – An East German New Wave (1971-1980) – Ambiguous Utopia - Johanna and Günter Brauns’ Uncanny Manifestations on Omega XI – Utopian/Dystopian Resurgence in a Time of Perestroika (1981-1990) – Searching for Utopia - Angela and Karlheinz Steinmüllers’ The Dream Master – Bleibt was? East German Science Fiction Since 1989.