In 1965, after being rejected by more than a dozen publishing houses, a
book called "Dune" was brought out by the Chilton Book Company. Its
respected author, journalist Frank Herbert, had written "Dune" with
nothing more in mind than to entertain his readers with the telling of a
particularly complex story, one which had occupied his thoughts for more
than six years. No one - not Herbert, not Chilton, not the science
fiction community at the time - had any idea that "Dune" would be
adopted and read by successive generations with a fervor bordering on
cult worship. Or that it would prove to be merely the first of what have
now become five international bestsellers about a desert world of the
future - the planet Arrakis, called Dune.