Booker, M Keith
Entry updated 14 July 2026. Tagged: Author, Critic.
(1953- ) US academic, professor in the department of English at the University of Arkansas, and prolific author of nonfiction studies, many of relevance to sf themes, genre Cinema, Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror and genre Television. Titles of sf interest began with the substantial Dystopia reference Dystopian Literature: A Theory and Research Guide (1994), a theme to which Booker would return both as author and as editor [see Checklist below]. Monsters, Mushroom Clouds, and the Cold War: American Science Fiction and the Roots of Postmodernism, 1946-1964 (2001) is impressive for its cross-connecting scope. A single television franchise, Star Trek, is the focus of Star Trek: A Cultural History (2018).
Several edited works are also of genre interest, ranging from Critical Essays on Salman Rushdie (anth 1999) via the Aldous Huxley symposium Critical Insights: Brave New World (anth 2014) to a very substantial survey of Isaac Asimov, Critical Insights: Isaac Asimov (anth 2017). Even when only Fantastika-related titles are considered, Booker's output is impressive. [DRL]
Marvin Keith Booker
born USA: 21 May 1953
works (highly selected)
nonfiction
- Dystopian Literature: A Theory and Research Guide (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994) [nonfiction: Dystopia: hb/nonpictorial]
- The Dystopian Impulse in Modern Literature: Fiction as Social Criticism (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994) [nonfiction: Dystopia: in the publisher's Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy series: hb/nonpictorial]
- Monsters, Mushroom Clouds, and the Cold War: American Science Fiction and the Roots of Postmodernism, 1946-1964 (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2001) [nonfiction: Cold War, Postmodernism and SF: in the publisher's Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy series: hb/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction Television (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2004) [nonfiction: Television: hb/]
- Alternate Americas: Science Fiction Film and American Culture (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2006) [nonfiction: Cinema: hb/]
- May Contain Graphic Material: Comic Books, Graphic Novels, and Film (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2007) [nonfiction: Comics, Graphic Novels: hb/]
- Red, White, and Spooked: The Supernatural in American Culture (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2008) [nonfiction: ebook: Superheroes, Supernatural Creatures: na/]
- The Science Fiction Handbook (Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley/Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) with Anne-Marie Thomas [nonfiction: hb/Colin Anderson]
- Superpower: Heroes, Ghosts, and the Paranormal in American Culture (Lincoln, Nebraska: Bison Books, 2010) [nonfiction: Superheroes, Supernatural Creatures: pb/]
- Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Cinema (Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2010) [nonfiction: Cinema: hb/]
- Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction in Literature (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2014) [nonfiction: ebook: na/]
- Star Trek: A Cultural History (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2018) [nonfiction: Star Trek: hb/]
works as editor
- Critical Essays on Salman Rushdie (New York: G K Hall, 1999) [nonfiction: anth: Salman Rushdie: pb/nonpictorial]
- The Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels (Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Press, 2010) [nonfiction: published in two volumes: Comics, Graphic Novels: hb/]
- Critical Insights: Dystopia (Ipswich, Massachusetts: Salem Press, 2012) [nonfiction: anth: Dystopia: in the publisher's Critical Insights series: hb/]
- Critical Insights: Contemporary Speculative Fiction (Ipswich, Massachusetts: Salem Press, 2013) [nonfiction: anth: Dystopia: in the publisher's Critical Insights series: hb/]
- Critical Insights: Brave New World (Amenia, New York: Salem Press, 2014) [nonfiction: anth: Aldous Huxley: hb/photographic]
- Comics through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas (Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Press, 2014) [nonfiction: published in four volumes: Comics: hb/]
- Critical Insights: Isaac Asimov (Amenia, New York: Salem Press, 2017) [nonfiction: anth: Isaac Asimov: hb/photographic]
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