The Golden Age of Science Fiction is a love letter to the 1950s from John Wade.

Wade grew up in England, in the heyday of early science fiction radio and television serials, and the early comic books, short stories, magazines and novels that defined SF for a generation. This book digs deeply into that era, taking a look at science fiction from all angles available to a youngster who was hungry for as much as he could get his hands on.

Wade turned his youthful obsession into a thorough and enthusiastic study of the genre in the colorful '50s, when science fiction was expanding into new, untried media. The book explores every avenue of sci-fi at a time when many of the popular books and movies were considered too mature for kids.

For readers, it's entertaining to watch Wade's rediscovery of the material he remembers from his youth, even as it's an education into the world of British science fiction -- alike in many ways to its U.S. counterpart but in other ways very different.

After a general overview, the first chapter begins with the Sept. 21, 1953 radio broadcast of Journey Into Space, a serial that ran for 58 episodes. Wade's thoroughness took me aback at first; he discusses not only the series itself and its various plots and characters, but also the biographies of series creator Charles Chilton and the voice actors who brought it to life. This quickly grows tedious, but fortunately that overabundance of detail is not continued throughout the book.

Rather, Wade settles down into more general overviews that still feel complete but don't get bogged down in trivia. You'll still learn a lot about the genre, especially the people who helped bring it to life, and you'll come away with a better understanding of the passion many sci-fi fans still feel for the good old days (when even the rudimentary special effects of Doctor Who and Star Trek, just a decade later, put those early serials to shame).

Wade's stories, coupled with ample illustrations, including classic cover art, make this enjoyable read. It's less an academic tome on the history of science fiction, more a personal remembrance by a man who loves the genre and has devoted a great deal of research into its golden age.