What do you think?
Rate this book
Infinite Dreams
Short stories:
Counterpoint
Anniversary Project
The Mazel Tov Revolution
To Howard Hughes: A Modest Proposal
A Mind of His Own
All the Universe in a Mason Jar
The Private War of Private Jacob
A Time to Live
Juryrigged
Summer's Lease [Truth to Tell]
26 Days on Earth
Armaja Das
Tricentennial
Counterpoint
Anniversary Project
The Mazel Tov Revolution
To Howard Hughes: A Modest Proposal
A Mind of His Own
All the Universe in a Mason Jar
The Private War of Private Jacob
A Time to Live
Juryrigged
Summer's Lease [Truth to Tell]
26 Days on Earth
Armaja Das
Tricentennial
278 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1978
100 people are currently reading
488 people want to read
About the author
Joe Haldeman
444 books2,214 followersBrother of Jack C. Haldeman II
Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."
Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.
Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."
Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
March 25, 2021
Infinite Dreams was Haldeman's first collection of short fiction and includes a dozen of his early stories that appeared in the mid-1970s, along with interesting introductions and observations. Haldeman is one of those rare writers who seems equally adept at both novels and shorter pieces, and the ones collected here are quite enjoyable. My favorites are Armaja Das (one of his very rare fantasy stories), Tricentennial (which was awarded a Hugo Award for best of the year), and the hilarious All the Universe in a Mason Jar. (Trivia note, apropos of nothing: the book appeared in 1978, and Mr. Haldeman had been one of the Guests of Honor at a convention at Kent State University in the fall of 1976, where the sf club that sponsored the convention also published a fanzine called Infinite Dreams. Members of the club always wondered if the title of their 'zine was any influence...)
October 15, 2022
This was hands down one of the most fun and I straps to e short story collections I have ever read. I’ve always really enjoyed the sci-fi genre but I’m not totally familiar with the heavy hitters and best books to read. After doing some loose research I landed on Infinite Dreams. Everything about the stories inside were relevant, imaginative, and exposed the human condition. For someone who writes about the future and things that have yet to even happen; every story translates so well to the now. I also loved the lofty grip on humor every story was able to encapsulate. This is a book that you don’t shelve after reading because you know you will absolutely come back to it again. I also loved that before every story the author provided us with a little preface and background. As a reader we are able to find out why he wrote the stories and what exactly was the inspiration. I really loved that feature and wish other short story collections featured the same type of explanations. If you aren’t a big reader within the sci-fi genre I highly recommend this book. Since there is a collection of stories you are able to access a variety of themes amongst the sci-fi genre. I really enjoyed this book and I’m excited to discover more!
January 18, 2016
A collection of short stories written throughout the 70s by one of my favorite authors. Standout stories are Anniversary Project, The Mazel Tov Revolution, All The Universe in a Mason Jar, and Tricentennial. Not as solid as his novels The Forever War series, Buying Time, or Mindbridge...but still worth your time.
December 19, 2018
4/10. Media de los 4 libros que he leído suyos : 5/10
Conocido sobre todo por su sus novelas Guerra interminable/paz interminable. Y mejor me quedo con esas dos, que sus relatos cortos no me dijeron nada.
Conocido sobre todo por su sus novelas Guerra interminable/paz interminable. Y mejor me quedo con esas dos, que sus relatos cortos no me dijeron nada.
June 29, 2017
Joe Haldeman is most known for his Hugo-Locus-Nebula-winning novel The Forever War, which I read last year and liked. But I wanted to read his short stories, mostly because I had heard the Forever sequels weren't as good.
Counterpoint ★★★ | Two boys are born in very different circumstances, but as fate would have it, their lives intersect. Not very sfnal, but pretty good.
Anniversary Project ★★★ | A twist on the "alien abduction so they can experience emotions again" trope. The "alienness" doesn't quite hold up, but everything else mostly does, especially the "Story of Your Life" (aka "Arrival") aspect of the ending.
The Mazel Tov Revolution ★★★ | A somewhat goofy fable about breaking a monopoly IN SPACE!
To Howard Hughes: A Modest Proposal ★★½ | Holding the world hostage until the nuclear powers disarm is not an uncommon trope, but Haldeman still pulls it off fairly well. I’m not sure the time-skipping narration is quite worth the trouble overall (apparently John Dos Passos was super influential in mainstream literature at the time) but it’s occasionally effective.
A Mind of His Own ★★★★½ | A paraplegic war veteran loses everything, but will he also lose his personality to mind-rewriting therapy? Most of the story beats are pretty well-worn (especially in Vietnam-era fiction) but Haldeman really pours emotion into it (apparently this was inspired by the self-destruction of a friend of his), and the ending is sort of a bittersweet nihilism.
All the Universe in a Mason Jar ★★★ | A retired professor and some Florida good ol’ boys encounter a UFO. Goofy as hell but Haldeman’s dialogue and character work make for a believable tale. (Except for, obviously, the alien.)
The Private War of Private Jacob ★★★ | Creepy, paranoid, and bleak sketch of a mysterious, possibly endless war. Raises lots of questions and hints at disturbing answers.
A Time to Live ★★★½ | A sort of “Christmas Carol” or “It’s a Wonderful Life” flavored time-travel story.
Juryrigged ★★½ | The premise is interesting: “jury duty” for the Baltimore-Washington-Richmond megalopolis consists in leasing out your brain for computing power and maybe it won’t drive you mad in the process. The problem is that the story sort of loses track of its POV, so that I never ended up connecting with a character.
Summer’s Lease ★★★½ | On a world scoured by solar flares every three generations, one man thinks the ancient “Godbuk” contains some answers to humanity’s very beginning on the planet. But is that just an ancient religion, and can society even afford such luxury? The ending is kind of a Take That, but I definitely felt something for the main characters.
26 Days, On Earth ★★½ | A pompous gene-fixed homo mutandis young man from the Moon gets sent to an Earth academy for finishing, and learns that maybe he hasn’t quite figured everything out yet. Self-consciously written in the style of James Boswell’s diaries. It’s fine, I guess.
Armaja Das ★★★ | An odd tale about a gypsy curse bringing about the end of the world. I… don’t know if that sort of thing would go over well today. But it was well written, for all that.
Tricentennial ★★★ | Won a Hugo award, but I think several stories in the collection are superior. The science concepts were cool, but I’d already seen them before and they weren’t explored in a particularly in-depth way. (The simple-English news clippings were amusing, though.)
OVERALL: ★★★½, rounded to ★★★★. Haldeman is quite a good sf writer, in my opinion. There are some real gems in here, and a few near-misses, but mostly the quality is well above average. Given that this collection draws from only a handful of years of Haldeman's writing career (1972–77), it can be amusing to see the same concepts pop up again and again: Boolean algebra and piezoelectric material, to name just two. The forewords to each story are also nice. Highly recommended.
Counterpoint ★★★ | Two boys are born in very different circumstances, but as fate would have it, their lives intersect. Not very sfnal, but pretty good.
Anniversary Project ★★★ | A twist on the "alien abduction so they can experience emotions again" trope. The "alienness" doesn't quite hold up, but everything else mostly does, especially the "Story of Your Life" (aka "Arrival") aspect of the ending.
The Mazel Tov Revolution ★★★ | A somewhat goofy fable about breaking a monopoly IN SPACE!
To Howard Hughes: A Modest Proposal ★★½ | Holding the world hostage until the nuclear powers disarm is not an uncommon trope, but Haldeman still pulls it off fairly well. I’m not sure the time-skipping narration is quite worth the trouble overall (apparently John Dos Passos was super influential in mainstream literature at the time) but it’s occasionally effective.
