{"product_id":"return-from-the-stars-9780262538480","title":"Return from the Stars","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn astronaut returns to Earth after a ten-year mission and finds a society that he barely recognizes.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eStanislaw Lem's \u003ci\u003eReturn from the Stars\u003c\/i\u003e recounts the experiences of Hal Bregg, an astronaut who returns from an exploratory mission that lasted ten years--although because of time dilation, 127 years have passed on Earth. Bregg finds a society that he hardly recognizes, in which danger has been eradicated. Children are \"betrizated\" to remove all aggression and violence--a process that also removes all impulse to take risks and explore. The people of Earth view Bregg and his crew as \"resuscitated Neanderthals,\" and pressure them to undergo betrization. Bregg has serious difficulty in navigating the new social mores.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile Lem's depiction of a risk-free society is bleak, he does not portray Bregg and his fellow astronauts as heroes. Indeed, faced with no opposition to his aggression, Bregg behaves abominably. He is faced with a choice: leave Earth again and hope to return to a different society in several hundred years, or stay on Earth and learn to be content. With \u003ci\u003eReturn from the Stars\u003c\/i\u003e, Lem shows the shifting boundaries between utopia and dystopia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLem, Stanislaw:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Stanislaw Lem (1921-2006), a writer called \"worthy of the Nobel Prize\" by the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, was an internationally renowned author of novels, short stories, literary criticism, and philosophical essays. His books have been translated into forty-four languages and have sold more than thirty million copies.","brand":"MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50642052317458,"sku":"9780262538480","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_9c6cd8ac-8012-4f9d-87d3-9bd97c9612c8.jpg?v=1733054348","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/return-from-the-stars-9780262538480","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}