To The Stars (novel) - Publication History

Publication History

To the Stars was first published in two parts in February and March of 1950 in a serialized format by John W. Campbell in Astounding Science Fiction. Hubbard had previously written the story Ole Doc Methuselah for Astounding Science Fiction in 1947, later published as a book in 1992. In 1954 the story was published in book format by Ace Books in a paperback first edition, under the title Return to Tomorrow. Garland Publishing released a hardcover edition of Return to Tomorrow in 1975.

In 1997 Hollywood producers were working on developing a film version of To the Stars. Producers Barbara Boyle and Michael Taylor were preparing to bring the book to the film screen for Touchstone Pictures, a division of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Boyle and Taylor had previously worked with Scientologist actor John Travolta on the film Phenomenon, and the project was planned to be part of Travolta's vision to make films out of L. Ron Hubbard's science fiction novels. Hubbard's novel Battlefield Earth was first on his list, and Travolta starred in and helped fund the film version of the book which was released in 2000. A film version of To the Stars had not yet begun production as of 2008.

Scientologist and jazz musician Chick Corea released a CD of the same name with music inspired by the story in 2004, and Scientology-owned Galaxy Press reissued a hardcover edition of Hubbard's novel the same year as a form of cross marketing. According to Publishers Weekly, Corea's soundtrack to the novel was issued by Galaxy Press to give the company's "enormous marketing muscle" the ability to "tap into the vast Hubbard fan base". Corea explains at his website how he was motivated to work on music inspired by the book. He comments that he was inspired by a scene from the book where Hubbard describes the Captain of the Hound of Heaven spaceship playing a melody on a piano.