If you own only one anthology of classic science fiction, it should be The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929-1964. Selected by a vote of the membership of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA), these 26 reprints represent the best, most important, and most influential stories and authors in the field. The contributors are a Who's Who of classic SF, with every Golden Age giant included: Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, John W. Campbell, Robert A. Heinlein, Fritz Leiber, Cordwainer Smith, Theodore Sturgeon, and Roger Zelazny. Other contributors are less well known outside the core SF readership. Three of the contributors are famous for one story--but what stories!--Tom Godwin's pivotal hard-SF tale, "The Cold Equations"; Jerome Bixby's "It's a Good Life" (made only more infamous by the chilling Twilight Zone adaptation); and Daniel Keyes's "Flowers for Algernon" (brought to mainstream fame by the movie adaptation, Charly). The collection has some minor but frustrating flaws. There are no contributor biographies, which is bad enough when the author is a giant; but it's especially sad for contributors who have become unjustly obscure. Each story's original publication date is in small print at the bottom of the first page. And neither this fine print nor the copyright page identifies the magazines in which the stories first appeared.
Prefaced by editor Robert Silverberg's introduction, which describes SFWA and details the selection process, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929-1964 is a wonderful book for the budding SF fan. Experienced SF readers should compare the table of contents to their library before making a purchase decision. Fans who contemplate giving this book to non-SF readers should bear in mind that, while several of the collected stories can measure up to classic mainstream literary stories, the less literarily-acceptable stories are weighted toward the front of the collection; adult mainstream-literature fans may not get very far into The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929-1964. --Cynthia Ward
· Introduction · Robert Silverberg · in
· A Martian Odyssey [Tweel] · Stanley G. Weinbaum · nv Wonder Stories Jul ’34
· Twilight [as by Don A. Stuart; Dying Earth] · John W. Campbell, Jr. · ss Astounding Nov ’34
· Helen O’Loy · Lester del Rey · ss Astounding Dec ’38
· The Roads Must Roll · Robert A. Heinlein · nv Astounding Jun ’40
· Microcosmic God · Theodore Sturgeon · nv Astounding Apr ’41
· Nightfall · Isaac Asimov · nv Astounding Sep ’41
· The Weapon Shop [Isher] · A. E. van Vogt · nv Astounding Dec ’42
· Mimsy Were the Borogoves · Lewis Padgett · nv Astounding Feb ’43
· Huddling Place [City (Websters)] · Clifford D. Simak · ss Astounding Jul ’44
· Arena · Fredric Brown · nv Astounding Jun ’44
· First Contact · Murray Leinster · nv Astounding May ’45
· That Only a Mother · Judith Merril · ss Astounding Jun ’48
· Scanners Live in Vain · Cordwainer Smith · nv Fantasy Book #6 ’50
· Mars Is Heaven! · Ray Bradbury · ss Planet Stories Fll ’48
· The Little Black Bag · C. M. Kornbluth · nv Astounding Jul ’50
· Born of Man and Woman · Richard Matheson · vi F&SF Sum ’50
· Coming Attraction · Fritz Leiber · ss Galaxy Nov ’50
· The Quest for Saint Aquin · Anthony Boucher · ss New Tales of Space and Time, ed. Raymond J. Healy, Holt, 1951; F&SF Jan ’59
· Surface Tension [Lavon] · James Blish · nv Galaxy Aug ’52
· The Nine Billion Names of God · Arthur C. Clarke · ss Star Science Fiction Stories #1, ed. Frederik Pohl, Ballantine, 1953
· It’s a Good Life · Jerome Bixby · ss Star Science Fiction Stories #2, ed. Frederik Pohl, Ballantine, 1953
· The Cold Equations · Tom Godwin · nv Astounding Aug ’54
· Fondly Fahrenheit · Alfred Bester · nv F&SF Aug ’54
· The Country of the Kind · Damon Knight · ss F&SF Feb ’56
· Flowers for Algernon · Daniel Keyes · nv F&SF Apr ’59
· A Rose for Ecclesiastes · Roger Zelazny · nv F&SF Nov ’63
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