James Blish





James Blish

Author profile


born
May 23, 1921 in East Orange, New Jersey, The United States

died
July 30, 1975

gender
male

genre


About this author

James Benjamin Blish (East Orange, New Jersey, May 23, 1921 – Henley-on-Thames, July 30, 1975) was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling Jr.

In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.

Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.

He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appe...more


Average rating: 3.66 · 9,967 ratings · 554 reviews · 151 distinct works
Cities in Flight
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3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 1,242 ratings — published 1970 — 15 editions
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A Case of Conscience
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3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 avg rating — 943 ratings — published 1958 — 18 editions
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Star Trek 1
3.51 of 5 stars 3.51 avg rating — 426 ratings — published 1967 — 10 editions
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Spock Must Die!
3.26 of 5 stars 3.26 avg rating — 402 ratings — published 1970 — 8 editions
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Star Trek
3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 avg rating — 340 ratings5 editions
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Star Trek 5
3.53 of 5 stars 3.53 avg rating — 324 ratings — published 1967 — 7 editions
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Star Trek 4
3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 avg rating — 325 ratings — published 1971 — 6 editions
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Star Trek 2
3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 avg rating — 312 ratings — published 1972 — 8 editions
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Star Trek 10
3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 avg rating — 270 ratings — published 1974 — 7 editions
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Star Trek 12
3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 avg rating — 257 ratings3 editions
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More books by James Blish…
Star Trek 1 Star Trek 2 Star Trek Star Trek 4 Star Trek 5 Star Trek 6 Star Trek 7
Star Trek (12 books)
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3.503067484662577 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 3,912 ratings
They Shall Have Stars A Life for the Stars Earthman, Come Home The Triumph of Time
Cities in Flight (4 books)
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3.7836029001673173 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 1,793 ratings
Doctor Mirabilis Black Easter The Day After Judgement A Case of Conscience
After Such Knowledge (4 books)
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3.5606177606177605 of 5 stars 3.56 avg rating — 1,295 ratings
Star Trek: The Classic Epis... Star Trek: The Classic Epis... Star Trek: The Classic Epis...
Star Trek: The Classic Episodes (3 books)
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3.7790055248618786 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 181 ratings
The Star Trek Reader The Star Trek Reader II The Star Trek Reader Iii The Star Trek Reader Iv
The Star Trek Reader (4 books)
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3.6148148148148147 of 5 stars 3.61 avg rating — 135 ratings
More series by James Blish…
“I will be the first. As of tonight, I renounce my citizenship in the United Nations, and my allegiance to the Shelter state. From now on I will be a citizen--a citizen of no country but that bounded by the limits of my own mind. I do not know what those limits are, and I may never find out, but I shall devote my life to searching for them, in whatever manner seems good to me, and in no other manner whatsoever.
You must do the same. Tear up your registration cards. If you are asked your serial number, tell them you never had one. Never fill in another form. Stay above ground when the siren sounds. Stake out plots; grow crops; abandon the corridors. Do not commit any violence; simply refuse to obey. Nobody has the. right to compel you, as non-citizens. Passivity is the key. Renounce, resist, deny!”
James Blish, A Case of Conscience

“[T]he end cannot justify the means; but if there are no other means, and the end is necessary...”
James Blish, Cities in Flight

“She was right. Peace was the way.
She was right. But at the wrong time.”
James Blish

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