https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdID3YDCoWk
Friday, September 30, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: TEMPERANCE IS COMING
Raise a glass for this Temperance song from Arthur Fields and Fred Hall.
FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE MURDER OF SIR EDMUND GODFREY
The Murder of Sir Edmund Godfrey by John Dickson Carr (1936)
It was a Saturday, October 12, 1678, when noted London magistrate Sir Edmund Godfrey walked out of his house and disappeared. Five days later, his murdered body was found. The case was a sensation -- rumors of a Popish plot to overthrow the throne of Charles II were rife and, eventually a dozen poeple were brought to trial. Three men were found guilty and executed; their innocence was later proved beyond all doubt. Ever since then, scholars and historians have tried to resolve the question of who killed Sir Edmund Godfrey -- with suspects as improbable as Queen Catherine and Smauel Pepys,
This was not some insignificant murder. It ehlped set the stage for the political turmoil of the late Seventeenth century, helped set the dividing lines between Whig and Tory, and came close to stoping the reign of James II even before he ascended to the throne.
Charles II, a canny politician, spent his reign battling parliament over efforts to limit the rights of the crown, amid a nation-wide fear of the Catholic church. Charles' crown, because he had no issue with his wife and refused to divorce her (although he had no problem with the royal avocation of messing around), would go to his brother James upon Charles' death. James, however, had adopted the Catholic faith -- a cause for concern while Charles lived, but not a real problem; many Catholics supported the Protestant Charles. The Green Ribbon opposition to Charles was trying to foment rebellion, as well as urging a war with Catholic France. France could not afford a war and kept the pot from boiling over by secretly bribing influential members of both sides. In short, the political situation was a mess, although Charles seemed able to skate his way through the morass. About then, the priest Titus Oates, produced "evidence" of a Popish plot to poison Charles.
That's the background, soon to be followed by the disappearance and subsequent murder of Godfrey.
Carr, an anglophile and lover of history, wrote only two nonfiction books in his career, this and a biography of Arthur Conan Doyle. He investigates this murder with the eye of a novelist. Although well-researched and accurate as possible, The Murder of Sir Edmund Godfrey is presented as a detective novel. with an eye for detail as the author presents the many fascinating people who revolved around both the court and this case. His conclusion matches that of several historians and defies that of others, but -- following the rules of the detective novel -- comes to a logical conclusion.
We will never know if Carr is right in his deductions, but he gives an intimate and revealing look at the time and at the people involved.
Recommend for those who love 1) history, 2) murder, 3) John Dickson Carr, or 4) any of the above.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: SHOO SHOO BABY
A number 1 hit in 1944 by The Andrews Sisters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfntql35shY
DR. SIXGUN: WHO WOULD KILL CHARLIE AARON?
Dr. Sixgun (Dr. Ray Matson) dispenses medicine and his six gun to solve problems in the Old West of the 1870s. He's accompanied by his friend Pablo and Pablo's pet raven. Here he solves the mystery
of a killer riding a horse with no mane in an episode that aired on October 14, 1954.
Dr. Sixgun aired for just over a year on NBC radio from 1954 to 1955. Karl Weber, a veteran stage, radio, television, and film actor, played the title role.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfkE741euAs&list=PLS_d1HpIl9rK9Mo1i32a3QoRPK8HDFmGb&index=29
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: I CAN'T SEE YOUR FACE ANYMORE
Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dihXzxxy9HU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dihXzxxy9HU
BAD JOKE WEDNESDAY
The telemarketer asked me, "Can you spare two minutes for cancer research?"
I said, "Okay, but I don't think we'll get a lot done."
I said, "Okay, but I don't think we'll get a lot done."
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: SEPTEMBER SONG
The incomparable Sarah Vaughan with the Teddy Wilson Quartet, November 1946.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3_8ksD2Xh4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3_8ksD2Xh4
OVERLOOKED ANIMATION: RAY BRADBURY'S "HERE THERE BE TYGERS"
Zdes mogut voditsya tigry (1989)
Ray Brabury's famous short story is given an animated Russian treatment in this ten minute piece written by Sergei Task and directed by Vladimir Samsonov.
For English subtitles, click on the cc box at the bottom of the screen.
Enjoy.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xtge5a_here-there-be-tygers-zdes-mogut-voditsya-tigry-russian-animation-science-fiction-ray-bradbury-story_shortfilms
Ray Brabury's famous short story is given an animated Russian treatment in this ten minute piece written by Sergei Task and directed by Vladimir Samsonov.
For English subtitles, click on the cc box at the bottom of the screen.
Enjoy.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xtge5a_here-there-be-tygers-zdes-mogut-voditsya-tigry-russian-animation-science-fiction-ray-bradbury-story_shortfilms
Monday, September 26, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE
Thirty-six-year old cowboy star Rex Allen and a twelve-year-old Brenda Lee, with a duet from Ozark Juubilee, May 11, 1957. Even then Brenda was a solid professional. The end of the video gives you a square dance and a pitch for Beeman's Gum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTrJoFr6NRM
INCOMING
- John Farris, You Don't Scare Me. Horror novel. When she was fourtenn, Cahse Emrick's mother married Crow Tillman. Chase never trusted her frightening step-father -- a feeling that p;roved true during one terrifying night of terror. "Ten years later, Crow is dead, but he hasn't stopped haunting Chase. Everyone she's ever been close to has suffered a horrible fate, leaving Chase alone in the world. She has spent the last en years of her life proving that another dimension lies unseen in our reality -- one where the dead can inflict their will on the living. In this netherworld of horror, Crow Tillman is in complete control...Now chase is ready to try to defeat Crow, but to battle him, first she must die." Brrr.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
THE HARPE "BROTHERS" -- EARLY AMERICAN SERIAL KILLERS
Micajah Harpe (Big Harpe) and his cousin Wiley Harpe (Little Harpe) were as nasty a pair you could ever meet. Murder, dismemberment, robbery, and arson were their tools of trade. Operating in Tennessee in Kentucky and Tennessee in the late 18th century, they may have murdered up to 40 people -- men, women, and children -- although the official known count is 25.
Robert Wilhelm's Murder by Gaslight has the details:
http://www.murderbygaslight.com/2010/10/big-harpe-and-little-harpe.html
Robert Wilhelm's Murder by Gaslight has the details:
http://www.murderbygaslight.com/2010/10/big-harpe-and-little-harpe.html
Saturday, September 24, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: ROCK 'N ROLL RUBY
From 1956, here's Warren Smith.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUwrwPUE5HQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUwrwPUE5HQ
MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURES #1 (MARCH 1951)
Mysterious Adventures was a pre-Code horror comic from small publisher Story Comics. Inc. A number of the titles published by Story were known for their excessive gore, compared to which this issue seems tame. There is a nihilistic bent to this one, however, and Death seems to always have the winning hand.
"Soldier of the Dead" tells of a Yankee soldier who fell in love with Southern lass, only to be killed by her enraged father, the master of the Coldwell estate. As his spirit leaves the soldier's body, it curses all Coldwell, vowing to "drink the blood of your daughters ever more." (The ghost of a murdered man becomes a vampire and leads a pack of werewolves; remind me not to kill any Yankee soldiers.) Now, in modern times, an actress, her sister, and a cousin -- all descendants from the original estate -- are attacked -- are each attacked by a shrouded figure or by a giant bat. It's time to call in Channing Wells, a psychic investigator. (And, thanks to artist Walter Johnson, all three of the Good Girls are so pneumatically enhance that it is to comprehend any of them being able to stand up straight. Yeah, I notice those things. So what?)
"A Portrait of Death" is a simple story of an artist who unconsciously creates a painting that tells of his murder by his friend and of the friend's being sentenced to death for the murder. Things do not end well for anyone.
"Revenge of the Voodoo Dead" is a two-page text story (which also grabbed the cover of this issue) about Paul Gillotte, who kills rivals (and potential rivals) for the love of Louise de Lille. The dead men get their revenge on Paul and -- for some inexplicable reason -- on Louise. The things we do for love...and hate.
What can be said about "The Horrible Fangs of Professor Prome" that doesn't include an Arctic expedition, an Eskimo Death-God, a frozen dragon that can eat through steel, and a whole buncha dead bodies? Nothing, except to note that the letterer mispelled the main character's name and the word "arctic."
In "Curse of the D'Medici," David Carvan picks up a costume of Lorezo D'Medeci from a mysterious old man at ye olde dusty costume shoppe. Included in the costume is the actual dgger that Lorenzo used to kill hundreds of men. The dagger has a mind of its own and it has been programmed to kill. David manages to (barely) control the blood lust that has come over him. To be safe he checks the dagger with the coat room attendant at the ball he's attending. Alas, the coat room attendent is no made the same stern stuff that David is and things...get sticky. Literally.
While not pre-Code horror at its best or most outlandish, Mysterious Adventures does give you a taste of that much-maigned sub-genre.
Enjoy.
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=23193
"Soldier of the Dead" tells of a Yankee soldier who fell in love with Southern lass, only to be killed by her enraged father, the master of the Coldwell estate. As his spirit leaves the soldier's body, it curses all Coldwell, vowing to "drink the blood of your daughters ever more." (The ghost of a murdered man becomes a vampire and leads a pack of werewolves; remind me not to kill any Yankee soldiers.) Now, in modern times, an actress, her sister, and a cousin -- all descendants from the original estate -- are attacked -- are each attacked by a shrouded figure or by a giant bat. It's time to call in Channing Wells, a psychic investigator. (And, thanks to artist Walter Johnson, all three of the Good Girls are so pneumatically enhance that it is to comprehend any of them being able to stand up straight. Yeah, I notice those things. So what?)
"A Portrait of Death" is a simple story of an artist who unconsciously creates a painting that tells of his murder by his friend and of the friend's being sentenced to death for the murder. Things do not end well for anyone.
"Revenge of the Voodoo Dead" is a two-page text story (which also grabbed the cover of this issue) about Paul Gillotte, who kills rivals (and potential rivals) for the love of Louise de Lille. The dead men get their revenge on Paul and -- for some inexplicable reason -- on Louise. The things we do for love...and hate.
What can be said about "The Horrible Fangs of Professor Prome" that doesn't include an Arctic expedition, an Eskimo Death-God, a frozen dragon that can eat through steel, and a whole buncha dead bodies? Nothing, except to note that the letterer mispelled the main character's name and the word "arctic."
In "Curse of the D'Medici," David Carvan picks up a costume of Lorezo D'Medeci from a mysterious old man at ye olde dusty costume shoppe. Included in the costume is the actual dgger that Lorenzo used to kill hundreds of men. The dagger has a mind of its own and it has been programmed to kill. David manages to (barely) control the blood lust that has come over him. To be safe he checks the dagger with the coat room attendant at the ball he's attending. Alas, the coat room attendent is no made the same stern stuff that David is and things...get sticky. Literally.
While not pre-Code horror at its best or most outlandish, Mysterious Adventures does give you a taste of that much-maigned sub-genre.
Enjoy.
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=23193
Friday, September 23, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: WHO THREW THE OVERALLS IN MRS. MURPHY'S CHOWDER?
Last night, while de-boning a chicken, Kitty began to sing this song. Why? I don't know, but it's one of the reasons why I love her.
Edward M. Favor sings this one in a 1901 Edison recording.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETtWPgiR4QA
Edward M. Favor sings this one in a 1901 Edison recording.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETtWPgiR4QA
FORGOTTEN AND NOT REALLY FORGOTTEN BOOKS: SEVENTY-PLUS YEARS OF EDGAR-WINNING NOVELS
I haven't finished the book I had planned to write about for today's Friday's Forgotten Books post.
What to do? What to do?
