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The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction Fifth Series
Book Club hardcover with dustjacket, 1956. Reprints the Doubleday first edition. This anthology collects works appearing in F&SF in 1955. Introduction by the editor, and these " A Proem" (poem) by Fredric Brown; "You're Another" by Damon Knight; "This Earth of Majesty" by Arthur C. Clarke; "Birds Can't Count" by Mildred Clingerman; "The Golem" by Avram Davidson; "Pottage" by Zenna Henderson; "The Vanishing American" by Charles Beaumont; "Created He Them" by Alice Eleanor Jones; "Too Far" by Fredric Brown; "A Matter of Energy" by James Blish; "Nellthu" by Anthony Boucher; "Dreamworld" by Isaac Asimov; "One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts" by Shirley Jackson; "The Short Ones" by Raymond E. Banks; "The Last Prophet" by Mildred Clingerman; "Botany Bay" by P. M. Hubbard; "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller, Jr.; "Lament by a Maker" (poem) by L. Sprague de Camp; "The Doctrine of Original Design" (poem) by Winona McClintic; "Pattern for Survival" by Richard Matheson; "The Singing Bell" by Isaac Asimov; "The Last Word" by Chad Oliver and Charles Beaumont; "Survival" (poem) by Carlyn Coffin.
254 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
About the author
Anthony Boucher
685 books43 followersWilliam Anthony Parker White, better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher, was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dramas. Between 1942 and 1947, he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition to "Anthony Boucher", White also employed the pseudonym "H. H. Holmes", which was the pseudonym of a late-19th-century American serial killer; Boucher would also write light verse and sign it " Herman W. Mudgett" (the murderer's real name).
In a 1981 poll of 17 detective story writers and reviewers, his novel Nine Times Nine was voted as the ninth best locked room mystery of all time.
In a 1981 poll of 17 detective story writers and reviewers, his novel Nine Times Nine was voted as the ninth best locked room mystery of all time.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 20, 2021
This was the fifth anthology selecting the best from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, with material from the year 1955. Boucher included some vignettes (what's called "flash" these days) from James Blish, Isaac Asimov, Fredric Brown and himself, and some poetry (including one by L. Sprague de Camp), along with good stories from fine writers like Zenna Henderson, Mildred Clingerman, Damon Knight, Arthur C. Clarke, etc., not to mention an offbeat collaboration from Chad Oliver and Charles Beaumont. Two of the stories stand head and shoulders above the rest, in my opinion: One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts by Shirley Jackson and A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
November 29, 2019
Another anthology, this time collecting the best stories from F&SF magazine from 1955, you get some true classics here. Foremost among them is of course the magazine version of A Canticle for Leibowitz, but you also get highlights from Arthur C. Clarke, Damon Knight, Isaac Asimov, Shirley Jackson and Richard Matheson and the really fascinating Pottage from Zenna Henderson.
This is truly a golden age of science fiction writer, with many authors which are part of the pantheon of science fiction and fantasy since then. Of course there are some repetitions in this anthology if you've read the Judith Merrill and T.E. Dikty anthologies of the same year. It does however show a dominance and an overall quality to F&SF magazine at this time that far surpasses its companion magazines. By this point Analog was still stuck on their weird pseudo-science groove and Galaxy was excellent but still very focused exclusively on SF, which would change by 1956.
All in all an excellent picture of fantasy and science fiction in the mid-50s with household name and iconic stories. It's also pretty surprising, for the time, how many great works of fiction here are by women writers in a field famously dominated by men. But Shirley Jackson's Zenna Henderson's and Mildred Clingerman's stories are great. And Alice Eleanor Jones' Created He Them, with it's strong feminist plot, was a particular revelation.
This is truly a golden age of science fiction writer, with many authors which are part of the pantheon of science fiction and fantasy since then. Of course there are some repetitions in this anthology if you've read the Judith Merrill and T.E. Dikty anthologies of the same year. It does however show a dominance and an overall quality to F&SF magazine at this time that far surpasses its companion magazines. By this point Analog was still stuck on their weird pseudo-science groove and Galaxy was excellent but still very focused exclusively on SF, which would change by 1956.
