A Martian Stranded on Earth: Alexander Bogdanov, Blood Transfusions, and Proletarian Science
Nikolai Krementsov
Abstract
Much like Vladimir Lenin, his onetime rival for the leadership of the Bolshevik party during its formative years, Alexander Bogdanov (1873–1928) was a visionary. In two science fiction novels set on Mars, Bogdanov imagined a future in which the workers of the world, liberated from capitalist exploitation, create a “physiological collective” that rejuvenates and unites its members through regular blood exchanges. But Bogdanov was not merely a dreamer. He worked tirelessly to popularize and realize his vision, founding the first research institute devoted to the science of blood transfusion. Thi ... More
Much like Vladimir Lenin, his onetime rival for the leadership of the Bolshevik party during its formative years, Alexander Bogdanov (1873–1928) was a visionary. In two science fiction novels set on Mars, Bogdanov imagined a future in which the workers of the world, liberated from capitalist exploitation, create a “physiological collective” that rejuvenates and unites its members through regular blood exchanges. But Bogdanov was not merely a dreamer. He worked tirelessly to popularize and realize his vision, founding the first research institute devoted to the science of blood transfusion. This is the first broad-based book on Bogdanov in English and it explores Bogdanov's roles as revolutionary, novelist, and scientist. Through the lens of Bogdanov's involvement with blood studies on one hand, and of his fictional and philosophical writings on the other, the author offers an analysis of the interactions between scientific ideas and societal values.
Keywords:
Bolshevik party,
science fiction,
physiological collective,
blood transfusion,
revolutionary,
novelist,
Mars,
blood,
Alexander Bogdanov
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2011 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780226454122 |
Published to Chicago Scholarship Online: March 2013 |
DOI:10.7208/chicago/9780226454146.001.0001 |