''Big Book of Science Fiction'' is an
anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
of
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
short stories edited by
Groff Conklin. It was first published in hardcover by
Crown Publishers in August 1950. A later edition was issued by Bonanza Books/Crown Publishers in 1978 under the alternate title ''The Classic Books of Science Fiction''. An abridged paperback edition containing ten of its 32 stories was published by
Berkley Books
Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group.
History
Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berk ...
in April 1957, and reprinted in June 1957 and September 1964; the reprints bore the variant title ''The Big Book of Science Fiction''.
The book collects thirty-two novellas, novelettes and short stories by various science fiction authors, together with an introduction by the editor. The stories were previously published from 1889 to 1950 in various science fiction and other magazines.
Contents
Stories also appearing in the abridged paperback edition annoted with "TBB"
*"Introduction" (
Groff Conklin)
*"Mr. Murphy of New York" (
Thomas McMorrow)
*"The Diminishing Draft" (
Waldemar Kaempffert
Waldemar Kaempffert (September 27, 1877 - November 27, 1956) was an American science writer and museum director.
Career
Waldemar (Bernhard) Kaempffert was born and raised in New York City. He received his Bachelor of Science from the City Colleg ...
)
*"Peacebringer" (
Ward Moore)
*"A Matter of Form" (
Horace L. Gold
Horace Leonard Gold (April 26, 1914 – February 21, 1996) was an American science fiction writer and editor. Born in Canada, Gold moved to the United States at the age of two. He was most noted for bringing an innovative and fresh approach to ...
)
*"The Planetoid of Doom" (
Morrison Colladay Morrison may refer to:
People
* Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison
* Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet
* Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant
Places in the United States
* Morrison, Colorado
...
)
*"One Leg Too Many" (
W. Alexander)
*"The Man with the Strange Head" (
Miles J. Breuer
Miles John Breuer (January 3, 1889 – October 14, 1945) was an American physician and science fiction writer of Czech origin. Although he had published elsewhere since the early 20th century, he is considered the part of the first generation of ...
)
*"Defense Mechanism" (
Katherine MacLean
Katherine Anne MacLean (January 22, 1925 – September 1, 2019) was an American science fiction author best known for her short fiction of the 1950s which examined the impact of technological advances on individuals and society.
Profile
Damon Kn ...
)
*"Margin for Error" (
Lewis Padgett
Lewis Padgett was the joint pseudonym of the science fiction authors and spouses Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore,Nicholls 1979, p. 445. taken from their mothers' maiden names. They also used the pseudonyms Lawrence O'Donnell and C. H. Liddell, as wel ...
(
Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 – February 3, 1958) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.
Early life
Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Kuttner (1829–1903) and Amelia Bush (c. 1834–1911), the ...
and
C. L. Moore
Catherine Lucille Moore (January 24, 1911 – April 4, 1987) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, who first came to prominence in the 1930s writing as C. L. Moore. She was among the first women to write in the science fiction and ...
))
*"Isolationist" (
Mack Reynolds)
*"Nobody Saw the Ship" (
Murray Leinster) TBB
*"Mewhu's Jet" (
Theodore Sturgeon) TBB
*"The Outer Limit" (
Graham Doar)
*"Rat Race" (
Dorothy de Courcy and
John de Courcy)
*"Dear Devil" (
Eric Frank Russell
Eric Frank Russell (January 6, 1905 – February 28, 1978) was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. Much of his work was first published in the United States, in John W. Campbell's '' Astounding Science ...
)
*"Emergency Landing" (
Ralph Williams)
*"The Ship That Turned Aside" (
Green Peyton)
*"Manna" (
Peter Phillips
Peter Mark Andrew Phillips (born 15 November 1977) is a British businessman and the son of Anne, Princess Royal, and Captain Mark Phillips. He is the eldest nephew of King Charles III, and 17th in the line of succession to the British throne.
...
)
*"The Long Dawn" (
Noel Loomis
Noel Loomis (April 3, 1905 – September 7, 1969) was a writer, principally of western, mystery and science-fiction, in the middle of the 20th century.
Born and raised in the American West, he was sufficiently familiar with that territory to wr ...
)
*"E for Effort" (
T. L. Sherred)
*"The Roger Bacon Formula" (
Fletcher Pratt) TBB
*"The Wings of Night" (
Lester del Rey) TBB
*"Desertion" (
Clifford D. Simak
Clifford Donald Simak (; August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror Wr ...
) TBB
*"Contact, Incorporated" (
Robertson Osborne
Robertson may refer to:
People
* Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name)
* Robertson (given name)
* Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan
* Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837)
Places ...
)
*"Arena" (
Fredric Brown) TBB
*"Culture" (
Jerry Shelton)
*"
In the Year 2889" (
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
)
*"Forever and the Earth" (
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...
) TBB
*"The Miniature" (
Peter Reed) TBB
*"Sanity" (
Fritz Leiber
Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...
) TBB
*"The Only Thing We Learn" (
C. M. Kornbluth
Cyril M. Kornbluth (July 2, 1923 – March 21, 1958) was an American science fiction author and a member of the Futurians. He used a variety of pen-names, including Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, W ...
) TBB
*"Not With a Bang" (
Damon Knight )
References
{{Reflist
1950 anthologies
Science fiction anthologies
Groff Conklin anthologies