Then a brilliant idea came to me. It happens that the very first Edgars Awards were given in 1946 -- 70 years ago. When you include this year's winners, that's 71 years of prize winning mystery novels. A lot of them are from forgotten (or never really remembered) authors. CAVEAT: Not all prize winners really seserve to be prize winners. To be honest, there are some here I feel are real clunkers, but I'm not going to point them out because I am often wrong and because your mileage may vary.
Over the years, the Edgar Awards have presented three main awards for novels: Best First Novel, Best Novel, and Best Paperback Original Novel. There are a lot of other catagories, but I'll just concerns myself with these three.
The Mystery Writers of America was formed in 1945 with the credo "Crime Doesn't Pay -- Enough!" The 1946 Edgars (named for Edgar Allan Poe, natch) were in four catagories for work published in 1945: Best First Novel by an American Author, Best Motion Picture Screenplay, Best Radio Drama, and Outstanding Mystery Criticism. In addition, the first MWA Grandmaster was announced -- Agatha Christie.
So let's start with the Best First Novel awards.
- 1946 - Julius Fast, Watchful at Night
- 1947 - Helen Eustis, The Horizontal Man
- 1948 - Fredric Brown, The Fabulous Clipjoint
- 1949 - Mildred Davis, The Room Upstairs
- 1950 - Alan Green, What a Body!
- 1951 - Thomas Walsh, Nightmare in Manhattan
- 1952 - Mary McMullen, Strangle Hold
- 1953 - William Campbell Gault, Don't Cry for Me
- 1954 - Ira Levin, A Kiss Before Dying
- 1955 - Jean Potts, Go Lovely Rose
- 1956 - Lane Kauffman, The Perfectionist
- 1957 - Charlotte Armstrong, A Dram of Poison
- 1958 - William Rawle Weeks, Knock and Wait a While
- 1959 - Richard Martin Stern, The Bright Road to Fear
- 1960 - Henry Slesar, The Grey Flannel Shroud
- 1961 - John Holbrook Vance, The Man in a Cage
- 1962 - Suzanne Blanc, The Green Stone
- 1963 - Robert L. Fish, The Fugitive
- 1964 - Cornelius Hirschberg, Florentine Finish
- 1965 - Harry Kemelman, Friday the Rabbi Slept late
- 1966 - John Ball, In the Heat of the Night
- 1967 - Ross Thomas, The Cold War Swap
- 1968 - Michael Collins, Act of Fear
- 1969 - Dorothy Unak, The Bait and E. Richard Johnson, The Silver Street [tie]
- 1970 - Joe Gores, A Time for Predators
- 1971 - Lawrence Sanders, The Anderson Tapes
- 1972 - A. Z. H. Carr, Finding Maubee
- 1973 - R. H. Shimer, Squaw Point
- 1974 - Paul E. Erdman, The Billion Dollar Sure Thing
- 1975 - Gregory McDonald, Fletch
- 1976 - Rex Burns, The Alvarez Journal
- 1977 - James Patterson, The Thomas Berryman Number
- 1978 - Robert Ross, A French Finish
- 1979 - William L. DeAndrea, Killed in the Ratings
- 1980 - Richard North Patterson, The Lasko Tangent
- 1981 - K. Nolte Smith, The Watcher
- 1982 - Stuart Woods, Chiefs
- 1983 - Thomas Perry, The Butcher's Boy
- 1984 - Will Harriss, The Bay Psalm Book Murder
- 1985 - R. D. Rosen, Strike Three, You're Dead
- 1986 - Jonathan Kellerman, When the Bough Breaks
- 1987 - Larry Beinhart, No One Rides for Free
- 1988 - Dierdre S. Laiken, Death Among Strangers
- 1989 - David Stout, Carolina Skeletons
- 1990 - Susan Wolfe, The Last Billable Hour
- 1991 - Patricia D. Cornwell, Postmortem
- 1992 - Peter Blauner, Slow Motion Riot
- 1993 - Michael Connolly, The Black Echo
- 1994 - Laurie R. King, A Grave Talent
- 1995 - George Dawes Green, The Caveman's Valentine
- 1996 - David Housewright, Penance
- 1997 - John Morgan Wilson, Simple Justice
- 1998 - Joseph Kanon, Los Alamos
- 1999 - Steve Hamilton, A Cold Day in Paradise
- 2000 - Eliot Pattison, The Skull Mantra
- 2001 - David Liss, Conspiracy of Lies
- 2002 - David Ellis, Line of Vision
- 2003 - Jonathon King, The Blue Edge of Midnight
- 2004 - Rebecca Pawel, Death of a Nationalist
- 2005 - Don Lee, Country of Origin
- 2006 - Therea Shweigal, Officer Down
- 2007 - Alex Berenson, The Faithful Spy
- 2008 - Tana French, In the Woods
- 2009 - Francie Lin, The Foreigner
- 2010 - Stefanie Pintoff, In the Shadow of Gotham
- 2011 - Bruce DeSilva, Rogue Island
- 2012 - Lori Roy, Bent Road
- 2013 - Chris Pavone, The Expats
- 2014 - Jason Matthews, Red Sparrow
- 2015 - Tom Bowman, Dry Bones in the Valley
- 2016 - Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer
What's impressive is the high number of first novelists who have gone to maintain a solid career. Jonathan Kellerman, Stuart Woods, James Patterson. Richard North Patterson, Tana French, Patricia Cornwell, Michael Connolly, Joe Gores, Ross Thomas, Fredric Brown, Robert L. Fish, Henry Slesar, Lawrence Sanders, Gregory McDonald, Henry Kemelman, Michael Collins, Ira Levin, Charlotte Armstrong, and many others. Also impressive is the wide variety of sub-genres and range of writing that is represented here. Some of the authors have faded into the past and some are yet to forfill the promise of their first novels but, for the most part, these books are worth your time.
In 1955, the MWA added the catagory of Best Novel, giving established writers a chance for recognition from their peers. They started off with a novel that would become a classic.
- 1955 - Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye
- 1956 - Margaret Millar, Beast in View
- 1957 - Donald McNutt Douglas, Rebecca's Pride
- 1958 - Ed Lacy, Room to Swing
- 1959 - Stanley Ellin, The Eighth Circle
- 1960 - Celia Fremlin, The Hours Before Dawn
- 1961 - Julian Symons, The Progress of a Crime
- 1962 - J. J. Marric, Gideon's Fire
- 1963 - Ellis Peters, Death and the Joyful Woman
- 1964 - Eric Ambler, The Light of Day
- 1965 - John LeCarre, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
- 1966 - Adam Hall, The Quiller Memorandum
- 1967 - Nicholas Freeling, The King of the Rainy Country
- 1968 - Donald A. Westlake, God Save the Mark
- 1969 - Jeffrey Hudson, A Case of Need
- 1970 - Dick Francis, Forfeit
- 1971 - Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo, The Laughing Policeman
- 1972 - Frederick Forsythe, The Day of the Jackal
- 1973 - Warren Kiefer, The Lingala Code
- 1974 - Tony Hillerman, Dance Hall of the Dead
- 1975 - Jon Cleary, Peter's Pence
- 1976 - Brian Garfield, Hopscotch
- 1977 - Robert B. Parker, Promised Land
- 1978 - William H. Hallihan, Catch Me: Kill Me
- 1979 - Ken Follett, The Eye of the Needle
- 1980 - Arthur Maling, The Reingold Route
- 1981 - Dick Francis, Whip Hand
- 1982 - William Bayer, Peregrine
- 1983 - Rick Boyer, Billingsgate Shoal
- 1984 - Elmore Leonard, La Brava
- 1985 - Ross Thomas, Briarpatch
- 1986 - L. A. Wright, The Suspect
- 1987 - Barbara Vine, A Cold-Adapted Eye
- 1988 - Aaron Elkins, Old Bones
- 1989 - Stuart M. Kaminsky, A Cold Red Sunrise
- 1990 - James Lee Burke, Black Cherry Blues
- 1991 - Julie Smith, New Orleans Mourning
- 1992 - Lawrence Bloch, A Dance to the Slaughterhouse
- 1993 - Margaret Maron, The Bootlegger's Daughter
- 1994 - Minette Walters, The Sculptress
- 1995 - Mary Willis Walker, The Red Scream
- 1996 - Dick Francis, Come to Grief
- 1997 - Thomas H. Cook, The Chatham School Affair
- 1998 - James Lee Burke, Cimarron Rose
- 1999 - Robert Clark, Mrs. White's Confession
- 2000 - Jan Burke, Bones
- 2001 - Joe R. Lansdale, The Bottoms
- 2002 - T. Jefferson Parker, Silent Joe
- 2003 - S. J. Rozan, Winter and Night
- 2004 - Ian Rankin, Resurrection Men
- 2005 - T. Jefferson Parker, California Girl
- 2006 - Jess Walter, Citizen Vince
- 2007 - Jason Goodwin, The Janissary Tree
- 2008 - John Hart, Black River
- 2009 - C. J. Box, Blue Heaven
- 2010 - John Hart, The Lost Child
- 2011 - Steve Hamilton. The Lock Artist
- 2012 - Mo Hayder, Gone
- 2013 - Dennis Lehane, Live by Night
- 2014 - William Kent Kreuger, Ordinary Grace
- 2015 - Stephen King, Mr. Mercedes
- 2016 - Lori Roy, Let Me Die in His Footsteps
Quite a list, huh? A few people won this award twice and some who won for Best First Novel graduated to Best Novel. Again, variety and style vary greatly among the winners.
When the Edgars were first awarded, the mystery field already had a ghetto: the paperback original. I suspect that many members of the organization felt like the red-headed stepchild. Gothics, action adventure, and other subgenres seem to have been left out in the cold. To remedy this, a new catagory -- the Paperback Original -- was added and the first was awarded in 1970. As we shall see below, the Paperback Original grew in stature and, perhaps in some cases, were more inventive and stronger than their hardbound cousins.
- 1970 - Scott C. S. Stone, The Dragon's Eye
- 1971 - Dan J. Marlowe, Flashpoint
- 1972 - Frank McAuliffe, For Murder I Charge More
- 1973 - Richard Wormser, The Invader
- 1974 - Will Perry, Death of an Informer
- 1975 - Roy Winsor, The Corpse That Walked
- 1976 - John R. Feegel, Autopsy
- 1977 - Gregory McDonald, Confess, Fletch
- 1978 - Michael Jahn, The Quark Maneuver
- 1979 - Franklin Bandy, Deceit and Deadly Lies
- 1980 - William L. DeAndrea, The Hog Murders
- 1981 - Bill Granger, Public Murders
- 1982 - L. A. Morse, The Old Dick
- 1983 - Teri White, Triangle
- 1984 - Margaret Tracy, Mrs. White
- 1985 - Warren Murphy & Molly Cochran - Grandmaster
- 1986 - Warren Murphy - Pigs Get Fat
- 1987 - Robert Campbell, The Junkyard Dog
- 1988 - Sharyn McCrumb, Bimbos of the Death Sun
- 1989 - Timothy Findley, The Telling of Lies
- 1990 - Keith Peterson, The Rain
- 1991 - David Handler, The Man Who Was F. Scott Fitzgerald
- 1992 - Thomas Adcock, Dark Maze
- 1993 - Dana Stabenow, A Cold Day for Murder
- 1994 - Steve Womack, Dead Folk's Blues
- 1995 - Lisa Scottoline, Final Appeal
- 1996 - William Heffernan, Tarnished Blue
- 1997 - Harlan Coben, Fade Away
- 1998 - Laura Lippman, Charm City
- 1999 - Rick Riodan, The Widower's Two-Step
- 2000 - Ruth Birmingham, Fulton County Blues
- 2001 - Mark Graham, The Black Maria
- 2002 - Daniel Chavarria, Adios Muchachos
- 2003 - T. J. MacGregor, Out of Sight
- 2004 - Sylvia Maultash Warsh, Find Me Again
- 2005 - Dominic Stansberry. The Confession
- 2006 - Jeffrey Ford, Girl in a Glass
- 2007 - Naomi Hirahara, Snakeskin Shamisen
- 2008 - Megan Abbott, Queenpin
- 2009 - Meg Gardiner, China Lake
- 2010 - Marc Strange, Body Blows
- 2011 - Robert Goddard, Long Time Coming
- 2012 - Robert Jackson Bennett, The Company Men
- 2013 - Ben Winters, The Last Policeman: A Novel
- 2014 - Alex Marwood, The Wicked Girls
- 2015 - Chris Albani, The Secret History of Las Vegas
- 2016 - Lou Berney, The Long and Faraway
A healthy number of these authors have gone on to best-seller lists, some in other genres. Jay Omega, the hero of Bimbos of the Death Sun, has (sadly) retired after two outings while Sharyn McCrumb (wisely) has gone on to explore Appalachian Virginia. Rick Riodan has left the mystery field for the gold encrusted mythological fantasies for young adults and (as we learned this week) his own publishing line from Disney/Hyperion. Dan J. Marlowe went on to paperback immortality. Bill DeAndrea flared brightly and died much too young. Megan Abbott continues to wow us with stronger and stronger novels. Harlan Coben's thrillers can't help selling a gazillion copies.