All in all an excellent picture of fantasy and science fiction in the mid-50s with household name and iconic stories. It's also pretty surprising, for the time, how many great works of fiction here are by women writers in a field famously dominated by men. But Shirley Jackson's Zenna Henderson's and Mildred Clingerman's stories are great. And Alice Eleanor Jones' Created He Them, with it's strong feminist plot, was a particular revelation.
August 22, 2013
This was a mixed bag of stories from S&SF magazine. Several stories by legendary SF writers. Most interesting was the original short story which later became the classic "The Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller, JR.
Following is my rating of the stories from 1* to 3***
You're Another-D. Knight *
This Earth of Majesty-A.C. Clarke**
Birds Can't Count-M. Clingerman*
The Golem-A. Davidson*
Pottage-Z. Henderson***
The Vanishing American-C. Beaumont**
Created He Them-A.E. Jones**
Too Far-F. Brown*
A Matter of Energy-J. Blish*
Nellthu-A. Boucher**
Dreamworld-I. Asimov*
One Ordinary Day with Peanuts-S. Jackson***
The Short Ones-R.E. Banks**
The Last Prophet-M. Clingerman*
Botany Bay-P.M. Hubbard**
A Canticle for Leibowitz-W.M. Miller Jr.***
Lament by a Maker-L.S. de Camp*
Pattern for Survival-R. Mattheson*
The Singing Bell-I. Asimov**
The Last Word-C. Oliver & C. Beaumont*
Following is my rating of the stories from 1* to 3***
You're Another-D. Knight *
This Earth of Majesty-A.C. Clarke**
Birds Can't Count-M. Clingerman*
The Golem-A. Davidson*
Pottage-Z. Henderson***
The Vanishing American-C. Beaumont**
Created He Them-A.E. Jones**
Too Far-F. Brown*
A Matter of Energy-J. Blish*
Nellthu-A. Boucher**
Dreamworld-I. Asimov*
One Ordinary Day with Peanuts-S. Jackson***
The Short Ones-R.E. Banks**
The Last Prophet-M. Clingerman*
Botany Bay-P.M. Hubbard**
A Canticle for Leibowitz-W.M. Miller Jr.***
Lament by a Maker-L.S. de Camp*
Pattern for Survival-R. Mattheson*
The Singing Bell-I. Asimov**
The Last Word-C. Oliver & C. Beaumont*
August 13, 2014
I finished this on my flight home from GenCon. I enjoyed it, although the story quality is all over the place. The short version of the first third of "A Canticle for Leibowitz" was tops. I'd read the novel, but never the story before. Some of the poems are very good, especially one by L. Sprague deCamp. The story by Arthur C. Clarke was the weakest.
With scores between 1 and 5 stars for the stories and poems, it gets 3 stars.
With scores between 1 and 5 stars for the stories and poems, it gets 3 stars.
January 22, 2026
This is a review of the paperback edition, which excluded Our Editor's introduction, except for an excerpt. This was probably a good thing. Our Editor notes that this time around, he relaxed rules on length and the "only one selection from an author" rule. I'm going to assume that this made the fifth anthology in the series the most popular so far, since it's the first that comes up not only in a Goodreads search, but an Internet Archive search, too.
F & SF was considered, by far, to be the best magazine for fiction in America. This "best of" just focused on the year 1955. A surprising number of women authors are featured ... although their selections are, for the most part, not my cuppa. The Nifty Fifties had a lot of problems, but finding good speculative fiction wasn't one of them.
Selections:
* "Imagine: A Proem" by Frederick Brown. This brief prose poem serves as an introduction to the book. Has nothing to do with the John Lennon song.
* "You're Another" by Damon Knight. This begins as a slapstick comedy (which is a genre Knight is not known for) but it soon turns into a creepy mind bender. It may seem tame now, but this was very eye-opening at the time.
