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Tiger by the Tail
Strange...Uncanny...Chilling...9 great stories of imagination and suspense from the world of tomorrow by one of today's top science-fictioneers.
Tiger by the Tail An ordinary black pocketbook turns out to be the threshold of an unknown and terrifying dimension...
Nightmare Brother One man's torturous sleep was his only chance for survival in the the stars...
Letter of the Law On a planet of con-men, an earth born swindler must lie for his life . . .
Brightside Crossing On the sunward side of Mercury the temperature was 770 degrees--and a man could die more than once...
Plus the following stories...
Problem
The Coffin Cure
The Native Soil
Love Thy Vimp
Family Resemblance
Tiger by the Tail An ordinary black pocketbook turns out to be the threshold of an unknown and terrifying dimension...
Nightmare Brother One man's torturous sleep was his only chance for survival in the the stars...
Letter of the Law On a planet of con-men, an earth born swindler must lie for his life . . .
Brightside Crossing On the sunward side of Mercury the temperature was 770 degrees--and a man could die more than once...
Plus the following stories...
Problem
The Coffin Cure
The Native Soil
Love Thy Vimp
Family Resemblance
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
1 person is currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Alan E. Nourse
258 books41 followersAlan Edward Nourse was an American science fiction (SF) author and physician. He also wrote under the name Dr. X
He wrote both juvenile and adult science fiction, as well as nonfiction works about medicine and science.
Alan Nourse was born to Benjamin and Grace (Ogg) Nourse. He attended high school in Long Island, New York. He served in the U.S. Navy after World War II. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1951 from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. He married Ann Morton on June 11, 1952 in Lynden, New Jersey. He received a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree in 1955 from the University of Pennsylvania. He served his one year internship at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Washington. He practiced medicine in North Bend, Washington from 1958 to 1963 and also pursued his writing career.
He had helped pay for his medical education by writing science fiction for magazines. After retiring from medicine, he continued writing. His regular column in Good Housekeeping magazine earned him the nickname "Family Doctor".
He was a friend of fellow author Avram Davidson. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1964 novel Farnham's Freehold to Nourse. Heinlein in part dedicated his 1982 novel Friday to Nourse's wife Ann.
His novel The Bladerunner lent its name to the Blade Runner movie, but no other aspects of its plot or characters, which were taken from Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In the late 1970s an attempt to adapt The Bladerunner for the screen was made, with Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs commissioned to write a story treatment; no film was ever developed but the story treatment was later published as the novella, Blade Runner (a movie).
His novel Star Surgeon has been recorded as a public domain audio book at LibriVox
His pen names included "Al Edwards" and "Doctor X".
He died in Thorp, Washington.
He wrote both juvenile and adult science fiction, as well as nonfiction works about medicine and science.
Alan Nourse was born to Benjamin and Grace (Ogg) Nourse. He attended high school in Long Island, New York. He served in the U.S. Navy after World War II. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1951 from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. He married Ann Morton on June 11, 1952 in Lynden, New Jersey. He received a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree in 1955 from the University of Pennsylvania. He served his one year internship at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Washington. He practiced medicine in North Bend, Washington from 1958 to 1963 and also pursued his writing career.
He had helped pay for his medical education by writing science fiction for magazines. After retiring from medicine, he continued writing. His regular column in Good Housekeeping magazine earned him the nickname "Family Doctor".
He was a friend of fellow author Avram Davidson. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1964 novel Farnham's Freehold to Nourse. Heinlein in part dedicated his 1982 novel Friday to Nourse's wife Ann.
His novel The Bladerunner lent its name to the Blade Runner movie, but no other aspects of its plot or characters, which were taken from Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In the late 1970s an attempt to adapt The Bladerunner for the screen was made, with Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs commissioned to write a story treatment; no film was ever developed but the story treatment was later published as the novella, Blade Runner (a movie).
His novel Star Surgeon has been recorded as a public domain audio book at LibriVox
His pen names included "Al Edwards" and "Doctor X".