Please note that I have not bothered to identify pen names or to attach the author's true names to them. Most of them you know already and, if you are curious, you can look up the others. As a matter of fact, look up all the authors in all the catagories. And check out some of the 181 one books listed here. Pick an author or two you have never heard of or you have never read. And, yes, some of these books are now hard to get (or expensive to get) but there's a lot of great reading here. It'll be worth your time and trouble.
Enjoy.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: WAITING FOR A TRAIN
Jimmie Rogers, the Singing Brakeman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbzc77Tz6PA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbzc77Tz6PA
OLD-TIME RADIO: AUGUST HEAT
Ronald Colman stars in this adaptation of W. F. Harvey's classic suspense story "August Heat," a tale of horrible premonition.
This episode. from CBS's Suspense, was produced and directed by William Spier and also featured Dennis Hoy. It aired on May 31, 1945.
Enjoy this episode from "radio's outstanding theater of thrills."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P5d-6oGJbk&list=PLJm2etPj4-MZe448obwCpovv_3oi2qod4&index=24
This episode. from CBS's Suspense, was produced and directed by William Spier and also featured Dennis Hoy. It aired on May 31, 1945.
Enjoy this episode from "radio's outstanding theater of thrills."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P5d-6oGJbk&list=PLJm2etPj4-MZe448obwCpovv_3oi2qod4&index=24
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: RHYTHM OF THE FALLING RAIN
The Cascades.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmF_bG5IVnM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmF_bG5IVnM
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: SAM STONE
Bob Gibson, with the very first recording of a John Prine song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AGqwrEZ5kw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AGqwrEZ5kw
OVERLOOKED FILM: THE SHADOW STRIKES (1937)
What have they done to my Shadow?
Some background: The Shadow began in 1930 as the mysterious narrator of Detective Story Hour, a program designed to promote Street and Smith Publications' Detective Story Magazine. Confused listeners began asking newstands for the "Shadow" detective magazine, so Street and Smith decide it might pay to lauch one. They hired writer/magician Walter B. Gibson to create a character around the Shadow and write his adventures. The Shadow Magazine debuted on April 1, 1931, with The Shadow's adventures bylined under the house pseudonym "Maxwell Grant". The magazine ran for 325 issues through Summer 1949, with 282 of the novel-length stories written by Gibson. During that time, there were also three Shadow Annuals as well as Candian reprints; and, from 1954 through 1957, forty of The Shadow's adventures were reprinted in the UK edition of the magazine. The Shadow radio program began in 1937, introducing the phrases "Who knows what fear lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" and "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay. The Shadow knows!" as well as The Shadow's weird laugh. The Shadow also appeared on film in six two-reelers from 1931-1932. A series of five feature-length films (of which The Shadows Strikes was the first) were released from 1937 to 1946. The Shadow, a fifteen episode serial was released in 1940. Episodes of a 1957 television pilot were cobbled together the following year for a theatrical release. Alec Baldwin played the character in a 1994 film that was **ahem** somewhat less than successful, as was a 1954 attempt to bring the character to television.
The Shadow has also had a major presence in comic strips (for two years from 1940 to 1942), in comics books (for 101 issues from 1940 to 1949, in eight issues from 1964 to 1965, in various DC comics from 1973 to 1996, in Dark Horse comics from 1993 to 1995, and in ongoing Dynamite Entertainment comics from 2012), and in graphic novels. The Shadow also returned for nine paperback adventures from 1963 to 1980 -- with three of the books authored by Gibson. And Will Murray authored a Shadow/Doc Savage crossover last year; perhaps with more to come.
On top of all this, The Shadow has been referenced in popular culture numerous times over the years.
What this means, of course, is that The Shadow is part of the national psyche.
But which Shadow?
My Shadow is the one that Walter Gibson gave us. He goes by many names, but his real name is Kent Allard, a former World War I ace. Many people assume that he is Lamont Cranston, but Cranston is just a person who lets the Shadow assume his name and persona once in a while; The Shadow is a man of many aliases and disguises, and a man of many faces. (To avoid confusion, the radio program dropped the Kent Allard name and all others except for Lamont Cranston.) The Shadow also employs many agents to assist him in his war on crime but the person most linked to
The Shadow is Margo Lane, The Shadow's "friend and companion" (wink-wink, nudge-nudge). Margo Lane was introduced in the radio show and later moved to the pulps.
And my Shadow had villains, really great ones like Shiwan Khan, The Wasp, The Voodoo Master, and The Prince of Evil. In fact, the first Shadow novel I read pitted the mystery man against a resurrected Adolph Hitler.
And then, there's The Shadow Strikes, a low budget film from very low budget Grand National studios. The film is based on "The Ghost of the Manor" from the June 1933 issue of the magazine, a story I have not read.
Al Martin and Rex Taylor wrote the script and Lynn Shores directed and one of these three people might have been responsible for giving The Shadow the identity of Lamont Granston (!). In a short, murky explanation of a back story, Granston donned the garb of the shadow because his father was murdered. (SPOILER ALERT: In a short, murky explanation at the end, we are told that Granston's father was not dead -- yet. A few seconds later, however...END SPOILER ALERT) Anyway, our story opens with The Shadow stopping a night-time robbery at a lawyer's office. Somehow or other, Granston is forced to pretend to be the lawyer when the cops show up and, as the lawyer, he is summoned to a rich man's house. The rich man is shot and Granston must continue the charade. One of the dead man's relatives is killed soon after. Granston plays a dangerous game, trying to stay ahead of the police and gangsters. The Shadow Strikes is not a bad B-movie, but it never becomes a really good B movie. Silent film star Rod La Rocque (real name, incredibly, Roderick Larocque) does a good job playing Granston, but **sniff** he's not playing MY Shadow.
If you divorce yourself from the pulp and radio image of The Shadow, you might find this movie entertaining.
Good luck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB3_jB-Kb2E
Some background: The Shadow began in 1930 as the mysterious narrator of Detective Story Hour, a program designed to promote Street and Smith Publications' Detective Story Magazine. Confused listeners began asking newstands for the "Shadow" detective magazine, so Street and Smith decide it might pay to lauch one. They hired writer/magician Walter B. Gibson to create a character around the Shadow and write his adventures. The Shadow Magazine debuted on April 1, 1931, with The Shadow's adventures bylined under the house pseudonym "Maxwell Grant". The magazine ran for 325 issues through Summer 1949, with 282 of the novel-length stories written by Gibson. During that time, there were also three Shadow Annuals as well as Candian reprints; and, from 1954 through 1957, forty of The Shadow's adventures were reprinted in the UK edition of the magazine. The Shadow radio program began in 1937, introducing the phrases "Who knows what fear lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" and "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay. The Shadow knows!" as well as The Shadow's weird laugh. The Shadow also appeared on film in six two-reelers from 1931-1932. A series of five feature-length films (of which The Shadows Strikes was the first) were released from 1937 to 1946. The Shadow, a fifteen episode serial was released in 1940. Episodes of a 1957 television pilot were cobbled together the following year for a theatrical release. Alec Baldwin played the character in a 1994 film that was **ahem** somewhat less than successful, as was a 1954 attempt to bring the character to television.
The Shadow has also had a major presence in comic strips (for two years from 1940 to 1942), in comics books (for 101 issues from 1940 to 1949, in eight issues from 1964 to 1965, in various DC comics from 1973 to 1996, in Dark Horse comics from 1993 to 1995, and in ongoing Dynamite Entertainment comics from 2012), and in graphic novels. The Shadow also returned for nine paperback adventures from 1963 to 1980 -- with three of the books authored by Gibson. And Will Murray authored a Shadow/Doc Savage crossover last year; perhaps with more to come.
On top of all this, The Shadow has been referenced in popular culture numerous times over the years.
What this means, of course, is that The Shadow is part of the national psyche.
But which Shadow?
My Shadow is the one that Walter Gibson gave us. He goes by many names, but his real name is Kent Allard, a former World War I ace. Many people assume that he is Lamont Cranston, but Cranston is just a person who lets the Shadow assume his name and persona once in a while; The Shadow is a man of many aliases and disguises, and a man of many faces. (To avoid confusion, the radio program dropped the Kent Allard name and all others except for Lamont Cranston.) The Shadow also employs many agents to assist him in his war on crime but the person most linked to
The Shadow is Margo Lane, The Shadow's "friend and companion" (wink-wink, nudge-nudge). Margo Lane was introduced in the radio show and later moved to the pulps.
And my Shadow had villains, really great ones like Shiwan Khan, The Wasp, The Voodoo Master, and The Prince of Evil. In fact, the first Shadow novel I read pitted the mystery man against a resurrected Adolph Hitler.
And then, there's The Shadow Strikes, a low budget film from very low budget Grand National studios. The film is based on "The Ghost of the Manor" from the June 1933 issue of the magazine, a story I have not read.
Al Martin and Rex Taylor wrote the script and Lynn Shores directed and one of these three people might have been responsible for giving The Shadow the identity of Lamont Granston (!). In a short, murky explanation of a back story, Granston donned the garb of the shadow because his father was murdered. (SPOILER ALERT: In a short, murky explanation at the end, we are told that Granston's father was not dead -- yet. A few seconds later, however...END SPOILER ALERT) Anyway, our story opens with The Shadow stopping a night-time robbery at a lawyer's office. Somehow or other, Granston is forced to pretend to be the lawyer when the cops show up and, as the lawyer, he is summoned to a rich man's house. The rich man is shot and Granston must continue the charade. One of the dead man's relatives is killed soon after. Granston plays a dangerous game, trying to stay ahead of the police and gangsters. The Shadow Strikes is not a bad B-movie, but it never becomes a really good B movie. Silent film star Rod La Rocque (real name, incredibly, Roderick Larocque) does a good job playing Granston, but **sniff** he's not playing MY Shadow.
If you divorce yourself from the pulp and radio image of The Shadow, you might find this movie entertaining.
Good luck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB3_jB-Kb2E
Monday, September 19, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: HE'S IN THE JAILHOUSE NOW
From 1927, Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KW4kx6vLJc&list=PLzrMPdC6cdOoL18dy_IxAFW5KhUNRYeu6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KW4kx6vLJc&list=PLzrMPdC6cdOoL18dy_IxAFW5KhUNRYeu6
INCOMING
- "Kaitlyn Dunnett" (Kathy Lynn Emerson), Scone Cold Dead. The second book in the Liss MacCrimmon series. MacCrimmon, once a professional Scottish dancer, has relocated to her hometown of Moosetookalook, Maine, after being sidelined by a knee injury. She's able to bring her former dance troupe to town and arrnge a reception for them, complete with a Scottish theme, which includes her own spin on the classic Scottish scone. At the recption, the company manager "bites into one of Lisa's prized cocktail scones, collapses, and dies." Kitty picked this one up because, well...all things Scottish. (She's also into all things Irish. It's a genetic thing, I think.) Thus far there are ten books in the Liss MacCrimmon series.
