What do you think?
Rate this book
The Book of Ellison
The Book of Ellison is a salute to one of science fiction's greatest writers by those who know him best--his fellow writers. Published in celebration of his Guest of Honorship at the 1978 World Science Fiction Convention, this book not only captures the feelings of those who know him and his writings-Robert Silverberg, Lee Hoffman, David Gerrold, Isaac Asimov, Ted White and Joseph Patrouch Jr.--but captures the love for science fiction that Harlan has expressed through his nonfiction writings about the field.
Through Harlan Ellison's own writings in The Book of Ellison, ranging from "A Time for Dying," published in the Special Harlan Ellison issue of Algol in 1967 to his "The Whore with a Heart of Iron Pyrites; or Where Does a Writer Go to Find a Maggie?" you'll come to understand Harlan's deep and continuous love affair with science fiction.
Through Harlan Ellison's own writings in The Book of Ellison, ranging from "A Time for Dying," published in the Special Harlan Ellison issue of Algol in 1967 to his "The Whore with a Heart of Iron Pyrites; or Where Does a Writer Go to Find a Maggie?" you'll come to understand Harlan's deep and continuous love affair with science fiction.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Andrew I. Porter
74 books1 followerAndrew Ian Porter is an editor, publisher, and active science fiction fan.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 1, 2021
This was a fun book with limited distribution that collected nine essays by Ellison, mostly autobiographical and about the science fiction field and writing, along with a bibliography of his non-fiction (up to that time, 1978) by Leslie Kay Swigart, and appreciations by some of his friends and peers in the genre. The other contributors include Isaac Asimov, Lee Hoffman, Ted White, Robert Silverberg, David Gerrold, and Jospeh Patrouch, Jr. It's not a good introduction to Ellison, but great for those who are already fans. Ellison was one the best and most entertaining writers of his time, not just in the sf field.
July 25, 2013
Hagiography, plus some minor essays by the man himself. Inessential even for admirers. Although I did like the anecdote about how, when a magazine publisher stiffed him for $36, Ellison pretended to be with the feds to get in the door, then ran out with a typewriter, which he hocked for $78, "a clear profit of 42 bucks."
May 7, 2014
This book is extremely strangely edited. It's split into two parts -- one half pieces about Harlan Ellison, the other pieces written by him. I was under the impression the book would consist solely of the first kind -- that is, criticism and commentary on Ellison -- but instead it just petered out into disjointed selections of Ellison's own rants. No rhyme or reason to it. I have no idea why any of them were included. Admittedly, there were a few essays I hadn't seen before, so it was cool to read new Ellison stuff -- but I finished the book more confused than anything. Plus, the pieces about him weren't exceptionally interesting or insightful. This mainly gets three stars because I fucking love that angry old bat and any time I read his words I can't help but feel better about life -- but there's no reason to read this particular collection thereof. Read Ellison, just don't read this.
July 2, 2025
This is a fun, albeit hard to find, limited edition collectible published for the 1978 World Science Fiction Convention (200 hardcover copies, 1800 paperback). It contains material not collected in book form anywhere else. I've always said that Harlan Ellison the short story writer can be hit or miss, but Harlan Ellison the essayist is always worth reading. He is especially good when he is writing about science fiction--its most impactful stories, its best authors, and its worst fans.
The first section (The Book About Ellison) includes a selection of essays and anecdotes about the author provided by Lee Hoffman, Ted White, Robert Silverberg, Joseph Patrouch Jr., David Gerrold, and Isaac Asimov.
The second section (The Book By Ellison) contains both fiction and nonfiction from the man himself:
"Ellison on Ellison" (1973)-- Ellison writes his own bibliographic sketch in his usual self-effacing (yeah, right) style.
"School for Apprentice Sorcerers" (1969) -- A look at the origins and first two years of the enormously influential Clarion Workshop for SFF writers. (It has now been running from 1968 to 2025 with two years cancelled due to covid.)
"Getting Stiffed" (1972) -- Harlan spins up innervating, sometimes funny anecdotes of the times he's had his manuscripts stolen by publishers.
"A Time for Daring" (1967) -- This is a speech Ellison gave at a fan convention at which he was the guest of honor. He discusses publishers' resistance to new literary forms, the fractious infighting among sci-fi authors, and why some of the best practitioners of the craft--namely, Kurt Vonnegut, Theodore Sturgeon, and Philip Jose Famer--leave for other genres. He also assesses sci-fi's newfound popularity in both the literary mainstream and Hollywood. (Ellison was writing for Star Trek at the time).
"A Voice from the Styx" (1968) -- Ellison takes aim at Joseph Campbell, the famed editor of Analog, whose dogged insistence on science-based sci-fi is destroying good writers and harming the evolution of the genre (or, at least, harming Ellison's beloved "New Wave" movement). This is a classic Ellisonian take-down. The collateral damage includes Frank Herbert's Dragon in the Sea and Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight. The shrapnel disembowels Hal Clement and A. E. van Vogt with just a glancing blow. He includes such broad zingers as "Are women writers like women drivers; licensed, but not really in control?"
"The Whore with a Heart of Iron Pyrites; or, Where Does a Writer Go to Find a Maggie?" (1973) -- Ellison talks about the process of creating characters, using Maggie from "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" as his subject.
"Voe Doe Dee Oh Doe" (1977) -- Ellison discusses his quarter century friendship with Bob Silverberg. He includes a list of his favorite Silverberg stories and novels, plus more insights into Bob's personal life than I've ever known. I particularly like this essay as Silverberg is one of my favorite science fiction authors.
