Since the paradisal yearnings of ancient Sumeria, the concept of utopia has persisted as a symbol of hope. These essays provide a broad spread of perspectives on the ways the utopian vision has appeared, ranging from the "heavenly garden" of the ancient Near East, through Sir Thomas More's Utopia and the idealized societies of feminist science fiction, to the utopian/dystopian expressions of Kurt Vonnegut. The Utopian Vision is enhanced by a fully annotated bibliography of more than 500 works by utopian authors or on aspects of utopia. Originally published in 1983.