In the spotlight: Stanisław Lem
His work was translated into 41 languages and over 27 million copies of his books were printed.
He won international acclaim for The Cyberiad, published in 1974, which consisted of tales from a mechanical world ruled by robots. His most famous book is Solaris, which was adapted into film twice, most recently by the director Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney. The main topics touched in Lem's books are the human inability to communicate with not only alien beings, but humans as well, and human existence in a rapidly changing world.
Lem chose the language of science-fiction in the late 1940s since in communist Poland it was easier to express ideas veiled in the world of science fiction rather than present them outright. After beginning studies in his native Lviv, he finished them at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, but didn't take his final exams to avoid obligatory conscription to the army. In the 1970s Lem caused a great deal of controversy in the US as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Association revoked his honorary membership for criticism of American science-fiction writers, who he accused of writing kitsch stories for money. Although he was later offered membership again, he declined.
His other famous books include: The Star Diaries, The Invincible, and His Master's Voice.