"Hardcover" (1955) – Fiction. A juvenile delinquent finds a book by Lewis Carroll in a dystopia where books are no longer allowed.
"A Walk Around the Block" (1955) – Fiction. A man decides to believe reality is only a construct of his consciousness, and then he alters his neighborhood by willing parts of it out of existence.
4 stars
The first section (The Book About Ellison) includes a selection of essays and anecdotes about the author provided by Lee Hoffman, Ted White, Robert Silverberg, Joseph Patrouch Jr., David Gerrold, and Isaac Asimov.
The second section (The Book By Ellison) contains both fiction and nonfiction from the man himself:
"Ellison on Ellison" (1973)-- Ellison writes his own bibliographic sketch in his usual self-effacing (yeah, right) style.
"School for Apprentice Sorcerers" (1969) -- A look at the origins and first two years of the enormously influential Clarion Workshop for SFF writers. (It has now been running from 1968 to 2025 with two years cancelled due to covid.)
"Getting Stiffed" (1972) -- Harlan spins up innervating, sometimes funny anecdotes of the times he's had his manuscripts stolen by publishers.
"A Time for Daring" (1967) -- This is a speech Ellison gave at a fan convention at which he was the guest of honor. He discusses publishers' resistance to new literary forms, the fractious infighting among sci-fi authors, and why some of the best practitioners of the craft--namely, Kurt Vonnegut, Theodore Sturgeon, and Philip Jose Famer--leave for other genres. He also assesses sci-fi's newfound popularity in both the literary mainstream and Hollywood. (Ellison was writing for Star Trek at the time).
"A Voice from the Styx" (1968) -- Ellison takes aim at Joseph Campbell, the famed editor of Analog, whose dogged insistence on science-based sci-fi is destroying good writers and harming the evolution of the genre (or, at least, harming Ellison's beloved "New Wave" movement). This is a classic Ellisonian take-down. The collateral damage includes Frank Herbert's Dragon in the Sea and Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight. The shrapnel disembowels Hal Clement and A. E. van Vogt with just a glancing blow. He includes such broad zingers as "Are women writers like women drivers; licensed, but not really in control?"
"The Whore with a Heart of Iron Pyrites; or, Where Does a Writer Go to Find a Maggie?" (1973) -- Ellison talks about the process of creating characters, using Maggie from "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" as his subject.
"Voe Doe Dee Oh Doe" (1977) -- Ellison discusses his quarter century friendship with Bob Silverberg. He includes a list of his favorite Silverberg stories and novels, plus more insights into Bob's personal life than I've ever known. I particularly like this essay as Silverberg is one of my favorite science fiction authors.
"Hardcover" (1955) – Fiction. A juvenile delinquent finds a book by Lewis Carroll in a dystopia where books are no longer allowed.
"A Walk Around the Block" (1955) – Fiction. A man decides to believe reality is only a construct of his consciousness, and then he alters his neighborhood by willing parts of it out of existence.
4 stars
July 5, 2023
On April 8, 1998 Harlan Ellison spoke at Harper College in Palatine Illinois. My wife and I attended and he was his usual acerbic self, skewering the stupidity in the "sci-fi world generally, and James Cameron specifically (Ellison sued Cameron for using several of Ellison's ideas in the film "Terminator") in a wide ranging engagement which included his reading of "Prince Myshkin, and Hold the Relish".
After the event, Ellison set up a table and signed copies of his books. I had purchased "The Book of Ellison" shortly after it was published in its first printing of 1800 copies. When it was my turn, I proffered Porter's book for him to sign, said that I was curious what his reaction would be (as it was very obscure, and 20 years old). A dark shadow came over Harlan's face as he saw what I handed him. And, under his breath, he says - "Andrew Porter, may he rot in hell". He opened the book to the title page, unscrewed the cap on his, I note, gorgeous fountain pen and scraped a huge "X" through Porter's name, and then signed his name above it. I thanked him and moved on.
Unknown to me was that Porter had stiffed Ellison on royalties from the book, and Ellison sued him for breach of contract. I believe Ellison won the lawsuit, but never saw any past monies. As I read about his feud with Porter further, there were reports of incidents where Harlan would rip this book in half when asked to sign it. Apparently, he had gotten over it by 1998. Thankfully.
After the event, Ellison set up a table and signed copies of his books. I had purchased "The Book of Ellison" shortly after it was published in its first printing of 1800 copies. When it was my turn, I proffered Porter's book for him to sign, said that I was curious what his reaction would be (as it was very obscure, and 20 years old). A dark shadow came over Harlan's face as he saw what I handed him. And, under his breath, he says - "Andrew Porter, may he rot in hell". He opened the book to the title page, unscrewed the cap on his, I note, gorgeous fountain pen and scraped a huge "X" through Porter's name, and then signed his name above it. I thanked him and moved on.
Unknown to me was that Porter had stiffed Ellison on royalties from the book, and Ellison sued him for breach of contract. I believe Ellison won the lawsuit, but never saw any past monies. As I read about his feud with Porter further, there were reports of incidents where Harlan would rip this book in half when asked to sign it. Apparently, he had gotten over it by 1998. Thankfully.
May 17, 2011
Half of this is a tribute to Harlan Ellison, and other half essays by Ellison. While Ellison is a favorite author, I didn't find much new here. However, it is a nice period piece (1978) that gives readers a window into the world of writers and how they think. Although with Ellison, you not want to peek behind the curtain...
February 17, 2021
"If you haven't read Harlan Ellison, you haven't read." ~ Richard Halasz
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews