Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories 21: 1959

Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories #21

by Isaac Asimov (Editor), Martin H. Greenberg (Editor)

A collection of some of the greatest science fiction tales.

Contents:

9 · Introduction · Martin H. Greenberg · in
15 · Make a Prison · Lawrence Block · ss Science Fiction Stories Jan ’59
21 · The Wind People · Marion Zimmer Bradley · ss If Feb ’59
45 · No, No, Not Rogov! · Cordwainer Smith · ss If Feb ’59
69 · What Rough Beast? · Damon Knight · nv F&SF Feb ’59
101 · The Alley Man · Philip José Farmer · na F&SF Jun ’59
159 · Day at the Beach · Carol Emshwiller · ss F&SF Aug ’59
173 · The Malted Milk Monster · William Tenn · nv Galaxy Aug ’59
199 · The World of Heart’s Desire · Robert Sheckley · ss Playboy Sep ’59
209 · The Man Who Lost the Sea · Theodore Sturgeon · ss F&SF Oct ’59
225 · A Death in the House · Clifford D. Simak · ss Galaxy Oct ’59
251 · The Pi Man · Alfred Bester · ss F&SF Oct ’59
273 · Multum in Parvo · Jack Sharkey · gp Gent Dec ’59
279 · What Now, Little Man? · Mark Clifton · nv F&SF Dec ’59
323 · Adrift on the Policy Level · Chandler Davis · ss Star Science Fiction Stories #5, ed. Frederik Pohl, Ballantine, 1959

Genres: Science Fiction

347 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

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

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology of stories from ‘59 ranges from “meh” to superb. The later was thanks to Chandler Davis’ “Adrift on Policy Level” which takes a clever shot at large bureaucracies and Mark Clifton’s “What Now, Little Man?” that is now filed under “read again”.

[Nicola Strangis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tra i numeri in mio possesso (il 9, il 18, il 19, il 20 ed il 21) questo è sicuramente quello meno soddisfacente, probabilmente il ‘59 non è stata una grande annata. Non ho particolari commenti da fare.

[Matteo Pellegrini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quattordici migliori racconti di fantascienza del 1959. Alle soglie deglianni Sessanta grandi scoperte portarono i primi uomini sulla luna, ma nelcontempo le battute iniziali della guerra fredda tra le due superpotenzeinsinuarono in molti animi un senso di profonda inquietudine. Nel 1959 lemigliori penne della fantascienza riversarono ansie, paure e speranze diquell'epoca: Marion Zimmer Bradley, Lawrence Block, Jack Sharkey, CordwainerSmith, Chandler Davis, Philip José Farmer, Theodore Sturgeon, Alfred Bester,William Tenn, Robert Sheckley, Clifford D. Simak, Mark Clifton, Damon Knight,Carol Emshwiller conducono il lettore ai confini della realtà alterando le suecognizioni di spazio e tempo.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Damon Knight's "What Rough Beast" was very intriguing indeed (although--among other things--I'm afraid that I didn't quite grasp the reason for the narrator's Tarzan, Tonto & Frankenstein approach to the lingo). The Farmer thing ("Alley Man") turned out to be way too long and annoying as hell. Emshwiller ("Day At the Beach") was good, and of course there was Sheckley's best story, "The Store of the Worlds" (here under the goofy alternate title "The World of Heart's Desire"). "What Now, Little Man?" was also nice. Nothing else here of terribly great interest though. Although "Adrift at the Policy Level" has always been one of my favorite titles. :)

[Carlo Mayer]

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