Two Envelopes And A Phone’s Reviews > Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction > Status Update

Okay. I'm calm, but....hoo, I'm a bit pissed. Fredric Brown's name appears once, and is spelled wrong. Frederic Brown. If I end up giving this book 3 stars instead of 4, it is because we can cover Asimov's groping of female behinds in detail, we can lay out Campbell's racism correctly, and deal with all that is horrid about Hubbard every minute, and we can't get Fredric Brown's name right once.

My favorite Hubbard is Slaves of Sleep. My favorite Heinlein is The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag. Favorite Asimov is Second Foundation. Of course, with Campbell it has to be Who Goes There?. I don't read Hubbard at all now (mainly did for reading-list requirements - Fear, Slaves of Sleep); I would read Heinlein, Asimov, or Campbell at any time - but don't actively go after their work, much.

There are some creative talents you could not hinge this book on, but I am thrilled as they get mentioned, beyond just the “Big Four” headlining things. Enter Jack Williamson, my favourite SF and Fantasy writer of the Golden Age! Also, loved the special mention of Sinister Barrier by Eric Frank Russell, even though it was selected for the debut issue of Unknown.

So what I'm getting, at the start, are the childhoods and youthful days of Campbell, Heinlein, Asimov, and Hubbard (though age differences have put the Heinlein data into the romance and marriage phase). I could take or leave alone the personal bios of any of these four guys...but the nexus point, the pulps, and any look at SF's evolution, will help me deal with these three rather off-putting dudes.

Not reading much SF this month, I'm afraid - but I'm going to make up for that just a little bit by doing some nonfiction niche-reading on one small part of the history of Science Fiction. This looks fun, and seems to have been well-received.