Isaac Asimov Presents the Golden Years of Science Fiction Sixth Series

Isaac Asimov Presents the Golden Years of Science Fiction #6

by Isaac Asimov (Editor)

33 stories and novellas from various authors from 1949-1950. Previously published as two separate works entitled Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories 11 (1949) and Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories 12 (1950).

Contents include:
The Red Queen's Race by Isaac Asimov
Flaw by John D. MacDonald
Private Eye by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore [as Lewis Padgett]
Manna by Peter Phillips
The Prisoner in the Skull by Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore [as Lewis Padgett]
Alien Earth by Edmond Hamilton
History Lesson by Arthur C. Clarke
Eternity Lost by Clifford D. Simak
The Only Thing We Learn by C.M. Kornbluth
Private - Keep Out! by Philip MacDonald
The Hurkle Is a Happy Beast by Theodore Sturgeon
Kaleidoscope by Ray Bradbury
Defense Mechanism by Katherine MacLean
Cold War by Henry Kuttner
The Witches of Karres by James H. Schmitz
Spectator Sport by John D. MacDonald
There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury
Dear Devil by Eric Frank Russell
Scanners Live in Vain by Cordwainer Smith
Born of Man and Woman by Richard Matheson
The Little Black Bag by C.M. Kornbluth
Enchanted Village by A.E. van Vogt
Oddy and Id by Alfred Bester
The Sack by William Morrison
The Silly Season by C.M. Kornbluth
Misbegotten Missionary by Isaac Asimov
To Serve Man by Damon Knight
Coming Attraction by Fritz Leiber
A Subway Named Mobius by A.J. Deutsch
Process by A.E. van Vogt
The Mindworm by C.M. Kornbluth
The New Reality by Charles L. Harness

History Lesson was republished as Expedition to Earth; Oddy and Id was originally published as The Devil's Invention; Misbegotten Missionary was republished as Green Patches.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Adventure, Fiction

624 pages, Hardcover

First published February 17, 1988

About the author

Works of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.

Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.

Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).

People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.

Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.

Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

Reviews

[Paul Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before the 1960s science fiction was made up of a) stories that were really westerns or boys’ adventure stories or detective stories or something else in drag, e.g. Asimov’s Foundation series is The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, or b) essays about cool what-if ideas lightly fictionalised, consisting of professors in labs or in common rooms explaining their outlandish ideas or outlandish solutions.

This collection is stories from 1949 and 1950 and introduces type c) science fictionalised versions of contemporary political obsessions which are thereby transposed into the future or into space. In this case it’s the Cold War and McCarthyism.

There’s nothing wrong with any of this, of course. It’s quite fascinating to read this old stuff and see sf growing, changing, and huffing and puffing and squirming its way into all those new and bonkers ideas. And there was very fast development. There’s no mistaking a story written in 1950 for one written in 1960 or 1970.

So we have plenty here where the idea is cute or intriguing but the story surrounding it is groanworthy – Alien Earth by Edmond Hamilton and The Sack by William Morrison and perfect examples.

Best ones for me were There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury, Born of Man and Woman by Richard Matheson, Enchanted Village by A E van Vogt and The Mindworm by C M Kornbluth.

Speaking of whom, Isaac Asimov, in one of his many garrulous introductions, says

In reading Cyril’s stories, it is impossible to miss the fact that he tends to despise people generally….he was so much brighter than anyone he encountered that he must have worn himself out trying to stoop to the level of others.

In reading such comments it is impossible to miss the fact that Cyril tended to despise Isaac and the feeling was mutual.

[Bradley Roth · Rating 2 out of 5]

It turns out I am a big Asimov fan, but not such a huge fan of science fiction in general. I gave up.

[Katherine]

10/17/86. No library and iBooks.