The Steampunk Bible

The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature is the ultimate resource to this fascinating world, as Jeff VanderMeer and S. J. Chambers take readers on a wild ride through the clockwork corridors of steampunk history.

Steampunk—a grafting of Victorian aesthetic and punk-rock attitude onto various forms of science-fiction culture—is a phenomenon that has come to influence film, literature, art, music, fashion, and more.

The Steampunk Bible is the first compendium about the movement, tracing its roots in the works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells through its most recent expression in movies such as Sherlock Holmes. Its adherents celebrate the inventor as an artist and hero, re-envisioning and crafting retro technologies including antiquated airships and robots. A burgeoning DIY community has brought a distinctive Victorian-fantasy style to their crafts and art. Steampunk evokes a sense of adventure and discovery and embraces extinct technologies as a way of talking about the future.

“An informed, informative and beautifully illustrated survey of the subject.” —Financial Times

“Far and away the most intriguing catalog of all things steam yet written.” —Austin Chronicle