A Mind of His Own ★★★★½ | A paraplegic war veteran loses everything, but will he also lose his personality to mind-rewriting therapy? Most of the story beats are pretty well-worn (especially in Vietnam-era fiction) but Haldeman really pours emotion into it (apparently this was inspired by the self-destruction of a friend of his), and the ending is sort of a bittersweet nihilism.
All the Universe in a Mason Jar ★★★ | A retired professor and some Florida good ol’ boys encounter a UFO. Goofy as hell but Haldeman’s dialogue and character work make for a believable tale. (Except for, obviously, the alien.)
The Private War of Private Jacob ★★★ | Creepy, paranoid, and bleak sketch of a mysterious, possibly endless war. Raises lots of questions and hints at disturbing answers.
A Time to Live ★★★½ | A sort of “Christmas Carol” or “It’s a Wonderful Life” flavored time-travel story.
Juryrigged ★★½ | The premise is interesting: “jury duty” for the Baltimore-Washington-Richmond megalopolis consists in leasing out your brain for computing power and maybe it won’t drive you mad in the process. The problem is that the story sort of loses track of its POV, so that I never ended up connecting with a character.
Summer’s Lease ★★★½ | On a world scoured by solar flares every three generations, one man thinks the ancient “Godbuk” contains some answers to humanity’s very beginning on the planet. But is that just an ancient religion, and can society even afford such luxury? The ending is kind of a Take That, but I definitely felt something for the main characters.
26 Days, On Earth ★★½ | A pompous gene-fixed homo mutandis young man from the Moon gets sent to an Earth academy for finishing, and learns that maybe he hasn’t quite figured everything out yet. Self-consciously written in the style of James Boswell’s diaries. It’s fine, I guess.
Armaja Das ★★★ | An odd tale about a gypsy curse bringing about the end of the world. I… don’t know if that sort of thing would go over well today. But it was well written, for all that.
Tricentennial ★★★ | Won a Hugo award, but I think several stories in the collection are superior. The science concepts were cool, but I’d already seen them before and they weren’t explored in a particularly in-depth way. (The simple-English news clippings were amusing, though.)
OVERALL: ★★★½, rounded to ★★★★. Haldeman is quite a good sf writer, in my opinion. There are some real gems in here, and a few near-misses, but mostly the quality is well above average. Given that this collection draws from only a handful of years of Haldeman's writing career (1972–77), it can be amusing to see the same concepts pop up again and again: Boolean algebra and piezoelectric material, to name just two. The forewords to each story are also nice. Highly recommended.
March 16, 2017
I've read several of Joe Haldeman's novels, and enjoyed them, though he's not one of my favourite authors. His SF tends to be towards the hard end, though with plenty of human drama to it - much of it referencing his experiences in Vietnam. Hardish SF about war is a bit out of my central preference zone, so the fact that I enjoy his work anyway is a tribute to his ability as a writer.
So it was with these stories. Though war is not a constant theme, and some of them are softer than others, they're not necessarily the kind of stories I think of myself as preferring - but I enjoyed them anyway. They date mainly from the 70s and 80s, not the high water mark of SF short story writing as far as I'm concerned, and can tend to be slightly over-detailed, with a lot of narrative distance, and sometimes quite low stakes for the rather generic central characters (the fate of the world may hang in the balance, but the characters are usually either unaware of this or unable to do much about it). And yet they are, for the kind of stories they are, extremely well done, and I found them engaging, without being able to put my finger on exactly why.
Perhaps it's the inventiveness of the ideas; it's not just the same old story with a new twist that we get here, but something completely original and out of left field. A gypsy curse that affects computers, a futuristic Boswell's diary, a journey-to-another-star story told largely from the viewpoint of the people left behind. And underneath it all, a feeling of a generous heart, even in the stories where we never get close to the characters and then they all die apocalyptically.
The Open Road ebook edition, like most of their ebooks, could do with better editing to catch the inevitable scanning errors. I know this is hard to do, but when I see Rejkavic misspelled, or a capital letter in the middle of a sentence, or "fanner" instead of "farmer", "light" for "fight", a date given as 1076 that is obviously meant to be 1976, "IIR" for "HR" and "45TII" for "45TH", "court" for "course", "blask" for "blast", "feeing" for (I think) "seeing" and "foiled" for "failed", I think someone isn't giving enough resources to making sure the text is properly proofed. I've seen scanned books that are nearly perfect; it can be done, but Open Road doesn't seem to do it.
Setting those issues aside, this was an enjoyable read, and I recommend it.
So it was with these stories. Though war is not a constant theme, and some of them are softer than others, they're not necessarily the kind of stories I think of myself as preferring - but I enjoyed them anyway. They date mainly from the 70s and 80s, not the high water mark of SF short story writing as far as I'm concerned, and can tend to be slightly over-detailed, with a lot of narrative distance, and sometimes quite low stakes for the rather generic central characters (the fate of the world may hang in the balance, but the characters are usually either unaware of this or unable to do much about it). And yet they are, for the kind of stories they are, extremely well done, and I found them engaging, without being able to put my finger on exactly why.
Perhaps it's the inventiveness of the ideas; it's not just the same old story with a new twist that we get here, but something completely original and out of left field. A gypsy curse that affects computers, a futuristic Boswell's diary, a journey-to-another-star story told largely from the viewpoint of the people left behind. And underneath it all, a feeling of a generous heart, even in the stories where we never get close to the characters and then they all die apocalyptically.
The Open Road ebook edition, like most of their ebooks, could do with better editing to catch the inevitable scanning errors. I know this is hard to do, but when I see Rejkavic misspelled, or a capital letter in the middle of a sentence, or "fanner" instead of "farmer", "light" for "fight", a date given as 1076 that is obviously meant to be 1976, "IIR" for "HR" and "45TII" for "45TH", "court" for "course", "blask" for "blast", "feeing" for (I think) "seeing" and "foiled" for "failed", I think someone isn't giving enough resources to making sure the text is properly proofed. I've seen scanned books that are nearly perfect; it can be done, but Open Road doesn't seem to do it.
Setting those issues aside, this was an enjoyable read, and I recommend it.
September 13, 2015
Las antologías son libros complicados. Es difícil conseguir que todos los cuentos estén a un mismo nivel de calidad e interés, incluso si se trata de relatos de un mismo autor. Este caso no se trata de la excepción que confirma la regla.
Me gusta Haldeman. Me gusta la honestidad con la que habla de su trabajo en este libro, explicando en la presentación de cada historia las circunstancias en las que las escribió. Al ser relatos pensados, o encargados directamente, para ser publicados en revistas se ajustan a los gustos de los editores del momento, que no siempre se entienden despues de cuarenta años. El paso del tiempo, por muy relativista que sea, siempre afecta a los textos. De todos los relatos me quedo con unos cuantos títulos:
Todo el universo en una botella.
La revolución de Mazel Tov.
A decir verdad.
Veintiseis días en la Tierra.
Son los que reunen lo que más me gusta de Haldeman: el lenguaje sencillo, la ironía y el humor en muchos de sus finales, la fuerza de lo que quiere transmitir en sus relatos.
Me gusta Haldeman. Me gusta la honestidad con la que habla de su trabajo en este libro, explicando en la presentación de cada historia las circunstancias en las que las escribió. Al ser relatos pensados, o encargados directamente, para ser publicados en revistas se ajustan a los gustos de los editores del momento, que no siempre se entienden despues de cuarenta años. El paso del tiempo, por muy relativista que sea, siempre afecta a los textos. De todos los relatos me quedo con unos cuantos títulos:
Todo el universo en una botella.
La revolución de Mazel Tov.
A decir verdad.
Veintiseis días en la Tierra.
Son los que reunen lo que más me gusta de Haldeman: el lenguaje sencillo, la ironía y el humor en muchos de sus finales, la fuerza de lo que quiere transmitir en sus relatos.
Read
June 18, 2017The Private War of Private Jacob
December 21, 2022
It is incredible how short stories from the 70s have aged so well over the decades. This is a testimony to the sound concepts and Joe Haldeman's craft. I was introduced to Haldeman's work with the profound The Forever War. It was a delightful experience to read his short stories. Fans of The Forever War will recognize themes and concepts as well as Haldeman's signature -- respect for science (real and fictional) and good storytelling through the eyes of three-dimensional characters. While the stories often touch serious social commentary, they never preach to you. Haldeman is focused on entertaining you with his special brand, making you wonder what shape humanity will take in future possibilities. My favorite is The Mazel Tov Revolution, a perfect balance of action, social thought experiment, and humor.
July 31, 2018
An entertaining short story collection from an author I was first exposed to by a short story anthology (Warriors edited by George R.R. Martin). The stories are varied and theme and mood, despite certain through lines through the stories - main characters have a tendency to be mathematicians for example. My interest was held and often piqued and I was certainly entertained. I may try one of Mr. Haldeman's novels next.
April 2, 2023
Hugo, Nebula winner’s short stories
Joe Haldeman has long been a major name as a science fiction novelist, but he also writes excellent short stories— in fact, that’s where he started his career.
And these stories span that career’s length. The first story is the first thing he wrote after recognizing that he could have a career as a writer.
The stories are all good, although some of them are dark. They’re all worth reading.
Recommended.
Joe Haldeman has long been a major name as a science fiction novelist, but he also writes excellent short stories— in fact, that’s where he started his career.
And these stories span that career’s length. The first story is the first thing he wrote after recognizing that he could have a career as a writer.
The stories are all good, although some of them are dark. They’re all worth reading.
Recommended.
June 4, 2025
Solid collection of short stories by Joe Haldeman. As in every anthology a couple of the stories did not make it for me. However, I like anthologies because there is always another chance to be amazed, just a few pages away. "Tricentennial", the story that won the Hugo award in 1977 was undoubtedly my personal favorite.
August 5, 2018
A damn fine short stories collection from a not-so-recognized, but still great author. A variety of settings and ideas, all with a nice little intro describing the circumstances it was written in, it will make for a wonderful, if a bit light, reading
May 15, 2023
Colección de relatos muy interesante, que muestra como veían el futuro en los años 60 y 70. Los textos introductorios son muy aclaratorios, mostrando cómo y cuándo llegaron los relatos a ser realidad.
November 15, 2019
In general I liked most of the stories. Some seemed dated but then they were written in the 70s.
February 29, 2020
3.5 stars. Lots of good stories, only one or two I didn't care as much for.
August 31, 2021
This book truly shows the author's talent for storytelling, but it was way too sci-fi for me.
July 13, 2022
Haldeman shows his range here, from the comical The Universe In A Mason Jar to the horror tinged Armaja Das and the epic Tricentennial. Fun collection.
October 6, 2022
Excellent anthology of sci fi stories, with some background information.
January 25, 2023
Very interesting and fun!
February 5, 2024
New favorite author
Loved these stories! Enjoyed the intro from each author and the biography at the end to include all the pictures. This book was very hard to put down!!
Loved these stories! Enjoyed the intro from each author and the biography at the end to include all the pictures. This book was very hard to put down!!
May 26, 2024
At the time of reading this collection, I noted in my diary that I liked it, but I no longer have the book, and I remember nothing about it, so my approval of it doesn’t seem to have lasted.
Read
July 25, 2020This is one of my favorite sci-fi books. It contains stories from early in Haldeman's career. They are light, pointed bits of satire and thought experiment from a man whose thoughts are worth reading. They remind me of Fred Pohl a bit, which is high praise from me.
These stories offer glimpses of a wry, sober wit.
These stories offer glimpses of a wry, sober wit.
September 10, 2015
Fun short stories from Joe Haldeman, author of the amazing novel The Forever War. I always enjoy short story collections from him. I have read his other collections and they never disappoint. I would give this 3.5 but I will round up to 4. I would give this 4 stars because some of the stories were clever and made you think. Some were creepy, or a little funny. Some made you go "hmm." All in all they are good short stories. This is not a lazy criticism on Joe (at least it is not intended to be). These are as good as a short story can get really. It's not too often you get a heart-wrenching, life-changing 12 page story. Maybe a novella....but no novellas here. So enjoy some quick little sci-fi jaunts.
April 8, 2015
Ce que j’ai aimé : Tout d’abord, la diversité de ce recueil. Ensuite, le fait que l’auteur nous préface chaque nouvelle en la resituant dans son contexte d’écriture, ses recherches et ses inspirations. Les trois dernières nouvelles m’ont vraiment plu, par le côté apo-post-apo vraiment original. La première, même si un peu téléphonée, était aussi distrayante, mais moi, j’aime bien les histoires parallèles.
Ce que je n’ai pas aimé : Les nouvelles concernant la guerre ou le retour de la guerre. L’auteur s’est vraiment bien débrouillé, mais c’est un sujet qui ne m’intéresse pas.
http://wc.pressepuree.fr/reves-infini...
Ce que je n’ai pas aimé : Les nouvelles concernant la guerre ou le retour de la guerre. L’auteur s’est vraiment bien débrouillé, mais c’est un sujet qui ne m’intéresse pas.
http://wc.pressepuree.fr/reves-infini...
March 11, 2015
When I finished reading Counterpoint I thought to myself, "This is the best short story I have ever read." Like all collections, some stories in this book are better, some are worse. Definitely worth the read but by the end (and I didn't read the stories "in order"), I thought they were a little repetitive. Definitely worth it even if you only read the first story Counterpoint.
May 10, 2016
Short story collections can have a great deal of variance, but I found this one to be pretty solid. From first to last I thought this was a good collection. Also, all the stories are short enough to be read in one sitting and I found them perfect reading before bed or just to fill 15-20 minutes with some quiet solitude. Thoroughly enjoyable.
March 20, 2017
His first collection Stories published from 1972 to 1976. Holding up pretty well, so far, though some of this is apprentice work. But then, I'm a big Haldeman fan ;-]
Partial reread -- due back soon.
"Tricentennial" won the 1977 best short story Hugo and Locus awards.
ISFDB page: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1822
Had to return to library unfinished....
Partial reread -- due back soon.
"Tricentennial" won the 1977 best short story Hugo and Locus awards.
ISFDB page: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1822
Had to return to library unfinished....
January 18, 2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Counterpoint
⭐⭐⭐ Anniversary Project
⭐⭐⭐ The Mazel Tov Revolution
⭐⭐⭐ To Howard Hughes: A Modest Proposal
⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Mind of His Own
⭐⭐⭐ All the Universe in a Mason Jar
⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Private War of Private Jacob
⭐⭐⭐ A Time to Live
⭐⭐⭐ Juryrigged
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Summer's Lease
⭐⭐⭐ 26 Days, on Earth
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Armaja Das
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tricentennial
⭐⭐⭐ Anniversary Project
⭐⭐⭐ The Mazel Tov Revolution
⭐⭐⭐ To Howard Hughes: A Modest Proposal
⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Mind of His Own
⭐⭐⭐ All the Universe in a Mason Jar
⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Private War of Private Jacob
⭐⭐⭐ A Time to Live
⭐⭐⭐ Juryrigged
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Summer's Lease
⭐⭐⭐ 26 Days, on Earth
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Armaja Das
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tricentennial
January 26, 2016
A very good collection of SiFi short stories by my favorite modern SiFi writer, Joe Haldeman. While I am not normally a short story fan Haldeman does his usual trick and somehow grabs me and makes me interested in the characters and the story. Very recommended
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews