Book excerpt: "An unbelievably wonderful book"-Isaac Asimov *****The World Beyond the Hill is a unique book-a story about stories. It tells not only where science fiction came from and how it got that way, but what science fiction means. *** Science fiction has been the myth of modern times. The World Beyond the Hill is the tale of that myth from Frankenstein to Galactic Empire. *** By setting forth this evolving story, The World Beyond the Hill sheds light not only on what modern culture has been thinking and doing, but where we are going next and what we need to become. *** The World Beyond the Hill won a non-fiction Hugo Award in competition with books by Arthur C. Clarke, Harlan Ellison, Ursula LeGuin and Robert Heinlein