Fourth Estate
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
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London W6 8JB
This edition published by Fourth Estate in 2014
First published in Great Britain by Flamingo in 2001
This collection copyright © J. G. Ballard 2001
Most of the stories in this book previously appeared in the following collections:
The Terminal Beach © J. G. Ballard 1964; The Disaster Area © J. G. Ballard 1967; The Day of Forever © J. G. Ballard 1967; The Atrocity Exhibition © J. G. Ballard 1969; Vermilion Sands © J. G. Ballard 1971; Low-Flying Aircraft © J. G. Ballard 1976; The Venus Hunters © J. G. Ballard 1980; Myths of the Near Future © J. G. Ballard 1982; War Fever © J. G. Ballard 1990
The following stories have not previously appeared in a collection of J. G. Ballard’s stories:
‘The Recognition’ © J. G. Ballard 1967; ‘A Guide to Virtual Death’ © J. G. Ballard 1992; ‘The Message from Mars’ © J. G. Ballard 1992; ‘Report from an Obscure Planet’ © J. G. Ballard 1992
The right of J. G. Ballard to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.
Introduction © Adam Thirlwell 2014
Interview © Travis Elborough 2004
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Cover by Stanley Donwood
Ebook Edition © APRIL 2014 ISBN: 9780007513611
Version: 2014-08-28
Contents
Introduction by Adam Thirlwell
The Gioconda of the Twilight Noon
The Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy Considered as a Downhill Motor Race
The Cloud-Sculptors of Coral D
Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan
The Greatest Television Show on Earth
My Dream of Flying to Wake Island