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Charles Platt | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charles Michael Platt (1945-04-26)26 April 1945 (age 80) London, England |
| Pen name | Aston Cantwell, Robert Clarke, Charlotte Prentiss and Blakely St. James (house name) |
| Occupation | Author, journalist, computer programmer |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Children | Rose Fox |
| Relatives | Robert Platt of Grandleford Maurice Platt (father, engineer at Vauxhaul) |
Charles Platt (born 26 April 1945 inLondon, England) is a British author, journalist and computer programmer. He relocated from England to the United States during 1970 and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He has one child, Rose Fox, who edits science-fiction, fantasy, and horror book reviews.[citation needed] Platt is the nephew ofRobert Platt, Baron Platt of Grindleford.
Platt's novelThe Silicon Man has been endorsed byWilliam Gibson as "A plausible, well-crafted narrative exploring cyberspace in a wholly new and very refreshing way".
As a fiction writer, Charles Platt has also used pseudonyms: Aston Cantwell (1983), Robert Clarke (Less Than Human, a science-fiction comedy of 1986) and Charlotte Prentiss (historical and prehistory novels, between 1981 and 1999). He contributed to the series of Playboy Press erotic novels with the house pseudonym Blakely St. James that was shared by many other writers during the 1970s.
Platt is also known for writing the novelThe Gas during 1970 for theOphelia Press (OPH-216), an imprint of publisherMaurice Girodias'sOlympia Press. (Girodias also published several of Barry N. Malzberg's early novels.) When Platt's novel was published in the United Kingdom by Savoy Books during 1980, copies were seized by the UK's Director of Public Prosecutions.
Platt wrote a variety of science-fiction novels, includingGarbage World,Protektor, andFree Zone, and two books in Piers Anthony'sChthon universe, titledPlasm andSoma. He ceased writing science fiction after 1990.
From 1980 to 1982, Platt interviewed about forty major science-fiction writers such asAndre Norton,Philip K. Dick,J. G. Ballard,Frank Herbert,Isaac Asimov,Kurt Vonnegut, Jr,Ray Bradbury,John Brunner.[1] These interviews were the basis for two books of profiles,Dream Makers (1980) andDream Makers II (1983). They were nominated forHugo Awards, and received aLocus Award.[2][3][4]
Platt began writing forWired magazine in its third issue, and ultimately became one of its senior writers, contributing more than thirty full-length features. He was an early user of the internet service providerMindVox and wrote five books on computers and computer programming during that period. His nonfiction has appeared in publications such asOmni,The Washington Post, and theLos Angeles Times.
While covering the 1994Hackers on Planet Earth Conference for his article "Hackers: Threat or Menace?" in Issue 2.11 ofWired Magazine,[5] Platt annoyed attendees by his interjections during the panel discussion entitled "What is this Cryptography Stuff and Why Should I Care?" Platt repeatedly inquired loudly "Where's the crime?",[6][7] an exclamation later adopted as a nickname for him by some hackers.[8] The conference organizer,Eric Corley (aka Emmanuel Goldstein) penned a rebuttal[6] to Platt's article and commentary on his methods that was published partially[9] in the "Rants and Raves" section ofWired, Issue 3.02.
Platt's bookMake:Electronics was published in December, 2009 by O'Reilly Media. An introductory-level hands-on tutorial, it is available in conjunction with kits of components from Maker Shed.Make:More Electronics (a sequel) and volumes 1, 2, and 3 ofEncyclopedia of Electronic Components have since been published, followed byMake: Tools, a basic tutorial in the use of hand tools. All of Platt's books sharing theMake: logo are illustrated with his own drawings and photographs.[10][11][12][13][14]
Platt acquired an early desktop computer, anOhio Scientific C4P, and learned to write game programs for it which were distributed asshareware. Subsequently, he wrote educational software published by Trillium Press, and participated in the first conference oncellular automata atMIT, where he demonstratedMS-DOS-based software that he composed and sold by mail order. His program to generate theMandelbrot Set was also self-published and sold primary to university mathematical departments. He is the author of six computer books, from the satiricalMicro-Mania to the instructionalGraphics Guide to the Commodore 64. For many years he taught computer graphics classes inAdobe Illustrator andPhotoshop atThe New School for Social Research in New York City.
Platt joinedMichael Moorcock'sNew Worlds team asde facto art director and graphic designer from 1967 to 1970. Although not trained as a graphic designer, he was largely responsible for the collage-like appearance of much of the magazine at the time.[15]
During 1970 Charles Platt became a consulting editor forAvon Books company, acquiring work for their science-fiction list. Subsequently, he performed a similar role for the short-lived paperback trade-name Condor Publishing, and was science-fiction editor forFranklin Watts, Inc.[citation needed]
During the 1980s Platt self-publishedThe Patchin Review, a magazine of literary criticism and commentary emphasizing science fiction.[16] Although each issue sold only 1,000 copies, the venture acquired notoriety for its edgy attitude and attracted contributions from many then-well-known science fiction editors and authors, includingPhilip K. Dick,Gregory Benford,Brian W. Aldiss,David Hartwell, and others.
During 2007 Platt became a section editor forMake, for which he had already been a frequent contributor.[17] In 2011 he became a contributing editor to the magazine, and retains that title currently.
Platt became interested incryonics during 1990 after visiting theAlcor Life Extension Foundation. He wrote a book on the subject,Life Unlimited, for which a contract was issued by Wired Books; the publisher ceased doing business, and the text remains unpublished.[citation needed] Platt became President of CryoCare Foundation, which he co-initiated during 1993. He was Director of Suspension Services for Alcor, a company which may be best known forcryopreservingTed Williams's head and body after he died. During 2004 Platt became a director and General Manager of Suspended Animation, Inc., based inBoynton Beach, Florida.[18] Suspended Animation pursues R&D to develop equipment and procedures for use in mitigatingischemic injury immediately after cardiac arrest in terminal patients who have made arrangements forcryopreservation. Platt resigned his jobs with the company at the end of 2006.[19] He continued to design and build prototypes of rapid cooling equipment for the company until 2010, and coauthored a pending patent (application number 20110040359, dated February 2011). His final work on a device that could cool patients after cardiac arrest, with potential applications in conventional medicine, was completed for a California laboratory in 2011. It employs a breathableperfluorocarbon liquid and uses the lungs as a heat exchanger in a process known as partial liquid ventilation (seeliquid breathing).
