1965, 'DUNE' WRITTEN BY FRANK HERBERT IS PUBLISHED

Today, The Grandma has started to read Dune, the science fiction novel written by American author Frank Herbert, that was first published on a day like today in 1965.

Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920-February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel Dune and its five sequels. 

Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer.

Frank Patrick Herbert Jr. was born on October 8, 1920, in Tacoma, Washington, to Frank Patrick Herbert Sr. and Eileen (née McCarthy) Herbert.

There are a number of key themes in Herbert's work:

-A concern with leadership. He explored the human tendency to slavishly follow charismatic leaders. He delved into both the flaws and potentials of bureaucracy and government.

-Herbert was among the first science fiction authors to popularize ideas about ecology and systems thinking. He stressed the need for humans to think both systematically and long-term.

 -The relationship between religion, politics and power.

-Human survival and evolution: Herbert writes of the Fremen, the Sardaukar, and the Dosadi, who are molded by their terrible living conditions into dangerous super races.

-Human possibilities and potential: Herbert offered Mentats, the Bene Gesserit and the Bene Tleilax as different visions of human potential.

-The nature of sanity and madness. Frank Herbert was interested in the work of Thomas Szasz and the anti-psychiatry movement. Often, Herbert poses the question, "What is sane?", and while there are clearly insane behaviors and psychopathies as evinced by characters (Piter De Vries for instance), it is often suggested that normal and abnormal are relative terms which humans are sometimes ill-equipped to apply to one another, especially on the basis of statistical regularity.

-The possible effects and consequences of consciousness-altering chemicals, such as the spice in the Dune saga, as well as the "Jaspers" fungus in The Santaroga Barrier, and the Kelp in the Destination: Void sequence.

-How language shapes thought. More specifically, Herbert was influenced by Alfred Korzybski's General Semantics. Algis Budrys wrote that his knowledge of language and linguistics "is worth at least one PhD and the Chair of Philology at a good New England college".

-Learning, teaching, and thinking.

More information: The Guardian

The Dune saga, set in the distant future, and taking place over millennia, explores complex themes, such as the long-term survival of the human species, human evolution, planetary science and ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, economics and power in a future where humanity has long since developed interstellar travel and settled many thousands of worlds. Dune is the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, and the entire series is considered to be among the classics of the genre.

Dune is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials in Analog magazine. 

It tied with Roger Zelazny's This Immortal for the Hugo Award in 1966 and it won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. It is the first installment of the Dune saga. 

In 2003, it was described as the world's best-selling science fiction novel.

Dune is set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange, or spice, a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. Melange is also necessary for space navigation, which requires a kind of multidimensional awareness and foresight that only the drug provides. As melange can only be produced on Arrakis, control of the planet is a coveted and dangerous undertaking. The story explores the multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the factions of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its spice.

Herbert wrote five sequels: Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune. 

Following Herbert's death in 1986, his son Brian Herbert and author Kevin J. Anderson continued the series in over a dozen additional novels since 1999.

Adaptations of the novel to cinema have been notoriously difficult and complicated. In the 1970s, cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to make a film based on the novel.

After three years of development, the project was canceled due to a constantly growing budget. 

In 1984, a film adaptation directed by David Lynch was released to a mostly negative response from critics. The book was also adapted into the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune and its 2003 sequel Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (which combines the events of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune).

A second film adaptation directed by Denis Villeneuve was released on October 21, 2021, to generally positive reviews from critics and went on to win six Academy Awards. Villeneuve's film was essentially the first half of the original novel, and a sequel, which will cover the remaining story, has begun production and is set for release in 2023. The series has been used as the basis for several board, role-playing, and video games.

Since 2009, the names of planets from the Dune novels have been adopted for the real-life nomenclature of plains and other features on Saturn's moon Titan.

More information: The Guardian

 Seek freedom and become captive of your desires.
Seek discipline and find your liberty.

Frank Herbert