* "This Earth of Majesty" by Arthur C. Clarke. An Englishman writes from the point of view of an American astronaut about his first visit to England. A little too Monarchist for my tastes, but still a decent sci-fi story.
* "Birds Can't Count" by Mildred Clingerman. Actually, birds can count, but this wasn't known at the time this was written. This is a silly piece of fluff about a selfish woman realizing that an alien is watching her and her cat.
* "The Golem" by Avram Davidson. One of Davidson's best stories, about a Golem showing up at the home of an old Jewish couple. This has appeared in a dozen other anthologies.
* "Pottage" by Zenna Henderson. This is the third story in her People series. Although Our Editor claims that you don't need to read the previous stories to understand this novella, you really do. It takes a long time to make a point.
* "The Vanishing American" by Charles Beaumont. Possible inspiration for a classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, a 47 year old disappears in his birthday. Although the ending is meant to be happy, it seemed chilling to me.
* "Created He Them" by Alice Eleanor Jones. In a future America after a nuclear war, very few people have normal children. Those that are fertile are forced into loveless marriages where the women are raped to bear kids, only for the kids to be taken away when they are three by the government. This is about as dystopia as you can get.
* "Too Far" by Frederick Brown. An urban fantasy flash fiction story loaded with bad puns. No idea if this inspired Piers Anthony.
* "A Matter of Energy" by James Blish. A short-short based on a joke, but a very feeble one.
* "Nellthu" by Anthony Boucher. Our Editor writes a forgettable vignette, which reads like the first page of a novel about a strange love triangle.
* "Dreamworld" by Isaac Asimov. A story about a nightmare that's the set up for a joke.
* "One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts" by Shirley Jackson. Yes, that Shirley Jackson. This is a horror/fantasy story without any sci-fi. One of the weakest stories Jackson ever wrote.
* "The Short Ones" by Raymond E. Banks. Very disturbing look at a future America where tiny people called the Short Ones are manipulated by normal-sized American politicians.
* "The Last Prophet" by Mildred Clingerman. Builds up as if it's going to say something profound, then fizzled out. How disappointing.
* "Botony Bay" by P. M. Hubbard. Seems to be set in Somerset, England. A short glimpse of a man remembering his time with aliens.
* "A Canticle for Liebowitz" by Walter M. Miller, Jr. This is the original short story that spawned the novel considered a classic ... that was so bad, I couldn't finish it. However, the short story was much better than the novel.
* "Lament By a Maker" by L. Sprague de Camp. Rhymed poem with a killer beat about how hard it is to be a science fiction author.
* "Pattern for Survival" by Richard Matheson. It's the most beautiful punch in the gut you'll read all year.
* "The Singing Bell" by Isaac Asimov. First story in the Dr. Wendell Urth series. This is an inverted murder mystery -- a story about proving a suspect was the murderer, as opposed to sniffing the murderer out. Shows shades of Sherlock Holmes, of which Asimov was a fan.
* "The Last Word" by Chad Oliver and Charles Beaumont. A clever parody of time travel stories and Last Man on Earth stories.
F & SF was considered, by far, to be the best magazine for fiction in America. This "best of" just focused on the year 1955. A surprising number of women authors are featured ... although their selections are, for the most part, not my cuppa. The Nifty Fifties had a lot of problems, but finding good speculative fiction wasn't one of them.
Selections:
* "Imagine: A Proem" by Frederick Brown. This brief prose poem serves as an introduction to the book. Has nothing to do with the John Lennon song.
* "You're Another" by Damon Knight. This begins as a slapstick comedy (which is a genre Knight is not known for) but it soon turns into a creepy mind bender. It may seem tame now, but this was very eye-opening at the time.
* "This Earth of Majesty" by Arthur C. Clarke. An Englishman writes from the point of view of an American astronaut about his first visit to England. A little too Monarchist for my tastes, but still a decent sci-fi story.
* "Birds Can't Count" by Mildred Clingerman. Actually, birds can count, but this wasn't known at the time this was written. This is a silly piece of fluff about a selfish woman realizing that an alien is watching her and her cat.
* "The Golem" by Avram Davidson. One of Davidson's best stories, about a Golem showing up at the home of an old Jewish couple. This has appeared in a dozen other anthologies.
* "Pottage" by Zenna Henderson. This is the third story in her People series. Although Our Editor claims that you don't need to read the previous stories to understand this novella, you really do. It takes a long time to make a point.
* "The Vanishing American" by Charles Beaumont. Possible inspiration for a classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, a 47 year old disappears in his birthday. Although the ending is meant to be happy, it seemed chilling to me.
* "Created He Them" by Alice Eleanor Jones. In a future America after a nuclear war, very few people have normal children. Those that are fertile are forced into loveless marriages where the women are raped to bear kids, only for the kids to be taken away when they are three by the government. This is about as dystopia as you can get.
* "Too Far" by Frederick Brown. An urban fantasy flash fiction story loaded with bad puns. No idea if this inspired Piers Anthony.
* "A Matter of Energy" by James Blish. A short-short based on a joke, but a very feeble one.
* "Nellthu" by Anthony Boucher. Our Editor writes a forgettable vignette, which reads like the first page of a novel about a strange love triangle.
* "Dreamworld" by Isaac Asimov. A story about a nightmare that's the set up for a joke.
* "One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts" by Shirley Jackson. Yes, that Shirley Jackson. This is a horror/fantasy story without any sci-fi. One of the weakest stories Jackson ever wrote.
* "The Short Ones" by Raymond E. Banks. Very disturbing look at a future America where tiny people called the Short Ones are manipulated by normal-sized American politicians.
* "The Last Prophet" by Mildred Clingerman. Builds up as if it's going to say something profound, then fizzled out. How disappointing.
* "Botony Bay" by P. M. Hubbard. Seems to be set in Somerset, England. A short glimpse of a man remembering his time with aliens.
* "A Canticle for Liebowitz" by Walter M. Miller, Jr. This is the original short story that spawned the novel considered a classic ... that was so bad, I couldn't finish it. However, the short story was much better than the novel.
* "Lament By a Maker" by L. Sprague de Camp. Rhymed poem with a killer beat about how hard it is to be a science fiction author.
* "Pattern for Survival" by Richard Matheson. It's the most beautiful punch in the gut you'll read all year.
* "The Singing Bell" by Isaac Asimov. First story in the Dr. Wendell Urth series. This is an inverted murder mystery -- a story about proving a suspect was the murderer, as opposed to sniffing the murderer out. Shows shades of Sherlock Holmes, of which Asimov was a fan.
* "The Last Word" by Chad Oliver and Charles Beaumont. A clever parody of time travel stories and Last Man on Earth stories.
October 19, 2018
8 A very good collection of SF and fantasy-stories and vignettes by some of the greatest authors of the genre. Interestingly even from the well known authors there are lesser known stories included. The editor had a great taste and overview of the genre and his introduction are always enticing. I thought Clarkes story not very interesting (all authors have some miss instead of hits, I suppose). There was some of the sexism here that is symptomatic of the time these stories were written, but this collection had several stories by female authors that compensated for that. I thought they were some of the best prophets too! I really loved the story by Zenna Henderson 'Pottage' - I vaguely remember reading it before, but it really pulled the heartstrings, with lots of empathy and longing. I also liked both contributions by Mildred Clingerman. Alice Eleanor Jones critiques fifties gender issues in her wry tale. Some other noteworthy inclusions are the short story version of 'A canticle for Leibowitz'. I loved the book, but the short story is very powerfull as well! A gem. Isaac Asimov contributes with a science fictional detective story. 'Pattern for survival' by Richard Matheson is a fun read as well. 'The vanishing american' contained great description, but it reeked a bit too much af cliche for my taste. The opening story 'You're another' had a bit of a too clever twist in a story of parallel universes, but I found it entertaining. There are some SF-readers looking to the golden age of SF with disdain, but even after more than 60 years, these stories contain powerful ideas and great descriptions. I like them a lot.