- Richard L. Hatin, Deadly Whispers. Horror novel. "Unearthly beings, an ancient Indian curse, and four teenage boys in the summer of 1962 begin a heart stopping story of horror that plagues the boys into adulthood. Now in their early sixties, the boys return to Winooski, Vermont to confron their childhood fears and protect those they love. Hatin evidently writes books with a spiritual focus -- something that is often a warning flag for me. According to his publisher's website, this book a "Halloween Book Festival Award -- Runner Up for Best General Fiction" and "Los Angeles Book Festival Honorable Mention Best General Fiction." Yeah, those don't mean anything to me, either.
- Faye Kellerman, The Burnt House. A Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus mystery. A commuter airplane crashes close to Decker and Lazarus' daughter's school. In the wreckage are unidentified bodies -- persons who should have not been on the plane. Not in the wreckage is the flight attendant who should have been on the plane. An act of terrorism or cold-blooded murder? Peter Decker and his wife follow a dangerous path to the truth. This one is another of Kitty's books. although I certainly will also be reading it.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
PLUM ON JEEVES
Here's Alistair Cooke conducting an interview with the great P. G. Wodehouse about Jeeves and Bertie Wooster.
I have the utmost respect for Cooke, Wodehouse, Jeeves, and Bertie. Well, maybe not
Bertie...but I do have a fondness for dim bulbs.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re9QXetFipM
I have the utmost respect for Cooke, Wodehouse, Jeeves, and Bertie. Well, maybe not
Bertie...but I do have a fondness for dim bulbs.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re9QXetFipM
Saturday, September 17, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: THE RAVEN
In honor of those at Bouchercon this weekend, here's a musical adaptation of Poe's "The Raven."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwmd1IFshYc
GOLDEN AGE COMIC: SPY SMASHER
From Fawcett's Whiz Comics #2 (February 1940) comes the mystery man who strikes fear in the hearts of enemy agents determined to bring down the United States -- Spy Master. The airplane goggle-wearing hero with cape and jodhpurs is in reality Alan Armstrong, well-to-do Virginia Horse farmer (who also happens to be a scientific genius and martial arts specialist).
Created by Bill Parker and C. C. Beck, Spy Master -- along with Captain Marvel -- became one of the most popular characters in Whiz Comics. He gained his own comic book in 1940 which lasted 11 issues, while still appearing in Whiz Comics, and also appearing in America's Greatest Comics. Spy Smasher was "retired" in 1946 with Whiz Comics #75, only to reappear in #76 (since the war was over) as"Crime Smasher." Crime Smasher continued in Whiz Comics until the following March (#87), returning briefly for the one and only issue of Crime Smasher in 1948.
In 1976, DC Comics gained control of many of Fawcett's characters, including Spy/Crime Master, but Alan Armstrong appeared only briefly in that year's Justice League of America. In 1995 and 1997, he showed up in three issues of Shazaam!
Spy Master was reimagined in 2007 by Gail Simone as anti-terrorist agent Katrina Armstrong, a Jack Bauer-like character who knows no bounds in achieving her goals.
The link below takes you to Spy Master's first six episodes. We meet recurring villain The Mask, as well as Admiral Corby of Naval Intelligence and his daughter Eve -- who happens to be engaged to the dashing Alan Armstrong.
There's a bit of xenophobia here, beginning on the second page, when the Admiral, Eve, and Alan are discussing how Navy secrets could be getting to the enemy:
Alan: What about that Filopino houseboy of yours?
Admiral Corby: Zambo? Not a chance. He doesn't speak a word of English. Besides, he isn't clever enough.
And we learn early on about Alan Armstrong's scientific gifts. From page 4:
-- Spy Smasher quickly climbs back to the roof where he had landed his gyrosub -- a super-craft combining the functions of an airplane, autogyro, speedboat, and submarine.
(And the gyrosub is completely silent!)
Enjoy.
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=65300
Friday, September 16, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: HILLBILLY LOVE SONG
From 1928, here's Mack Allen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dte2pZGjVc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dte2pZGjVc
FORGOTTEN BOOK: TWO-THIRDS OF A GHOST
Two-Thirds of a Ghost by Helen McCloy (1956)
Helen McCloy (1904-1994) wrote thirteen novels about forensic psychologist Dr. Basil Willing, each rich in both plot and character. In Two-Thirds of a Ghost she turns her attention to the world of New York publishing and literary agencies -- a world she knows well, having started both a publishing company and a literary agency with her then-husband Davis Dresser (perhaps best-known as "Brett Halliday," the creator of private detective Michael Shayne). McCloy was also a noted mystery critic and had received an Edgar for her criticism.
Amos Cottle is a literary phenomenon. He has published four highly successful book in four years. He is also a mystery. Unknown to all but his agent and his publisher, Cottle is an amnesiac with no knowledge of his life before six years ago when he was found on a country road after being hit by a car. All that is known about him is that he is an alcoholic. When he dried out he chose the name Amos Cottle for himself. But after the newly sober Cottle published his first book, he met and married Vera Vane, a dangerous and grasping actress who led him down a three-month spiral of reneed alcoholism before they separated and Vera moved to Hollywood and a motion picture contract. Vera's talent was miniscule and, after three years, her contract was not renewed. She announced that she was going back to Connecticut to be the helpmate of her famous husband.
The two most important men in Amos Cottle's life and career are his publisher, Tony Kane, and his agent, Gus Vesey. Both men have profited well off Amos Cottle; Cottle's contract with each gives them a far larger portion of Cottell's earnings that is normal for the trade. And both men know Vera's toxic nature could easily destroy Amos' career. Tony's wife, the elgant and imperious Philippa, has been having an affair with her husband's most famous author. Gus' wife Meg is well-meaning but rash; she is very concern for Amos and very fearful for what will happen when Amos reconnects with Vera.
Vera is due the same than Gus is scheduled to get a major award. Tony and Philippa decide to thraw a small party for Gus when Vera arrives which would blunt Vera's influence for her first day with Tony, at least; they have plans that would keep her from Tony after that. Invited to the party are Gus and Meg, along with a literay critic who has fawned over Amos' writing. a neighbor who hads published a few short stories, the neighbor's son, and Basil Willing and his wife -- Willing having been published by Tony's firm several years before. That day, Amos insisted on meeting Vera at the airport and, by the time he arrived at the party, Amos was extremely drunk. To make things worse, the neighbor had brought along uninvited another literary critic who detests everything that Amos has published.
To clear some of the tension, the group decide to play a parlor game of questions and answers called Two-Thirds of a Ghost. Shortly after the games begins, however, Amos passes out -- or so it was thought. Amos is dead from a fast-acting poison. Soon it was learned about the dead man's amnesia; making Amos himself not a full person; Amos can be considered two-thirds of a person, or two-thirds of a ghost.
McCloy's writing is sharp as she sets Basil to solve two mysteries, the murder of Amos Cottle and the the past of the person calling himself Amos Cottle. A smooth and enjoyable style merge with a satisfying fair-play puzzle that ever-so-slightly casts a jaundiced eye on the world of publishing.
The Mystery Writers of America named Helen McCloy a Grandmaster in 1990. Two-Thirds of a Ghost shows you one reason why.
Helen McCloy (1904-1994) wrote thirteen novels about forensic psychologist Dr. Basil Willing, each rich in both plot and character. In Two-Thirds of a Ghost she turns her attention to the world of New York publishing and literary agencies -- a world she knows well, having started both a publishing company and a literary agency with her then-husband Davis Dresser (perhaps best-known as "Brett Halliday," the creator of private detective Michael Shayne). McCloy was also a noted mystery critic and had received an Edgar for her criticism.
Amos Cottle is a literary phenomenon. He has published four highly successful book in four years. He is also a mystery. Unknown to all but his agent and his publisher, Cottle is an amnesiac with no knowledge of his life before six years ago when he was found on a country road after being hit by a car. All that is known about him is that he is an alcoholic. When he dried out he chose the name Amos Cottle for himself. But after the newly sober Cottle published his first book, he met and married Vera Vane, a dangerous and grasping actress who led him down a three-month spiral of reneed alcoholism before they separated and Vera moved to Hollywood and a motion picture contract. Vera's talent was miniscule and, after three years, her contract was not renewed. She announced that she was going back to Connecticut to be the helpmate of her famous husband.
The two most important men in Amos Cottle's life and career are his publisher, Tony Kane, and his agent, Gus Vesey. Both men have profited well off Amos Cottle; Cottle's contract with each gives them a far larger portion of Cottell's earnings that is normal for the trade. And both men know Vera's toxic nature could easily destroy Amos' career. Tony's wife, the elgant and imperious Philippa, has been having an affair with her husband's most famous author. Gus' wife Meg is well-meaning but rash; she is very concern for Amos and very fearful for what will happen when Amos reconnects with Vera.
Vera is due the same than Gus is scheduled to get a major award. Tony and Philippa decide to thraw a small party for Gus when Vera arrives which would blunt Vera's influence for her first day with Tony, at least; they have plans that would keep her from Tony after that. Invited to the party are Gus and Meg, along with a literay critic who has fawned over Amos' writing. a neighbor who hads published a few short stories, the neighbor's son, and Basil Willing and his wife -- Willing having been published by Tony's firm several years before. That day, Amos insisted on meeting Vera at the airport and, by the time he arrived at the party, Amos was extremely drunk. To make things worse, the neighbor had brought along uninvited another literary critic who detests everything that Amos has published.
To clear some of the tension, the group decide to play a parlor game of questions and answers called Two-Thirds of a Ghost. Shortly after the games begins, however, Amos passes out -- or so it was thought. Amos is dead from a fast-acting poison. Soon it was learned about the dead man's amnesia; making Amos himself not a full person; Amos can be considered two-thirds of a person, or two-thirds of a ghost.
McCloy's writing is sharp as she sets Basil to solve two mysteries, the murder of Amos Cottle and the the past of the person calling himself Amos Cottle. A smooth and enjoyable style merge with a satisfying fair-play puzzle that ever-so-slightly casts a jaundiced eye on the world of publishing.
The Mystery Writers of America named Helen McCloy a Grandmaster in 1990. Two-Thirds of a Ghost shows you one reason why.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: EVERYBODY EATS WHEN THEY COME TO MY HOUSE
Cab Calloway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E03NZOIxGmQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E03NZOIxGmQ
OLD-TIME RADIO: SORRY, WRONG NUMBER
Lucille Fletcher's famous play gets the old-time radio treatment with Agnes Morehead in the lead. From Suspense, November 18, 1948.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uDmNc8j9gA
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uDmNc8j9gA
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
BAD JOKE WEDNESDAY -- CHEMISTRY EDITION
A neutron walks into a bar and orders a beer. The bartender pours one from the tap and puts it in front of him..He asks, "How much is that?" "For you?" the bartender says, "no charge."
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
HAPPY CENTENNIAL, ROALD DAHL!
Kiss Kiss, Someone Like You, My Uncle Oswald, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The BFG, The Witches, Danny, the Champion of the World, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and so many more...
Wow!
Wow!
OVERLOOKED MOVIE: EYES IN THE NIGHT (1942)
Edward Arnold plays as blind detective Duncan Maclain in this adaptation of Baynard Kendrick's The Odor of Violets. (He would play Maclain one more time in 1945's The Hidden Eye.) Maclain first appeared in book form in 1937's The Last Express. Blinded in World War I, Maclain nevertheless returns to New York to open a detective agency. Aided by his two trained German shepherds, Schnuke and Dreist, he proves to be a formidable opponent. Maclain appeared in a dozen novels and four short stories from 1937 through 1961. The character was renamed and repurposed in the 1971-2 James Franciscus series Longstreet.
In Eyes in the Night, Maclain visits and old friend (Ann Harding) who is being bothered by a former boyfriend (John Emery) who is now courting her 17-year-old stepdaughter (played by a youthful Donna Reed). Reginald Denny plays Ann Harding's husband. Of course, John Emery is murdered and of course Duncan Maclain solves the case with the aid of his guide dog Friday. (The dog actually should have gotten co-star billing; he's great in this.) But there are sinister forces at work and soon Maclain uncovers a Nazi plot to steal Reginald Denny's military secrets.
An enjoyable B movie with a fine cast of supporting characters, including Rosemary Clooney, Allen Jenkins, Barry Nelson, and Mantan Moreland, with uncredited appearances by Milburn Stone and Marie Windsor.
Mystery novelist Baynard Kendrick (1894-1977), by the way, was very involved with blind veterans and worked as an instructor for them during World War II. He was also the first American citizen to volunteer in the Canadian Army during World War I. Kendrick was a founder of the Mystery Writers of America, held its first membership card, served as its first president, and was named a MWA Grandmaster in 1967.
Eyes in the Night is a great way to spend 80 minutes. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObXnBjVbGm0
An enjoyable B movie with a fine cast of supporting characters, including Rosemary Clooney, Allen Jenkins, Barry Nelson, and Mantan Moreland, with uncredited appearances by Milburn Stone and Marie Windsor.
Mystery novelist Baynard Kendrick (1894-1977), by the way, was very involved with blind veterans and worked as an instructor for them during World War II. He was also the first American citizen to volunteer in the Canadian Army during World War I. Kendrick was a founder of the Mystery Writers of America, held its first membership card, served as its first president, and was named a MWA Grandmaster in 1967.
Eyes in the Night is a great way to spend 80 minutes. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObXnBjVbGm0
Monday, September 12, 2016
INCOMING
No new books this week, thank you very much.
However, on my Incoming post several weeks ago I forgot to include Popcorn, the demon kitten.
My daughter Christina was at a Farmer's Market, selling homemade soap (Cove Lake Soapworks...good stuff...available on Etsy...buy a bunch, you won't be sorry) and this guy was walking by trying to give away a kitten. He had found three abandoned in the woods -- 2 males and a female -- and took them home. got them to a vet, cleaned up, defleaed, and given clean bills of health. He wanted to keep them for himself but his dogs had other ideas. By the time he got to Christina, he had already given away the two males. Now Christina is the most common sense person in the world but, when it comes to animals, she has a weak spot. She and Walt already had three cats (as well as three dogs, a Burmese python, a bearded dragon, a turtle, and a tegu) and really couldn'y take another animal. But Christina has a sister who is catless. Jessie's girls each have a cat but she does not have one of her very own; she does have two pugs and a snake but, hey, none are a cat. So Christina took the cat for Jessie and informed her about it after the fact. Jessie and Ceili and Amy are living with us (along with their two dogs and two -- now three -- cats) while they are getting their new house in shape. (Yes, they have a house now, bought last Thursday, and in need of a bunch of clean-up, some repairs, and new appliances. They're very happy; the new home is close to everything, including the girls' college.) The kitten has been named Popcorn and she and everyone else will be here for the next month or two.
Popcorn is a sweet little ball of gray fluff with Wolverine-type razor claws. She likes to cuddle and attack toes. She tries very hard not to be a VBK. And she has half a tail. Don't know what happened to the other half, but it surely isn't attached to the cat. (By half tail, I don't mean a cropped tail such as is found in a Manx cat; I mean half a normal cat tail.) Popcorn likes to purr. I'm a sucker for that.
However, on my Incoming post several weeks ago I forgot to include Popcorn, the demon kitten.
My daughter Christina was at a Farmer's Market, selling homemade soap (Cove Lake Soapworks...good stuff...available on Etsy...buy a bunch, you won't be sorry) and this guy was walking by trying to give away a kitten. He had found three abandoned in the woods -- 2 males and a female -- and took them home. got them to a vet, cleaned up, defleaed, and given clean bills of health. He wanted to keep them for himself but his dogs had other ideas. By the time he got to Christina, he had already given away the two males. Now Christina is the most common sense person in the world but, when it comes to animals, she has a weak spot. She and Walt already had three cats (as well as three dogs, a Burmese python, a bearded dragon, a turtle, and a tegu) and really couldn'y take another animal. But Christina has a sister who is catless. Jessie's girls each have a cat but she does not have one of her very own; she does have two pugs and a snake but, hey, none are a cat. So Christina took the cat for Jessie and informed her about it after the fact. Jessie and Ceili and Amy are living with us (along with their two dogs and two -- now three -- cats) while they are getting their new house in shape. (Yes, they have a house now, bought last Thursday, and in need of a bunch of clean-up, some repairs, and new appliances. They're very happy; the new home is close to everything, including the girls' college.) The kitten has been named Popcorn and she and everyone else will be here for the next month or two.
Popcorn is a sweet little ball of gray fluff with Wolverine-type razor claws. She likes to cuddle and attack toes. She tries very hard not to be a VBK. And she has half a tail. Don't know what happened to the other half, but it surely isn't attached to the cat. (By half tail, I don't mean a cropped tail such as is found in a Manx cat; I mean half a normal cat tail.) Popcorn likes to purr. I'm a sucker for that.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
HAPPY CENTENNIAL, EDWARD S. AARONS!
Pulp and paperback writer Edward S. Aarons (1916-1975) would have been 100 years old today. Aarons published over 80 novels in his career -- 42 of them about the Cajun CIA agent Sam Durell. The Sam Durell novels were a mainstay for the Gold Medal paperback line. Aarons published a number of mystery novels under the name "Edward Ronns," and one novel as "Paul Ayers" (Dead Heat, a 1950 book based on George Harmon Coxe's character "Flash" Casey, Crime Photographer).
Following Aarons' death an additional six Sam Durell novels were published as by "Will B. Aarons" -- muddying up the bibliographic waters. Will B. Aarons was said to be either Edward S. Aarons' brother or his son (sources differ), but the actual writer who Will Be Aarons was Lawrence Hall.
Following Aarons' death an additional six Sam Durell novels were published as by "Will B. Aarons" -- muddying up the bibliographic waters. Will B. Aarons was said to be either Edward S. Aarons' brother or his son (sources differ), but the actual writer who Will Be Aarons was Lawrence Hall.
TED TALK: HUNTING FOR PERU'S LOST CIVILIZATIONS
Sarah Parkak, satellite archeologist, explains how satellites can help find civilizations that have been lost and buried over the ages
(Look closely and you may see Crider show up on an old satellite image. Or not.)
https://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_parcak_hunting_for_peru_s_lost_civilizations_with_satellites
(Look closely and you may see Crider show up on an old satellite image. Or not.)
https://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_parcak_hunting_for_peru_s_lost_civilizations_with_satellites
Saturday, September 10, 2016
A-1 COMICS #13 (GUNS OF FACT AND FICTION) (JUNE 1948)
Guns...love 'em or hate 'em, they are part of the American culture. They are as American as the old saw, "Cime Never Pays." A-1 Comics combined both of these in a comic with the promise of "The West thunder[ing] with the roar of GUNS of Fact and Fiction." The fact portion is heavily peppered with fiction but that didn't bother the kids of 1948.
Stories include:
Stories include:
- "Flame of the Frontier," featurng the greatest Western marshal and lawmen of 'em all -- Bat Masterton! Here Bat takes on Dodge City years before he becomes a noted New Yok sportswriter and journalist.
- "Gunman!" Out of the garbage-littered alleys of Chicago came a little man whose hatred of humanity was second only to -- his terrible fear of CATS! The story of Joe Strange, GUNMAN!
- "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre," in which Chicago mobsters speak Brooklyn-ese English.
- "Guns West and Nuggets" are partners in the old West. "Guns" West is blond and handsome; Nuggets is a grizzled old man who's as tough as they come. In this story Guns becomes marshal of Abilene as he and Nuggets tackle a gang of rustlers.
- "Jail-Fear!" is the story of Pretty Boy Floyd. Things don't end well for him.
The bullets are flying on almost every p[age of this issue. Gun violence never had it so good.
Enjoy.
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=65253
Friday, September 9, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: MR. SPACEMAN
The Holy Modal Rounders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZGr6nQRLNc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZGr6nQRLNc
FORGOTTEN BOOKS: THE SF ANTHOLOGIES OF GROFF CONKLIN
Edward Groff Conklin (1904-1968) was the first major anthologist in the science fiction field. Conklin jumped from job to job, ofter in public relations. He discovered science fiction while in college but did not becme a major reader until he was 40, by which time he had already co-edited two anthologies: The Smart Set Anthology (1935, with Burton Rascoe; also published as The Bachelor's Companion) and The New Republic Anthology: 1915-1935 (1936, with Bruce Bliven).
His early science fiction anthologies were big, fat books which found their way to many public libraries and helped develop a love of science fiction in numerous young adults. Outside of the field, Conklin wrote eight nonfiction books and numerous articles.
His early anthologies relied heavily on Astounding Science Fiction, the major player in the 1940s SF magazine scene. Later anthologies also included many stories from the rising new magazines, Galaxy and F&SF. While he seldom included award-winning stories (to be frank, there wasn't much in the way of awards when he started), Conklin's anthologies were chock-full of good stories, including many that have become classics. Would they become classics whithout having appeared in his anthologies? Perhaps, but without Conklin the science fiction field would have been different without his influence. That influence increased when he became a book reviewer from 1950 to 1955 for Galaxy Science Fiction, weighing on Sf novels and the rare collections and anthologies, as well as many related non-fiction and science books.
Conklin's influence waned in the Sixties. The field had become glutted with magazines, anthologies, and collections, and Conklin's books -- now much smaller -- were issued as paperback origins, just a few of many in a sea of paper. Nonetheless, each of Conklin's books stand out as an entertaining value. Who could ask for more?
The list below covers his 40 science fiction anthologies, plus his one detective anthology and four single-author collections that Conklin edited (one by H. G. Wells, two by theodore Sturgeon, and one by Edgar Allan Poe). For the most part the information comes from ISFDb. I've tried to include the first print appearance of each story, as well as other information that I felt was pertinent. Following ISFDb practive, I did not bother I did not bother to list an author's real name when his or her pen name was better known in the field. Any mistakes in the list are mine and I will happily own up to them while blithrly pinning the blame on my computer.
How many of these books have you read? How many stories?
1) The Best of Science Fiction (1946); also published as The Golden Age of Science Fiction. In 1952, this book was voted 6th place as the Analog Award's All-time Best Book; 1st place was won by another anthology, Healy and McComas' Adventures in Time and Space; second place went to van Vogt's novel Slan, followed by Seven Science Fiction Novels of H. G. Wells, Heinlein's The Man Who Sold the Moon, and Campbell's Who Goes There? in 3rd, 4th, and 5th place respectively. Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles followed in 7th place.
25) Great Science Fiction by Scientists (1962)
His early science fiction anthologies were big, fat books which found their way to many public libraries and helped develop a love of science fiction in numerous young adults. Outside of the field, Conklin wrote eight nonfiction books and numerous articles.
