Introduction: the wonderful dream -- Knocking on heaven's door: David Lasser and the first conquest of space -- An empire in space: Europe and America as science fact -- Building a space frontier: Robert A. Heinlein and the American tradition -- Will there always be an England? Arthur C. Clarke's new Eden -- The domestication of space: Gerard K. O'Neill's suburban diaspora -- Ben Bova: race, nation, and renewal on the high frontier -- On Mars and other heterotopias: a conclusion.