August 17, 2022
⭐⭐⭐ Imagine: A Proem FREDERIC BROWN (POEM)
⭐⭐⭐ You're Another DAMON KNIGHT
⭐⭐⭐ This Earth of Majesty ARTHUR C. CLARKE
⭐⭐⭐ Birds Can't Count MILDRED CLINGERMAN
⭐⭐⭐ The Golem AVRAM DAVIDSON
⭐⭐⭐ Pottage ZENNA HENDERSON
⭐⭐⭐ The Vanishing American CHARLES BEAUMONT
⭐⭐⭐ Created He Them ALICE ELEANOR JONES
⭐⭐⭐ Too Far FREDERIC BROWN
⭐⭐ A Matter of Energy JAMES BLISH
⭐⭐ Nellthu ANTHONY BOUCHER
⭐⭐ Dreamworld ISAAC ASIMOV
⭐⭐⭐⭐ One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts SHIRLEY JACKSON
⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Short Ones RAYMOND E. BANKS
⭐⭐⭐ The Last Prophet MILDRED CLINGERMAN
⭐⭐⭐ Botany Bay P. M. HUBBARD
⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Canticle for Leibowitz WALTER M. MILLER, JR.
⭐⭐⭐ Lament by a Maker L. SPRAGUE DE CAMP (POEM)
⭐⭐ The Doctrine of Original Design WINONA MCCLINTIC (POEM)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pattern for Survival RICHARD MATHESON
⭐⭐⭐ The Singing Bell ISAAC ASIMOV
⭐⭐⭐ The Last Word CHARLES BEAUMONT / CHAD OLIVER
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Survival CARLYN COFFIN (POEM)
⭐⭐⭐ You're Another DAMON KNIGHT
⭐⭐⭐ This Earth of Majesty ARTHUR C. CLARKE
⭐⭐⭐ Birds Can't Count MILDRED CLINGERMAN
⭐⭐⭐ The Golem AVRAM DAVIDSON
⭐⭐⭐ Pottage ZENNA HENDERSON
⭐⭐⭐ The Vanishing American CHARLES BEAUMONT
⭐⭐⭐ Created He Them ALICE ELEANOR JONES
⭐⭐⭐ Too Far FREDERIC BROWN
⭐⭐ A Matter of Energy JAMES BLISH
⭐⭐ Nellthu ANTHONY BOUCHER
⭐⭐ Dreamworld ISAAC ASIMOV
⭐⭐⭐⭐ One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts SHIRLEY JACKSON
⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Short Ones RAYMOND E. BANKS
⭐⭐⭐ The Last Prophet MILDRED CLINGERMAN
⭐⭐⭐ Botany Bay P. M. HUBBARD
⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Canticle for Leibowitz WALTER M. MILLER, JR.
⭐⭐⭐ Lament by a Maker L. SPRAGUE DE CAMP (POEM)
⭐⭐ The Doctrine of Original Design WINONA MCCLINTIC (POEM)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pattern for Survival RICHARD MATHESON
⭐⭐⭐ The Singing Bell ISAAC ASIMOV
⭐⭐⭐ The Last Word CHARLES BEAUMONT / CHAD OLIVER
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Survival CARLYN COFFIN (POEM)
May 28, 2024
A fun anthology from 1956. It features stories that were typical of the time – fairly short, whip-smart ideas leading to a surprising or humorous twist. There's not a lot of depth here, but a lot of nostalgic fun. I picked this up at a yard sale because I saw that it had Shirley Jackson's “One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts” and the original short fiction version of Walter Miller, Jr.'s “A Canticle for Leibowitz”.
October 26, 2008
This is an exceptionally good collection of classic science fiction by some of the best writers in the field at the time of its publication. Unlike many of the other short story collections mentioned, this one I not only remember the cover of (ah, those Dali-inspired covers of the fifties and sixties!), but also many of its individual titles and their contents.
April 23, 2014
The name Anthony Boucher is very familiar but not a recent one. I think I must have read at least one or more of his(as editor) collections back in the day(late 50's through the sixties)...
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews