Amazing Stories/Volume 01/Number 01

Amazing Stories Volume 01, Number 01

April 1926

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page They Called Me a "Human Clam" But I Changed Almost Overnight WHAT 15 MINUTES A DAY WILL SHOW YOU How to talk before your club or lodge How to address Board Meetings How to propose and respond to toasts How to make a political speech How to tell entertaining stories How to make after-dinner speeches How to converse interestingly How to write letters How to sell more goods How to train your memory How to enlarge your vocabulary How to develop self-confidence How to acquire a winning personality How to strengthen your will-power and ambition How to become a clear, accurate thinker How to develop your power of concentration How to be the master of any situation AS I passed the President's office I could not help bearing my name. Instinctively I paused to listen. "That human clam," he was saying, "can't represent us. he's a hard worker, hot he seems to have no ability to express himself. I had hoped to make him a branch manager this fall, but he seems to withdraw farther and farther into his shell all the time. I've given up hopes of making anything out of him." So that was it! That was the reason why I had been passed over time and again when promotions were being made! That was why I was just a plodder—a truck horse for our firm, capable of doing a lot of heavy work, but of no use where brilliant performance was required. I was a failure unless I could do what seemed impossible—learn to use words forcefully, effectively and convincingly. In 15 Minutes a Day And then suddenly I discovered a new, easy method which made me a powerful speaker almost overnight. I learned how to bend others to my will, how to dominate one man or an audience of thousands. Soon I had on salary increases, promotion, popularity, power. Today I always have a ready flow of speech at my command. I am able to rise to any occasion, to meet any emergency with just the right words. And I accomplished all this by developing the natural power of speech possessed by everyone, but cultivated by so few—by simply spending 15 minutes a day in the privacy of my own home, on this most fascinating subject. * * * There is no magic, no trick, no mystery about becoming a powerful and convincing talker. You, too, can conquer timidity, the stage fright, self-consciousness and bashfulness, winning advancement in salary, popularity, social standing, and success. Today business demands for the big, important high-salaried jobs, men who can dominate others—men who can make others do as they wish. It is the power of forceful, convincing speech that causes one man to jump from obscurity to the presidency of of a great corporation; another from a small, unimportant territory to a salesmanager's desk: another from the rank and file of political workers to a post of national importance; a timid, retiring, self-conscious man to change almost overnight into a popular and much applauded after-dinner speaker. Thousands have accomplished just such amazing things through this simple, easy, yet effective training. Send For This Amazing Book This new method of training is fully described in a very interesting and informative booklet which is now being sent to everyone mailing the coupon below. This book is called, How to Work Wonders With Words. In it you are shown how to conquer stage fright, self-consciousness, timidity, bashfulness and fear—those things that keep you silent while men of lesser ability get what they want by the sheer power of convincing speech. Not only men who have made millions but thousands have sent for this book—and are unstinting in their praise of it. You are told how to bring out and develop your priceless "hidden knack"—the natural gift within you—which will win for you advancement in position and salary, popularity, social standing, power and real success. You can obtain your copy absolutely free by sending the coupon. Now Sent Free NORTH AMERICAN INSTITUTE 3601 Michigan Ave., Dept. 9384, Chicago, Illinois North American Institute, 3601 Michigan Ave., Dept. 9384 Chicago, Illinois. Please send me FREE and without obligation my copy of your famous book, How To Work Wonders With Words. Name Address City   State

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Vol. 1. No. 1

April, 1926

JULES VERNE'S TOMBSTONE AT AMIENS PORTRAYING HIS IMMORTALITY

EDITORIAL & GENERAL OFFICES: 53 Park Place, New York City
Published by Experimenter Publishing Company, Inc.
(H. Gernsback, Pres.; S. Gernsback, Treas.; R. W. DeMott, Sec'y)
Publishers of SCIENCE & INVENTION, RADIO NEWS, AMAZING STORIES, RADIO REVIEW, RADIO INTERNATIONAL.

Contents For April Off on a Comet—or Hector Servadac By Jules Verne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The New Accelerator By H. G. Wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 The Man From the Atom By G. Peyton Wertenbaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 The Thing From—Outside By George Allen England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 The Man Who Saved the Earth By Austin Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar By Edgar Allan Poe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 OUR COVER Depicts an interesting scene from "Off on a Comet" in this issue. Saturn and its rings in a close-up view, are silhouetted against the sky. COPYRIGHT ACKNOWLEDGMENT "Off on a Comet." by Jules Verne, copyright 1911 by Vincent Parke & Co., (Parke, Austin & Lipscomb Co.) In Our Next Issue: "A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH," by Jules Verne. This book, comparatively little known, is one of the most important of Verne's works. It holds your interest from beginning to end, and is by far the greatest work on this topic—namely the exploration of the earth's center—that has ever appeared. "THE CRYSTAL EGG," by H. G. Wells. One of the most amazing tales ever written by Wells. A story you will long remember by this master of scientifiction. "THE RUNAWAY SKYSCRAPER," by Murray Leinster. A story of the Fourth Dimension, in which the 50-story Metropolitan Life skyscraper vanishes into the Fourth Dimension. One of the most surprising tales we have ever read. "WHISPERING ETHER," by Charles S. Wolfe, a radio story that holds your interest and is responsible for a good deal of goose flesh and chills running up and down your spine. "OFF ON A COMET," by Jules Verne (Conclusion). A number of other short stories by well-known scientifiction writers. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE FOR "AMAZING STORIES." send your name, address and remittance to Experimenter Publishing Co., 53 Park Place, New York City. Checks and money orders should be made payable to Experimenter Publishing Co., Inc. Mention the name of the magazine you are ordering inasmuch as we also publish RADIO NEWS, SCIENCE & INVENTION, RADIO REVIEW and RADIO INTERNACIONAL. Subscriptions may be made in combination with the other publications just mentioned at special reduced club rates. Send postal for club rate card. Subscriptions start with the current issue unless otherwise ordered. ON EXPIRATION of your subscription we enclose a renewal blank in our last number to you, and notify you by mail. Them, unless we receive your order and remittance for a renewal, delivery of the magazine is stopped. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Notify us as far in advance as possible, giving your old address as well as the new one to which future magazines are to go. It takes several weeks to make an address change in our records. AMAZING STORIES is published on the 10th of each month. There are 12 numbers per year. Subscription price is $2.50 a year in U. S. and possessions. Canada and foreign countries $3.00 a year. U. S. coin as well as U. S. stamps accepted (no foreign coin or stamps). Single copies, 25 cents each. A sample copy will be sent gratis on request. All communications and contributions to this journal should be addressed to Editor AMAZING STORIES, 53 Park Place, New York, N. Y. Unaccepted contributions cannot be returned unless full postage has been included. ALL accepted contributions are paid for on publication. AMAZING STORIES. Monthly. Application for second class matter at the Post Office at New York, N. Y. pending. Title Registered U. S. Patent Office. Copyright 1925, by E. P. Co. Inc., New York. The text and illustrations of this magazine are copyrighted and must not be reproduced without giving full credit to the publication. AMAZING STORIES is for sale at all newstands in the United States and Canada. European Agents, S. J. Wise Et Cle, 40 Place Verte, Antwerp, Belgium. Printed in the U. S. A. New England Advertising Representative T. F. Magrane, Park Square Bldg., Boston, Mass. Western Advertising Representatives Finucan & McClure, 720 Cass., Chicago, Ill. Pacific Coast Advertising Representatives A. J. Norris Hill Co., Hearst Bldg., San Francisco, Cal. Kansas City Advertising Representatives Davies & Dillon, 15 W. 10th St., Kansas City, Mo.

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Volume 1

April, 1926 No. 1.

THE MAGAZINE OF SCIENTIFICTION

HUGO GERNSBACK, F.R.S., Editor

DR. T. O'CONOR SLOANE, M.A., Ph.D.; Managing Editor

Editorial and General Offices - - - 53 Park Place. New York. N.Y.

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Extravagant Fiction Today -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -

Cold Fact Tomorrow

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A NEW SORT OF MAGAZINE

By HUGO GERNSBACK, F.R.S.

nother fiction magazine!

At first thought it does seem impossible that there could be room for another fiction magazine in this country. The reader may well wonder, "Aren't there enough already, with the several hundreds now being published?" True. But this is not "another fiction magazine," Amazing Stories is a new kind of fiction magazine! It is entirely new—entirely different—something that has never been done before in this country. Therefore, Amazing Stories deserves your attention and interest.

There is the usual fiction magazine, the love story and the sex-appeal type of magazine, the adventure type, and so on, but a magazine of "Scientifiction" is a pioneer in its field in America.

By "scientifiction" I mean the Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and Edgar Allan Poe type of story—a charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision. For many years stories of this nature were published in the sister magazines of Amazing Stories—"Science & Invention" and "Radio News."

But with the ever increasing demands on us for this sort of story, and more of it, there was only one thing to do—publish a magazine in which the scientific fiction type of story will hold forth exclusively. Toward that end we have laid elaborate plans, sparing neither time nor money.

Edgar Allan Poe may well be called the father of "scientifiction." It was he who really originated the romance, cleverly weaving into and around the story, a scientific thread. Jules Verne, with his amazing romances, also cleverly interwoven with a scientific thread, came next. A little later came H. G. Wells, whose scientifiction stories, like those of his forerunners, have become famous and immortal.

It must be remembered that we live in an entirely new world. Two hundred years ago, stories of this kind were not possible. Science, through its various branches of mechanics, electricity, astronomy, etc., enters so intimately into all our lives today, and we are so much immersed in this science, that we have become rather prone to take new inventions and discoveries for granted. Our entire mode of living has changed with the present progress, and it is little wonder, therefore, that many fantastic situations—impossible 100 years ago—are brought about today. It is in these situations that the new romancers find their great inspiration.

Not only do these amazing tales make tremendously interesting reading—they are also always instructive. They supply knowledge that we might not otherwise obtain—and they supply it in a very palatable form. For the best of these modern writers of scientifiction have the knack of imparting knowledge, and even inspiration, without once making us aware that we are being taught.

And not only that! Poe, Verne, Wells, Bellamy, and many others have proved themselves real prophets. Prophesies made in many of their most amazing stories are being realized—and have been realized. Take the fantastic submarine of Jules Verne's most famous story, "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" for instance. He predicted the present day submarine almost down to the last bolt! New inventions pictured for us in the scientifiction of today are not at all impossible of realization tomorrow. Many great science stories destined to be of an historical interest are still to be written, and Amazing Stories magazine will be the medium through which such stories will come to you. Posterity will point to them as having blazed a new trail, not only in literature and fiction, but in progress as well.

We who are publishing Amazing Stories realize the great responsibility of this undertaking, and will spare no energy in presenting to you, each month, the very best of this sort of literature there is to offer.

Exclusive arrangements have already been made with the copyright holders of the entire voluminous works of ALL of Jules Verne's immortal stories. Many of these stories are not known to the general American public yet. For the first time they will be within easy reach of every reader through Amazing Stories. A number of German, French and English stories of this kind by the best writers in their respective countries, have already been contracted for and we hope very shortly to be able to enlarge the magazine and in that way present always more material to our readers.

How good this magazine will be in the future is up to you. Read Amazing Stories—get your friends to read it and then write us what you think of it. We will welcome constructive criticism—for only in this way will we know how to satisfy you.

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DR. HACKENSAWS SECRETS THOSE who read the famous Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets in SCIENCE AND INVENTION magazine, may be interested to know that we have on hand a great many of Dr. Hackensaw's manuscripts which have never been published hitherto. Before printing these in Amazing Stories, however, we would like to have an expression from our readers as to just how they feel about these stories, and whether they would like to have more of them. Won't you please write the editor a few lines, stating your feelings in this matter?—EDITOR.

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This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was legally published within the United States (or the United Nations Headquarters in New York subject to Section 7 of the United States Headquarters Agreement) before 1964, and copyright was not renewed. For Class A renewals records (books only) published between 1923 and 1963, check the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Rutgers copyright renewal records. For other renewal records of publications between 1922 - 1950 see the Pennsylvania copyright records scans. For all records since 1978, search the U.S. Copyright Office records. Works published in 1926 would have had to renew their copyright in either 1953 or 1954, i.e. at least 27 years after it was first published / registered but not later than 31 December(31 December) in the 28th year. As it was not renewed, it entered the public domain on 1 January 1955(1 January 1955).