Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories 18: 1956

Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories #18

by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, Alan E. Nourse

Contents:
9 · Introduction · Martin H. Greenberg · in
13 · Brightside Crossing · Alan E. Nourse · nv Galaxy Jan ’56
35 · Clerical Error · Mark Clifton · nv Astounding Feb ’56
75 · Silent Brother · Algis Budrys · ss Astounding Feb ’56
96 · The Country of the Kind · Damon Knight · ss F&SF Feb ’56
111 · Exploration Team [Colonial Survey] · Murray Leinster · nv Astounding Mar ’56
161 · Rite of Passage · Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore · nv F&SF May ’56
203 · The Man Who Came Early · Poul Anderson · nv F&SF Jun ’56
230 · A Work of Art [“Art-Work”] · James Blish · nv Science Fiction Stories Jul ’56
248 · Horrer Howce · Margaret St. Clair · ss Galaxy Jul ’56
261 · Compounded Interest · Mack Reynolds · ss F&SF Aug ’56
276 · The Doorstop · Reginald Bretnor · ss Astounding Nov ’56
286 · The Last Question · Isaac Asimov · ss Science Fiction Quarterly Nov ’56
300 · Stranger Station · Damon Knight · nv F&SF Dec ’56
327 · 2066: Election Day · Michael Shaara · ss Astounding Dec ’56
344 · And Now the News... · Theodore Sturgeon · ss F&SF Dec ’56

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies

362 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 2, 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

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've come to have great respect and fondness for this series. It's a shame they are out of print, but digital scans are available for free on the net if you can find them. However, it's well worth the money and time to collect the entire 25 volumes from eBay.

These stories were my favorites:

- "The Man Who Came Early" by Poul Anderson
- "The Country of the Kind" by Damon Knight
- "Stranger Station" by Damon Knight
- "The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov
- "Brightside Crossing" by Alan E. Nourse
- "And Now the News..." by Theodore Sturgeon
- "Exploration Team" by Murray Leinster
- "Clerical Error" Mark Clifton

[Steve Rainwater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of the year's best science fiction from 1956

When this excellent 25 volume anthology series edited by Asimov and Greenberg came out back in the 1980s, I bought and read all of them I could find but a few volumes went out of print before I could buy them. All these years later, I'm finally tracking them down on eBay. I highly recommend the entire series - IF you can find them!

[Matteo Pellegrini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ancora due volumi della serie "Le grandi storie della fantascienza", che ripercorrono stavolta il biennio 1955-1956, anni che videro l'istallazione della prima centrale nucleare, dei primi lanci di satelliti nello spazio, quando in tutto il mondo si festeggiò il matrimonio di Marilyn Monroe con Arthur Miller. I due volumi antologici comprendono come di regola racconti di autori "di prima categoria", veri giganti del genere tra cui: Theodore Sturgeon, Philip K. Dick, Eric Frank Russell, Arthur C. Clarke, e ovviamente lo stesso Isaac Asimov.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing here: Knight's "Country of the Kind."