Return to Earth: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
Return to Earth: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
Return to Earth is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Jones, Willis Knapp (1895–1982).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"Return to Earth by Willis Knapp Jones" is a science fiction short story written in the early 20th century. It follows a resurrected pilot who returns to his hometown with an alien guide, aiming to prove his interplanetary voyage, and probes the clash between advanced beings and a fear-driven, war-prone humanity. Told by the alien Usru, the tale recounts how Henry Sanborn comes back to the small town he left eighteen years earlier, expecting glory for his achievement. Instead, he meets scorn: a former sweetheart flees, his wealthy friend Todd Van Horne spits on him for deserting wartime duty, and a cobbler denounces him as a coward. Hoping for validation, Henry appeals to the local asylum’s physician, Dr. Bender, explaining his anti-gravity ship inspired by the patient Menkowitz and insisting that Usru and the invisible craft are nearby. Skeptics fail to see the G-ray-hidden ship, mockery mounts, and Usru briefly reveals superior powers to drive home the truth. Concluding that Earth’s emotions and violence make contact dangerous, Usru immobilizes the situation, retrieves the terrified Henry—whose life Urcanus science restored after his fatal crash—and departs, resolving that their world will not communicate with humanity.
Book and edition facts
- Title: Return to Earth
- Author credits: Jones, Willis Knapp (1895–1982)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Earth (Planet) -- Fiction
- Extraterrestrial beings -- Fiction
- Human-alien encounters -- Fiction
- Science fiction
- Short stories
- Space travelers -- Fiction
Gutenberg collections
- Category: American Literature
- Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy
- Category: Short Stories
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View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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