He died in Thorp, Washington.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 3, 2021
El así llamado ‘La ratonera’, de Alan E. Nourse, se tituló originalmente ‘Tiger by the Tail and Other Science Fiction Stories’ (1961). Lo curioso es que no hay ningún relato que justifique ese título. He disfrutado mucho de estos relatos de los años 50 del pasado siglo, y sin duda buscaré más cosas de este autor, al que descubrí en una antología, que me llevó a su vez a esta recopilación de sus relatos. Mis favoritos, ‘Un tigre por la cola’ y ‘Viaje a la cara brillante’, donde se pretende realizar un viaje de investigación a la cara de Mercurio que da al sol eternamente.
-Un tigre por la cola.
-Hermana pesadilla.
-Problema.
-La cura Coffin.
-Viaje a la cara brillante.
-El suelo natal.
-Ama a tu Vimp.
-La letra de la ley.
-Parecido de familia.
-Un tigre por la cola.
-Hermana pesadilla.
-Problema.
-La cura Coffin.
-Viaje a la cara brillante.
-El suelo natal.
-Ama a tu Vimp.
-La letra de la ley.
-Parecido de familia.
March 9, 2025
Tiger by the Tail was Nourse's (pronounced "nurse") first short fiction collection. It was published by McKay in 1961 (with a curiously very simplistic Mel Hunter cover) and was a selection of the SF book club, which was a big deal in those days. It contains nine stories, one each from Fantastic Universe, F & SF, and If, a pair from Astounding SF, and the rest from Galaxy. There are a couple of very amusing stories (Coffin Cure and Family Resemblance), some nice puzzle problems, and a few medical tales, the trope for which Nourse, a physician (he reportedly began to write sf novels to finance his medical school bills) was best known. It amuses me a lot now to note that the author photograph on the back dust jacket flap shows the doctor/author holding a cigarette. My other favorites are Brightside Crossing and the title story. Some of the tales are showing their age both technologically and in the treatment of women as kind of second-class citizens, but it's still an entertaining group. (Fun trivia fact: Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his novel Farnham's Freehold to his pal Nourse.)
August 16, 2023
Hard cover with this artwork, 1964, and 184 pages. It has the dust cover also which is not acid free!
1978 Grade A+
2023 Grade B
I can see why I liked this book of nine short stories 45 years ago. They are striking stories and very well written. Most of them are tiger by the tail type stories in that the people have taken on more than they can handle. But now I find them unbelievable, frustrating, predictable, and all about losers. Don't get me wrong, they are exciting, just not for me- like most short stories.
1978 Grade A+
2023 Grade B
I can see why I liked this book of nine short stories 45 years ago. They are striking stories and very well written. Most of them are tiger by the tail type stories in that the people have taken on more than they can handle. But now I find them unbelievable, frustrating, predictable, and all about losers. Don't get me wrong, they are exciting, just not for me- like most short stories.
August 22, 2025
Tug of war.
A shoplifter is caught red-handed slipping several goods into her pocketbook, only to find later on by the authorities and two scientists to be completely empty with no way of getting anything back. Where the hell did all the stuff go?
This was cool. An entertaining short sci-fi tale with a nice punchline at the ending. You just never know what you'll find at the end of a bottomless pit.
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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1961] [7p] [Sci-Fi] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
★★★☆☆ 50 Short Science Fiction Tales <--
-----------------------------------------------
Juego de la soga.
Una ladrona es sorprendida in fraganti metiendo varios bienes en su bolso, sólo que más tarde las autoridades y dos científicos descubren que está completamente vacía y sin posibilidad de recuperar nada. ¿A dónde diablos se fueron todas las cosas?
Esto estuvo bien. Una entretenida y brevea historia de ciencia ficción con un buen remate al final. Nunca se sabe lo que uno va a encontrar al final de un pozo sin fondo.
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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1961] [7p] [Ciencia Ficción] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
A shoplifter is caught red-handed slipping several goods into her pocketbook, only to find later on by the authorities and two scientists to be completely empty with no way of getting anything back. Where the hell did all the stuff go?
This was cool. An entertaining short sci-fi tale with a nice punchline at the ending. You just never know what you'll find at the end of a bottomless pit.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1961] [7p] [Sci-Fi] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
★★★☆☆ 50 Short Science Fiction Tales <--
-----------------------------------------------
Juego de la soga.
Una ladrona es sorprendida in fraganti metiendo varios bienes en su bolso, sólo que más tarde las autoridades y dos científicos descubren que está completamente vacía y sin posibilidad de recuperar nada. ¿A dónde diablos se fueron todas las cosas?
Esto estuvo bien. Una entretenida y brevea historia de ciencia ficción con un buen remate al final. Nunca se sabe lo que uno va a encontrar al final de un pozo sin fondo.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1961] [7p] [Ciencia Ficción] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
February 2, 2017
Read this book as a teen and loved it. Some stories made such an impression on me that I retell them to my daughters from memory, and they find them fascinating, too.
Wish I could get my hands on a copy again.
Wish I could get my hands on a copy again.
October 13, 2017
Alan E. Nourse (1928-1992) was a medical doctor and science fiction/fact author. His professional training often showed in his stories, perhaps best exemplified by the novel Star Surgeon. He also wrote The Bladerunner, about a dystopian future where medical care is rationed. Hollywood optioned the title and stuck it on a Philip K. Dick story.
This book is a collection of nine SF short stories originally published in the 1950s, when speculative fiction was getting more psychologically complex.
“Tiger by the Tail” leads off with store detectives watching in amazement as a shoplifter blatantly stuffs merchandise into her pocketbook. Far more than could possibly fit into it. It ends with an existential threat to the entire universe. The story is exposition heavy, but pays off when an iron bar moving a centimeter becomes a horrifying event.
“Nightmare Brother” is the longest story. A man finds himself walking down a long tunnel without knowing where he is, how he got there, or even who he is. And the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train! He escapes that peril, only to find himself in a worse situation, over and over. Why is this happening to him?! Some dubious psychology, and a hint of Fifties attitudes towards women.
“PRoblem” involves a public relations man called in to sell the public on allowing extradimensional aliens to take temporary refuge on Earth while their babies are born. The aliens are almost designed to cause revulsion in humans, and their personalities are irritating. And then he finds out their real dealbreaker. I get the feeling this one was written around a typo.
“The Coffin Cure” involves a cure for the common cold. Dr. Nourse ignores clinical testing procedures that he would certainly have been familiar with in real life so that the cure can be released to large portions of the public by an overenthusiastic project leader named Coffin. A few weeks later, the side effects start showing up. (And they’re fairly logical side effects.) Phillip Dawson, the man who actually came up with the cure, must now find a cure for the cure. Very Fifties sitcom treatment of his marriage.
“Brightside Crossing” is a grueling tale about a disastrous attempt to cross the surface of Mercury. Since then, we have learned that Mercury does in fact rotate, so there’s no one “bright side.” That said, it’s an adventure story with some thrilling moments.
“The Native Soil” likewise is not viable because of new information about Venus. For the purposes of this story, it’s covered in deep, deep mud–some of which has unparalleled antibiotic properties. A pharmaceutical company is trying to mine that mud with the dubious aid of the natives. The enterprise is not going well, and even a top troubleshooter from Earth is about to give up until he finally realizes what’s really going on.
“Love Thy Vimp” has Earth invaded by the eponymous vermin-like aliens. They cause trouble wherever they go, are vicious and cruel, and nearly impossible to kill. Barney Holder, a mild-mannered sociology teacher, has been assigned to a task force to get rid of the accursed things. One vimp has been captured, but experiments reveal no way of stopping it. Barney must ferret out the vimps’ one weakness. Fifties sitcom marriage stereotypes pop up again, but this time the nagging wife is an actual plot point.
“Letter of the Law” involves a conman who tried to bilk a group of aliens, only to run into their biggest taboos. Now he’s on trial for his life, and has to be his own lawyer on a planet where truth is an unknown concept. The human government emissary isn’t exactly thrilled to be helping. And even if the conman succeeds, his neck might still be on the chopping block. Satisfying ending.
“Family Resemblance” isn’t a science fiction story per se, but a comic tale of a hoax designed to make it appear that humans evolved from pigs. Some groan-worthy humor in this one.
Overall, a decent enough collection of stories that have become dated either through scientific advances or social change. Worth looking up at your library.
This book is a collection of nine SF short stories originally published in the 1950s, when speculative fiction was getting more psychologically complex.
“Tiger by the Tail” leads off with store detectives watching in amazement as a shoplifter blatantly stuffs merchandise into her pocketbook. Far more than could possibly fit into it. It ends with an existential threat to the entire universe. The story is exposition heavy, but pays off when an iron bar moving a centimeter becomes a horrifying event.
“Nightmare Brother” is the longest story. A man finds himself walking down a long tunnel without knowing where he is, how he got there, or even who he is. And the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train! He escapes that peril, only to find himself in a worse situation, over and over. Why is this happening to him?! Some dubious psychology, and a hint of Fifties attitudes towards women.
“PRoblem” involves a public relations man called in to sell the public on allowing extradimensional aliens to take temporary refuge on Earth while their babies are born. The aliens are almost designed to cause revulsion in humans, and their personalities are irritating. And then he finds out their real dealbreaker. I get the feeling this one was written around a typo.
“The Coffin Cure” involves a cure for the common cold. Dr. Nourse ignores clinical testing procedures that he would certainly have been familiar with in real life so that the cure can be released to large portions of the public by an overenthusiastic project leader named Coffin. A few weeks later, the side effects start showing up. (And they’re fairly logical side effects.) Phillip Dawson, the man who actually came up with the cure, must now find a cure for the cure. Very Fifties sitcom treatment of his marriage.
“Brightside Crossing” is a grueling tale about a disastrous attempt to cross the surface of Mercury. Since then, we have learned that Mercury does in fact rotate, so there’s no one “bright side.” That said, it’s an adventure story with some thrilling moments.
“The Native Soil” likewise is not viable because of new information about Venus. For the purposes of this story, it’s covered in deep, deep mud–some of which has unparalleled antibiotic properties. A pharmaceutical company is trying to mine that mud with the dubious aid of the natives. The enterprise is not going well, and even a top troubleshooter from Earth is about to give up until he finally realizes what’s really going on.
“Love Thy Vimp” has Earth invaded by the eponymous vermin-like aliens. They cause trouble wherever they go, are vicious and cruel, and nearly impossible to kill. Barney Holder, a mild-mannered sociology teacher, has been assigned to a task force to get rid of the accursed things. One vimp has been captured, but experiments reveal no way of stopping it. Barney must ferret out the vimps’ one weakness. Fifties sitcom marriage stereotypes pop up again, but this time the nagging wife is an actual plot point.
“Letter of the Law” involves a conman who tried to bilk a group of aliens, only to run into their biggest taboos. Now he’s on trial for his life, and has to be his own lawyer on a planet where truth is an unknown concept. The human government emissary isn’t exactly thrilled to be helping. And even if the conman succeeds, his neck might still be on the chopping block. Satisfying ending.
“Family Resemblance” isn’t a science fiction story per se, but a comic tale of a hoax designed to make it appear that humans evolved from pigs. Some groan-worthy humor in this one.
Overall, a decent enough collection of stories that have become dated either through scientific advances or social change. Worth looking up at your library.
April 23, 2026
An old slim paperback I found on my shelf, it’s a collection of old-school sci-fi stories, just what I was in the mood for! Yet…the stories weren’t anything much to write home about. These stories definitely felt in the vein of silly 50s/60s sci-fi, even reminding me a bit of Asimov’s lesser stories at times. I know this is technically “Golden Age” sci-fi, but I just didn’t think these stories were that great. There are better old sci-fi collections out there.
April 24, 2025
This book is on my bookshelf and it was my husband's random buy at a thrift store. Book is a collection of nine short stories. Alan Nourse is a physician and writer. Standout stories were Tiger by the Tail, PRoblem, and Brightside Crossing. The stories were very reminiscent of Twilight Zone and I found them enjoyable to read.
July 10, 2010
Short stories and a novella by Nourse. The only things I recall about this book after all these years are the cover picture and the title story.
February 19, 2014
Good -- in some cases, very good -- stories from the 1950's by a medical doctor who wrote science fiction on the side.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews