First Contact

by Damon Knight (Editor), C.M. Kornbluth, Robert A. Heinlein

Preternatural? With all the benefits of our science and history we earthlings still seem to find it impossible to communicate effectively. It is a rare moment in time that peace extends around our little planet.
What is to be expected then when our people make contact with creatures or intelligences from other worlds? Perhaps the answers to our problems of the past, present and future are to be found in the fertile imaginings of such renowned writers as these:

Introduction (First Contact) • essay by Damon Knight
First Contact • (1945) • novelette by Murray Leinster
Doomsday Deferred • (1949) • shortstory by Murray Leinster [as by Will F. Jenkins ]
The Hurkle Is a Happy Beast • (1949) • shortstory by Theodore Sturgeon
Not Final! • (1941) • shortstory by Isaac Asimov
The Blind Pilot • (1960) • shortstory by Charles Henneberg
The Silly Season • (1950) • shortstory by C. M. Kornbluth
Goldfish Bowl • (1942) • novelette by Robert A. Heinlein [as by Anson MacDonald ]
In Value Deceived • (1950) • shortstory by H. B. Fyfe
The Waveries • (1945) • shortstory by Fredric Brown
In the Abyss • (1896) • shortstory by H. G. Wells

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

219 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1971

About the author

Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic.
Knight's first professional sale was a cartoon drawing to a science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. He is best known as the author of "To Serve Man", which was adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was a recipient of the Hugo Award, founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), cofounder of the National Fantasy Fan Federation, cofounder of the Milford Writer's Workshop, and cofounder of the Clarion Writers Workshop. Knight lived in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife Kate Wilhelm.

Reviews

[Scott DuJardin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1971 but the stories are from the 40's and 50's, so yes - somewhat dated. But for the most part the concepts are as relevant as they were then.
For me, a very good set of stories. I may be biased - I have owned this volume for some 50 years - but I think this is some of the best first contact fiction out there.

[Libby Beyreis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a mixed bag of old school short stories about first contact with alien races. Some were just fine, some were outstanding. A solid collection.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some are good, while others are not (the usual with short story collections).

Read and use your own judgment.

[Omar Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3-star book that deserves an extra star for helping me discover a couple of authors new to me. Theodore Sturgeon, whose poetic prose I really loved and Fredric Brown, who's imagination of human behavior really captured me.

Compilation of very sort stories. As it always happens with compilations, some are good, others not so much. Overall it's an easy and entertaining read if "man's first encounters" is a topic of your interest.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 and a half stars. This is a collection of short SF stories about...you guessed it. Pretty good. Stories by Leinster, Sturgeon, Asimov, Brown, and Wells, among others.

[Nik Kane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a few "good idea" stories.