Stanisław Herman Lem was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical and humorous character. Lem's books have been translated into more than 50 languages and have sold more than 45 million copies. Worldwide, he is best known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science fiction writer in the world.
Lem in 1966
House No. 4 on Bohdan Lepky Street in Lviv, where, according to his autobiography Highcastle, Lem spent his childhood
Stanisław Lem and toy cosmonaut, 1966
Lem signing in Kraków, 30 October 2005
Solaris is a 1961 science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. It follows a crew of scientists on a research station as they attempt to understand an extraterrestrial intelligence, which takes the form of a vast ocean on the titular alien planet. The novel is one of Lem's best-known works.
Cover of the first edition
Various translations of Solaris, including the English one