His early anthologies relied heavily on Astounding Science Fiction, the major player in the 1940s SF magazine scene. Later anthologies also included many stories from the rising new magazines, Galaxy and F&SF. While he seldom included award-winning stories (to be frank, there wasn't much in the way of awards when he started), Conklin's anthologies were chock-full of good stories, including many that have become classics. Would they become classics whithout having appeared in his anthologies? Perhaps, but without Conklin the science fiction field would have been different without his influence. That influence increased when he became a book reviewer from 1950 to 1955 for Galaxy Science Fiction, weighing on Sf novels and the rare collections and anthologies, as well as many related non-fiction and science books.
Conklin's influence waned in the Sixties. The field had become glutted with magazines, anthologies, and collections, and Conklin's books -- now much smaller -- were issued as paperback origins, just a few of many in a sea of paper. Nonetheless, each of Conklin's books stand out as an entertaining value. Who could ask for more?
The list below covers his 40 science fiction anthologies, plus his one detective anthology and four single-author collections that Conklin edited (one by H. G. Wells, two by theodore Sturgeon, and one by Edgar Allan Poe). For the most part the information comes from ISFDb. I've tried to include the first print appearance of each story, as well as other information that I felt was pertinent. Following ISFDb practive, I did not bother I did not bother to list an author's real name when his or her pen name was better known in the field. Any mistakes in the list are mine and I will happily own up to them while blithrly pinning the blame on my computer.
How many of these books have you read? How many stories?
1) The Best of Science Fiction (1946); also published as The Golden Age of Science Fiction. In 1952, this book was voted 6th place as the Analog Award's All-time Best Book; 1st place was won by another anthology, Healy and McComas' Adventures in Time and Space; second place went to van Vogt's novel Slan, followed by Seven Science Fiction Novels of H. G. Wells, Heinlein's The Man Who Sold the Moon, and Campbell's Who Goes There? in 3rd, 4th, and 5th place respectively. Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles followed in 7th place.
- John W. Campbell, Jr., "Concerning Science Fiction" (introductory essay)
- Groff Conklin, Introduction
- "Anson MacDonald" (Robert A. Heinlein), "Solution Unsatisfactory" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1941)
- Frank R. Stockton, "The Great War Syndicate" (abriged from the author's 1888 novel)
- "Lewis Padgett" (Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore), "The Piper's Son" (from Astounding Science Fiction, February 1945; the first story in the authors' Baldy series)
- Cleve Cartmill, "Deadline" (from Astounding Science Fiction, March 1944; this story predicted the atomic bomb in enough detail that government agents descended upon the Astounding office, convinced that there had been a national security leak)
- Clifford D. Simak, "Lobby" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1944)
- Robert A. Heinlein, "Blowups Happen" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1940; the seventh story published in the author's ambitious Future History series; this story has been nominated in the best novelette catagory for this year's Retro Hugo Awards)
- "Don A. Stuart" (John W. Campbell. Jr.), "Atomic Power" (from Astounding Stories, December 1934)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Killdozer!" (from Astounding Science Fiction, November 1944)
- Raymond Z. Gallun, "Davy Jones' Ambassador" (from Astounding Stories, December 1935)
- Morrison Colladay, "Giant in the Earth" (from Wonder Stories, April 1933)
- "Anson MacDonald" (Robert A. Heinlein), "Goldfish Bowl" (from Astounding Science Fiction, March 1942)
- David H. Keller, M.D., "The Ivy War" (from Amazing Stories, May 1930)
- Ralph Milne Farley, "Liquid Life" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories. October 1936)
- Edgar Allan Poe, "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains" (from Baltimore Weekly Sun, March 23, 1844)
- Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Great Keinplatz Experiment" (from Belgravia, July 1885)
- H. G. Wells, "The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes" (from Paul Mall Budget, March 28, 1895)
- Julian Huxley, "The Tissue-Culture King" (from The Yale Review, April 1926)
- John Taine, "The Ultimate Catalyst" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1939)
- "Calvin Peregoy" (Thomas Calvert McClary), "The Terrible Sense" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1938)
- Donald Wandrei, "A Scientist Divides" (from Astounding Stories, September 1934)
- Malcolm Jameson, 'Tricky Tonnage" (from Astounding Science Fiction, December 1944)
- Arthur Leo Zagat, "The Lanson Screen" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, December 1936)
- Nat Schachner, "The Ultimate Metal" (from Astounding Stories, February 1935)
- "Don A. Stuart" (John W. Campbell, Jr.),"The Machine" (from Astounding Stories, February 1935; the first story in the author's The Machine series)
- Norman L. Knight, "Short-Circuited Probability" (from Astoundng Science-Fiction, September 1941)
- A. E. van Vogt, "The Search" (from Astounding Science Fiction, January 1943)
- "Warner van Lorne" (F. Orlin Tremaine), "The Upper Level Road" (from Astounding Stories, August 1935; the "van Lorne" pen name was usually used by Tremaine's brother, Nelson Tremaine; this is apparently the only time it was used by F. Orlin Tremaine, who was the editor of Astounding at the time)
- Paul Ernst, "The 32nd of May" (from Astounding Stories, April 1935)
- Nelson S. Bond, "The Monster from Nowhere" (from Fantastic Adventures, July 1939)
- Murray Leinster, "First Contact" (from Astounding Science Fiction, May 1945; winner of the 1996 Retro Hugo Award for Best Novelette)
- Robert A. Heinlein, "Universe" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1941; this novelette was eventually made part of Heinlein's Future History series)
- Isaac Asimov, "Blind Alley" (from Astounding Science Fiction, March 1945)
- Wallace West, "En Route to Pluto" (from Astounding Stories. August 1936; the first story in the author's Bird of Time series)
- Cecil B. White, "The Retreat to Mars" (from Amazing Stories, August 1927)
- Austn Hall, "The Man Who Saved the Earth" (from All-Story Weekly, December 13, 1919)
- Charles W. Diffin, "Spawn of the Stars" (from Astounding Stories of Super-Science, February 1930)
- Anthony Boucher, 'Expedition" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1943)
- Leslie F. Stone, "The Conquest of Gola" (from Wonder Stories, April 1931)
- Ross Rocklynne. "Jackdaw" (from Astounding Science Fiction, August 1942)
2) A Treasury of Science Fiction (1948) (The Berkley and Berkley Medallion paperbacks printed only 8 of the 30 stories; these are marked with *)
- Groff Conklin, Introduction
- Chan Davis, "The Nightmare" (from Astounding Science Fcition, May 1946)
- Poul Anderson and F. N. Waldrop, "Tomorrow's Children" (from Astounding Science Ficition, February 1947; the first story in the Tomorrow's Children series continued by Anderson alone)
- Paul Carter, "The Last Objective" (from Astounding Science Fiction, August 1946)
- Arthur C. Clarke, "Loophole"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1946)
- Edward Grendon, "The Figure" (from Astounding Science Fiction, July 1947)
- H. F. Heard, "The Great Fog"* (from the author's The Great Fog and Other Weird Tales, 1944)
- P, Schuyler Miller, "The Chrysalis" (from Astounding Stories, April 1936)
- L. Sprague de Camp, "Living Fossil" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1939)
- "Philip Latham" (R. S. Richardson), "N Day" (from Astounding Science Fiction, January 1946)
- Jack Williamson, "With Folded Hands..."* (from Astounding Science Fiction, (July 1947; the first story in The Humanoids series)
- C. L. Moore, "No Woman Born" (from Astounding Science Fiction, December 1944)
- Cleve Cartmill, "With Flaming Sword" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1942)
- Malcolm Jameson, "Children of the 'Betsy B'" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1939)
- William Tenn, "Child's Play" (from Astounding Science Fiction, March 1947)
- Raymond F. Jones, "The Person from Porlock" (from Asrounding Science Fiction, August 1947)
- A. E. van Vogt, "Juggernaut"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, August 1944)
- D. D. Sharp, "The Eternal Man" (from Science Wonder Stories, August 1929; the first of two stories featuring Herbert Zulerich)
- "Lewis Padgett" (Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore), "Mimsy Were the Borogroves"* (from Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1943)
- H. Beam Piper, "Time and Time Again" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1947)
- Harry Walton, 'Housing Shortage" (from Astounding Science Fiction, January 1947)
- Robert Moore Williams, "Flight of the Dawn Star" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1938)
- "Lawrence O'Donnell" (Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore), "Vintage Season" (Astounding Science Fiction, September 1946)
- Oscar J. Friend, 'Of Jovian Buid" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1938)
- "Polton Cross" (John Russell Fearn), "Wings Across the Cosmos" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1938)
- "Martin Pearson" (Donald A. Wollheim), "The Embassy" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1942)
- Lester del Rey, "Dark Mission" (from Astoudning Science-Fiction, July 1940)
- Murray Leinster, "The Ethical Equations"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1945; nominated for the 1996 Retro Hugo for Best Story)
- Robert A. Heinlein, "It's Great to Be Back!"* (from The Saturday Evening Post, July 26, 1947; part of Heinlein's Future History series)
- Clifford D. Simak, 'Tools" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1942)
- Arthur C. Clarke, "Rescue Party"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, May 1946)
3) Big Book of Science Fiction (1950) (also published as The Big Book of Science Fiction and as The Classic Book of Science Fiction) (The Berkley and Berkeley Medallion paperbacks printed only 10 of the 32 stories; these are marked with *
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Thomas McMorrow, "Mr. Murphy of New York" (from The Saturday Evening Post, March 22, 1930)
- Waldemar Kaemffert, "The Diminishing Draft" (from All-Story Weekly, February 9, 1918)
- Ward Moore, "Peacebringer", (from Amazing Stories, March 1950)
- Horace L. Gold, "A Matter of Form" (from Astounding-Science Fiction, December 1938)
- Morrison Colladay, "The Planetoid of Doom" (from Wonder Stories, December 1932)
- W. Alexander, "One Leg Too Many" (from Amazing Stories, October 1929: part of the Dr. Wentworth series)
- Miles J. Breuer, M.D., "The Man with the Strange Head" (from Amazing Stories, January 1927)
- Katherine MacLean, "Defense Mechanism" (from Astounding Science Fiction, October 1949)
- Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore),"Margin for Error" (from Astounding Science Fiction, November 1947)
- Mack Reynolds, "Isolationist" (from Fantastic Adventures, April 1950.
- Murray Leinster, "Nobody Saw the Ship"* (from Future Combined with Science Fiction, May/June 1950)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Mewhu's Jet"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, November 1946)
- Graham Doer, "The Outer Limit" (from The Saturday Evening Post, December 24, 1949)
- Dorothy de Courcy and John de Courcy, (from Startling Stories, September 1948)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Dear Devil" (from Other Worlds Science Stories, May 1950; nominated for the 2001 Retro Hugo Award for Best Novelette)
- Ralph Williams, "Emergency Landing" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1940)
- 'Green Peyton" (G. Peyton Wertenbaker), "The Ship That Turned Aside" (from Amazing Stories, March 1930)
- Peter Phillips, "Manna" (from Astounding Science Fiction, February 1949)
- Noel Loomis, "The Long Dawn" (from Super Science Stories, January 1950)
- T. L. Sherred, "E for Effort" (from Astounding Science Fiction, May 1947)
- Fletcher Pratt, "The Roger Bacon Formula"* (from Amazing Stories, January 1929, where it was published as by Pratt and "Irvin Lester" -- "Lester" being one of Pratt's pen names)
- Lester del Rey, "The Wings of Night"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, March 1942)
- Clifford D. Simak, "Desertion"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, November 1944; the fourth story in Simak's City series)
- Robertson Osbourne, "Contact. Incorporated" (from Planet Stories, Fall 1949, where it was originally titled ""Action on Azura")
- Fredric Brown, "Arena"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1944)
- Jerry Shelton, "Culture" (from Astounding Science Fiction, September 1944)
- Jules Verne, "In the Year 2889" (from The Forum, February 1889; originally published in 1891 in France as "La Journee d'un Jounaliste Americain en 2889")
- Ray Bradbury, "Forever and the Earth"* (from Planet Stories, Spring 1950)
- "Peter Reed" (John D. MacDonald), "The Miniature"* (from Super Science Stories, September 1949)
- Fritz Leiber, "Sanity"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1944)
- C. M. Kornbluth, "The Only Thing we Learn"* (from Startling Stories, July 1949)
- Damon Knight, "Not With a Bang" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Winter-Spring 1950)
4) The Science Fiction Galaxy (1950)
- Groff Conklin, "Introcution"
- E. M. Forster, "The Machine Stops" (from Oxford and Cambridge Review, November 1909; winner of the 2012 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award)
- Rudyard Kipling, "As Easy as A.B.C." (from The London Magazine; March 1912; nominated nine times for the Prometheus Hall of Fame award (from 2006 through 2014) but has never won)
- William Hope Hodgson, "The Derelict" (from The Red Magazine, December 1, 1912)
- Arthur C. Clarke, "The Fires Within" (from Fantasy No. 3, August 1947, as by "E. G. O'Brien")
- John D. MacDonald, "A Child Is Crying" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, December 1948)
- Margaret St. Clair, "Quis Custodiet...?" (from Startling Stories, July 1948)
- Murray Leinster, "The Life-Work of Professor Muntz" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1949)
- Miles J. Breuer, M.D., "The Appendix and the Spectacles" (from Amazing Stories, December 1928)
- A. Rowley Hilliard, "Death from the Stars" (from Wonder Stories,October 1931)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "The Hurkle Is a Happy Beast" (from The Magazine of Fantasy, Fall 1949)
- Ray Bradbury, "King of the Gray Spaces" (from Famous Fantastic Mysteries, December 1943)
- Laurence Manning, "The Living Galaxy" (from Wonder Stories, September 1934)
5) In the Grip of Terror (1951)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Maurice Level, "The Last Kiss" (from Level's 1920 collection Tales of Mystery and Horror; first published in France in le Journal, 1912)
- Ray Bradbury, "The Illustrated Man" (from Esquire, July 1950)
- Stephen Crane, 'The Upturned Face" (from Ainslee's Magazine, March 5, 1900)
- Dororthy L. Sayers, "The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey" (first published in 1933, source not given)
- E. F. Benson, "The Horror Horn" (from Hutchinson's Magazine, September 1922)
- Will F. Jenkins (aka "Murray Leinster"), "Night Drive" (first published in 1950, source not given)
- H. P. Lovecraft, "In the Vault" (from The Tryout, November 1925)
- Guy de Maupassant, "The Diary of a Madman" (first appeared in English in 1885; orignally published in France in Le Gaulois as "Un fou")
- William F(ryer) Harvey, "The Tool" (first published in 1928, source not given)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Bianca's Hands" (from in Argosy, UK edition, May 1947)
- Walter Owen, "The Cross of Carl" (first published in 1931, no source given)
- Margaret St. Clair, "Hathor's Pets" (from Startling Stories, January 1950)
- Wilkie Collins, "A Terribly Strange Bed" (from Household Words, April 24, 1852 undet the title "The Story of a Terribly Strange Bed")
- W. W. Jacobs, "The Well" (from Jacob's 1902 collection The Lady of the Barge)
- Samuel Blas, "Revenge" (first published in 1947, no source given)
- Edgar Allan Poe, "The Pit and the Pendulum" (from The Gift from 1843, Fall (probaly October) 1942)
- "H. W. Guernsey" (Howard Wandrei), "Macklin's Little Friend" (Astounding Stories, November 1936)
- H. H. Munro, "The Easter Egg" (first published under the pen name "Saki" in 1911, no source given)
- H. G. Wells, "The Moth" (from Pall Mall Gazette, March 28, 1895, also known as "A Moth - Genus Novo" and "A Moth: Genus Unknown)
- Ambrose Bierce, 'A Resumed Identity" (from Cosmopolitan, September 1908, under the title "The Man")
- Wilbur Daniel Steele, "Bubbles" (from Harper's Magazine, March 1926)
6) Possible World of Science Fiction (1951) (The Berkley and Berkley Medallion paperbacks have 10 of the 22 stories, marked with *)
- Groff Conklin, 'Introduction"
- Raymond Z. Gallun, "Operation Pumice" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, April 1949)
- Robert A. Heinlein, "The Black Pits of Luna" (from The Saturday Evening Post, January 10, 1948)
- A. E. van Vogt, "Enchanted Village"* (from Other Worlds Science Stories, July 1950)
- Malcolm Jameson, "Lilies of Life"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, February 1945)
- Ray Bradbury, "Asleep in Armageddon"* (from Planet Stories, Winter 1948)
- Isaac Asimov, "Not Final!"* (from Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1941)
- Frank Belknap Long, "Cones" (from Astounding Stories, February 1936)
- D. L. James, "Moon of Delirium" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, January 1940)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Completely Automatic" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1941)
- Nelson S. Bond, "The Day We Celebrate" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, January 1941)
- Margaret St. Clair, "The Pillows"* (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1950)
- Hal Clement, "Proof" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1942)
- Murray Leinster, "Propagandist"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, August 1947)
- H. B. Fyfe, "In Value Deceived"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, November 1950)
- Jack Vance, "Hard-Luck Diggings" (from Startling Stories, July 1948; part of Vance's Magnus Ridolph series)
- John Berryman, "Space Rating"* (from Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1939)
- Katherine MacLean, "Contagion" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1950)
- Clifford D. Simak, "Limiting Factor"* (from Startling Stories, November 1949)
- Sam Merwin, Jr., "Exit Line" (from Startling Stories, September 1950, under the pen name "Matt Lee")
- James H. Schmitz, "Second Night of Summer" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1950; part of Schmitz's Agents of Vega series)
- Arthur C. Clarke, "A Walk in the Dark" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1950)
- Poul Anderson, "The Helping Hand"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, May 1950; nominated for the 2001 Retro Hugo Award for Best Novelette)
7) 28 Science Fiction Stories by H. G. Wells 1953; a single-author collection edited by Groff Conklin)
8) Invaders of Earth (1952) (The Weidenfeld & Nicolson reprint contains 14 of the 22 stories marked *; the Pocket Books reprint contains 15 stories marked @; the Tempo edition reprints contain 16 stories marked #); the Digit edition reprints 8 stories marked % and a further Digit book, 1962's Enemies in Space, reprints 6 additional stories marked $) Yeah, I know. It's beginning to look like a string of curse words.
- Men Like Gods (the 1923 novel)
- "The Empire of the Ants" (first published in The Strand Magazine, December 1905)
- "The Land Ironclads" (first published in The Strand Magazine, December 1903)
- "The Country of the Blind" (first published in The Strand Magazine, April 1904)
- "The Stolen Bacillus" (first published in Pall Mall Budget, June 24 1894)
- "The Flowering of the Strange Orchid" (first published in Pall Mall Budget, August 2, 1894)
- "In the Avu Observatory" (first published in Pall Mall Budget, August 9, 1894)
- "A Story of the Stone Age" (first published in The Idler, May 1897)
- "Aepyornis Island" (first published in Pall Mall Budget, December 13 (or 27 -- sources differ), 1894)
- "The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes" (first published in Pall Mall Budget, March 28, 1895; Conklin included this story in his anthology Best of Science Fiction)
- "The Plattner Story" (first published in The New Review, April (or May?) 1896)
- "The Argonauts of the Air" (first published in Phil May's Annual, December 1895)
- "The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham" (first published in The Idler, May 1896)
- "In the Abyss" (first published in Pearson's Magazine, August 1, 1896)
- Star Begotten (the 1937 novel first published as Star-Begotten: A Biological Fantasia)
- "Under the Knife" (first published in The New Review, January, 1896)
- "The Sea Raiders" (first published in The Weekly Sun Literary Supplement, Decmber 6, 1896)
- "The Crystal Egg" (first published in The New Review, May 1897; this story is related to Wells' novel The War of the Worlds)
- "The Star" (first published in The Graphic, December 1897)
- "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" (first published in Illustrated London News, July 1898)
- "Filmer" (first published in The Graphic, December 1901)
- "A Story of the Days to Come" (first published as a series of four linked stories in Pall Mall Magazine beginning in June 1899 and running through October 1899; yeah, I know -- that's 5 months. Go figure.)
- "The Magic Shop" (first published in The Strand Magazine, June 1903)
- "The Valley of Spiders" (first published in Pearson's Magazine, March 1903)
- "The Truth About Pyecraft" (first published in The Strand Magazine, April 1903)
- "The New Accelerator" (first published in The Strand Magazine, December 1901)
- "The Stolen Body" (first published in The Strand Magazine, November 1898)
- "A Dream of Armageddon" (first published in Black and White, May/June 1901)
8) Invaders of Earth (1952) (The Weidenfeld & Nicolson reprint contains 14 of the 22 stories marked *; the Pocket Books reprint contains 15 stories marked @; the Tempo edition reprints contain 16 stories marked #); the Digit edition reprints 8 stories marked % and a further Digit book, 1962's Enemies in Space, reprints 6 additional stories marked $) Yeah, I know. It's beginning to look like a string of curse words.
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Murray Leinster, "This Star Shall be Free"*@#% (from Super Science Stories, November 1949)
- Robert Moore Williams, "Castaway"*@#% (from Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1941)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Impulse"*@#% (from Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1938)
- "David Grinnell" (Donald A. Wollheim), "Top Secret"@# (first published in Sir! Magazine, 1948, issue not given)
- Allen K(im) Lang, "An Eel by the Tail"*% (from Imagination, April 1951)
- William F. Temple, "A Date to Remember"# (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1949)
- Millard Verne Gordon" (Donald A. Wollheim), "Storm Warning"*% (from Future Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1942)
- Margaret St. Clair, "Child of Void"*@#% (from Super Science Stories, November 1949)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Tiny and the Monster"@# (from Astounding Science Fiction, May, 1947)
- Mack Reynolds, 'The Discord Makers"@# (from Out of This World Adventures, July, 1950)
- Milton Lesser, "Pen Pal"@ (from Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1951)
- A. E. van Vogt, "Not Only Dead Men"*@#% (from Astounding Science-Fiction, November 1942)
- Carl Grunert, "Enemies in Space"*$ (this is possibly the first English translation; the story appeared in the author's 1907 collection Feinde im Weitall? und andere Novellen)
- Howard Koch, "Invasion from Mars"*@#S (the radio script from Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre on the Air over the Columbia Broadcasting System on October 30, 1938)
- Mildred Clingerman, "Mnister Without Portfolio"@# (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1952)
- Fredric Brown, "The Waveries"*#$ (from Astounding Science Fiction, January 1945)
- Edward Grenden, "Crisis"@# (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1951)
- Edgar Pangborn, "Angel's Egg"*@#$ (from Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1951)
- William Tenn, "'Will You Walk a Little Faster"@# (from Marvel Science Fiction, November 1951)
- Henry A. Norton, "The Man in the Moon"*% (from Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1943)
- Katherine MacLean, "Pictures Don't Lie"*@#$ (from Galaxy Science Fiction, August 1951)
- Anthony Boucher, "The Greatest Tertian"*@#S (original to this anthology)
9) Omnibus of Science Fiction (1952) (also published as Strange Travels in Science Fiction, Strange Adventures in Science Fiction, and Science Fiction Omnibus) (The Berkley and Berkley Medallion editions contained 11 of the 43 stories, marked *; the publishers Grayson & Grayson reprinted 22 of the 43 stories in two volumes: Strange Travels in Science Fiction, 13 stories marked @, and Strange Adventures in Science Fiction, 9 stories marked #)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- John Liemert, "John Thomas's Cube"@ (from The Atlantic Monthly, August 1945)
- L. Sprague de Camp, "Hyperpilosity" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, April 1938)
- Fletcher Pratt & "B. F. Ruby," "The Thing in the Woods" (from Amazing Stories, February 1935; "Ruby" is a pen name for Pratt -- Pratt at times would use one of his pseudonymns as a "collaborator")
- Katherine MacLean, "And Be Merry..." (from Astounding Science Fiction, February 1950)
- Will H. Gray, "The Bees from Borneo" (from Amazing Stories, February 1931)
- "David Grinnell" (Donald A. Wollheim), "The Rag Thing" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1951)
- Mark Clifton, "The Conqueror" (from Astounding Science Fiction, August 1952)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Never Underestimate..."# (from If, March 1952)
- David H. Keller, M.D., "The Doorbell"# (from Wonder Stories, June 1934)
- A. J. Deutsch, "A Subway Named Moebius"*@ (from Astounding Science Fiction, December 1950; nominated for the 2001 Retro Hugo Award for Best Short Story)
- Ross Rocklynne, "Backfire" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, January 1943)
- James Blish, "The Box"# (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, April 1949)
- Ann Griffith, "Zerisky's Law" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, November 1951)
- R. R. Winterbotham, "The Fourth Dynasty" (from Astounding Stories, December 1936)
- H. P. Lovecraft, "The Color Out of Space"*@ (from Amazing Stories, September 1927)
- Ralph Williams, "The Head Hunters" (from Astounding Science Fiction, October 1951)
- Anthony Boucher, "The Star Dummy"*@ (from Fantastic, Fall 1952)
- Damon Knight, "Catch That Martian"# (from Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1952)
- Richard Matheson, "Shipshape Home"@ (from Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1952)
- Isaac Asimov, "Homo Sol"* (from Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1940; the first of three stories in Asimov's Homo Sol series)
- William Tenn, "Alexander the Bait" (from Astounding Science Fiction, May 1946)
- Ray Bradbury, "Kaleidoscope"*@ (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1949)
- Paul Ernst, "'Nothing Happens on the Moon'"@ (from Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1939)
- "Norman Menasco" (Wyman Guin), "Trigger Tide" (from Astounding Science Fiction, October 1950)
- Murray Leinster, "Plague"*# (from Astoundng Science Fiction, February 1944)
- Jack Vance, "Winner Lose All" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1951)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Test Piece"* (from Other Worlds Science Fiction, March 1951)
- Chester S. Geier, "Environment"# (from Astounding Science Fiction, May 1944)
- Alan E. Nourse, "High Threshold"@ (from Astounding Science Fiction, March 1951; the first of two stories in Nourse's The Universe Between series)
- John D. MacDonald, "Spectator Sport"*# (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, February 1950)
- A. E. van Vogt, "Recruiting Station"# (from Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1942)
- Raymond F. Jones, "A Stone and a Spear"@ (from Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1950)
- "Lewis Padgett" (Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore), "What You Need" (from Astounding Science Fiction, October 1945)
- Wayland Hilton-Young, "The Choice"# (from Punch, March 19, 1952)
- Andre Maurois. "The War Against the Moon" (from Maurois' The Next Chapter: The War Against the Moon, 1927)
- Ralph Robin, "Pleasant Dreams"@ (from Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1951)
- H. B. Fyfe, "Manners of the Age"@ (from Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1952)
- Fredric Brown, "The Weapon"*@ (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1951)
- Jack London, "The Scarlet Plague"@ (from London Magazine, June 1912)
- Robert Abernathy, "Heritage" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1952)
- Arthur C. Clarke, "History Lesson"* (from Startling Stories, May 1949)
- Lester del Rey, "Instinct"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, January 1952)
- Peter Phillips, "Counter Charm" (first published in 1951; no further information given)
10) Science Fiction Adventures in Dimension (1952) (also published as Adventures in Dimension) (The Grayson & Grayson edition, Adventures in Dimension, reprinted 13 of the 23 stories marked * and the Berkley Medallion edition reprinted 12 of the 23 stories marked @)
- Groff Conklin, 'Introduction"
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Yesterday Was Monday"@ (from Unknown Fantasy Fiction, June 1941)
- William L. Bade, "Ambition"@ (from Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1951)
- Murray Leinster, "The Middle of the Week After Next"@ (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1952; the first of two stories about Thaddeus Binder)
- Lester del Rey, "...And It Comes Out Here"@ (from Galaxy Science Fiction, February 1951)
- "Geroge Whitley" (A. Betram chandler), "Castaway" (from Weird Tales, November 1947)
- Marion Gross, "The Good Provider" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1952)
- Amelia Reynolds Long, "Reverse Phylogeny"* (from Astounding Stories, June 1937)
- William Sell, "Other Tracks"@ (from Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1938)
- Day Keene "'What So Proudly We Hail...'"* (from Imagination, December 1950)
- Ray Bradbury, "Night Meeting"*@ (first published in Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, 1950)
- H. L. Gold, "Perfect Murder" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, March 1940)
- "E. M. Hull" (A. E. van Vogt and E. Mayne Hull), "The Flight That Failed'*@ (from Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1942)
- 'Lewis Radgett" (Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore), "Endowment Policy"*@ (from Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1943)
- Raymond F. Jones, "Pete Can Fix It"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, February 1947)
- "Peter Cartur" (Peter Grainger), "The Mist"*@ (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1952)
- Miles J. Breuer, M. D., "The Gostak and the Doshes"* (from Amazing Stories, March 1930)
- Isaac Asimov, "What If..."*@ (from Fantastic, Summer 1952)
- John D. MacDonald, 'Ring Around the Redhead"* (from Startling Stories, November 1948)
- Alan E. Nourse, "Tiger by the Tail"*@ (from Galaxy Science Fiction, November 1951)
- William F. Temple, "Way of Escape"* (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1948)
- "Roger Flint Young" (Peter Grainger), "Suburban Frontiers" (from Astounding Science Fiction, February 1950)
- Fritz Leiber, "The Business of Killing"@ (from Astounding Science Fiction, September 1944)
- Frank Belknap Long, "To Follow Knowledge"* (from Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1942)
11) The Supernatural Reader, edited with Lucy Conklin (1953) (The World/WDL Books edition contains 19 of 27 stories marked *)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Herb Paul, "The Angel with Purple Hair"* (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1950)
- F. Marion Crawford, "For Blood Is the Life"* (from Collier's, December 16, 1905)
- Richard Hughes, "The Stranger"* (from Hughes' 1926 collection A Moment of Time)
- "Stephen Grendon" (August Derleth), "Mrs. Manifold" (from the 1949 anonymously edited -- by Donald A. Wollheim -- anthology The Girl with the Hungry Eyes and Other Stories, said to be the first all-original science fiction anthology)
- A. E. Coppard, "Piffingcap"* (from Coppard's 1921 collection Adam and Eve and Pinch Me)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Shottle Bop" (from Unknown Fantasy Fiction, February 1941)
- H. H. Munro ("Saki"), "Gabriel-Ernest"* (from The Westminster Gazette, May 29, 1909)
- Fitz-James O'Brien, "The Lost Room"* (from Harper's Magazine, September 1858)
- James S. Hart, "The Traitor"* (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Fall 1950)
- Charles R. Tanner, "Angus MacAuliffe and the Gowden Tooch" (from Other Worlds Science Stories, March 1951)
- Babette Rosmond and Lenard M. Lake, "Are You Run-Down, Tired --" (from Unknown Worlds, October 1942)
- May Sinclair, "The Nature of the Evidence" (from Fortune, May 1923)
- Mary Elizabeth Counselman, "The Tree's Wife"* (from Weird Tales, March 1950)
- E. Nesbit, 'The Pavilion"* (from The Strand Magazine, November 15, 1915)
- Edgar Pangborn, "Pickup for Olympus"* (original to this anthology)
- H. F. Heard, "The Swap" (from the author's 1944 collection The Great Fog and Other Weird Tales)
- Ray Bradbury, "The Tombling Day"* (from Shenandoah, Autumn 1952)
- Nigel Kneale, "Minuke"* (from the author's 1949 collection Tomato Cain and Other Stories)
- John Collier, "Bird of Prey"* (from the author's 1941 collection Presenting Moonshine)
- David H. Keller, "The Thing in the Cellar"* (from Weird Tales, March 1932)
- Will Jenkins ("Murray Leinster"), "The Devil's Henchman"* (from Argosy, May 1952)
- M. R. James. "Lost Hearts" (from Pall Mall Magazine, December 1895)
- Lord Dunsany, "Thirteen at Table"* (from the author's 1916 collection Tales of Wonder)
- Philip Fisher, "Lights"* (from Argosy All-Story Weekly, July 15, 1922)
- Harold Lawlor, "The Silver Highway" (from Weird Tales, May 1946)
- Ambrose Bierce, "The Moonlit Road"* (from Cosmopolitan, January 1907)
- E. M. Forster, "The Curate's Friend"* (first published in 1907, source unknown)
12) Crossroads in Time (1953)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Hal Clement, "Assumption Justified" (from Astounding Science Fiction, October 1946)
- Joseph E. Kelleam, "The Eagles Gather" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, April 1942)
- Murray Leinster, "The Queen's Astrologer" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1949)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "'Derm Fool'" (from Unknown Fantasy Fiction, March 1940)
- Clifford D. Simak, "Courtesy" (from Astounding Science Fiction, August 1951)
- Lee Cahn, "Secret" (from Astounding Science Fiction, January 1953)
- Margaret St. Clair, "Thirsty God" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1953, under the pen name "Idris Seabright")
- Fritz Leiber, "The Mutant's Brother" (from Astoundng Science-Fiction, August 1943)
- F. L. Wallace, "Student Body" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1953)
- J. T. McIntosh, "Made in U.S.A." (from Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1953)
- Chad Oliver, "Technical Advisor" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1953)
- Katherine MacLean, "Feedback" (from Astounding Science Fiction, July 1951)
- P. Schuyler Miller, "The Cave" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, January 1943)
- George O. Smith, "Vocation" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1945)
- A. Macfadyen, Jr., "The Time Decelerator" (from Astounding Stories, July 1936)
- Jerome Bixby, "Zen" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1952)
- Horace B. Fyfe, "Let There Be Light" (from If, November 1952)
- W. Norbert (Norbert Weiner), "The Brain" (from Technical Engineering News, April 1952)
13) 6 Great Short Novels of Science Fiction (1954)
- Conklin, "Introduction"
- Stuart Cloete, "The Blast" (from a two-part serial in Collier's, April 1946)
- Robert A. Heinlein, "Coventry" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1940; part of the author's Future History series; nominated for the 2016 Retro Hugo award for Best Novella)
- Murray Leinster, "The Other World" (from Startling Stories, November 1949)
- James Blish, "Surface Tension" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, August 1952; significantly rewritten from a 1942 story, "Sunken Universe"; part of the author's Pantropy series)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Maturity" (from Astounding Science Fiction, February 1947)
13) Science Fiction Thinking Machines: Robots, Androids, Computers (1954) (The Bantam edition reprints 12 of the 22 stories, marked *)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- S. Fowler Wright, "Automata: 1" (from Weird Tales, September 1929; one-third of the novelette)
- Ambrose Bierce, "Moxon's Master" (from the San Francisco Examiner, April 16, 1899)
- Isaac Asimov, "Robbie"* (from Super Science Stories, September 1940, as "Strange Playfellow"; winner of the 2016 Retro Hugo for Best Short Story)
- Raymond Z. Gallun, "The Scarab" (from Astounding Stories, August 1936)
- Fritz Leiber, "The Mechanical Bride" (original to this anthology)
- Herbert Goldstone, "Virtuoso"* (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Fecruary 1953)
- S. Fowler Wright, "Automata:2" (from Weird Tales, September 1929; the second third of the novelette)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Boomerang"* (from Fantastic Universe, August-September 1953, as "A Great Deal of Power")
- William Tenn, "The Jester"* (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1951)
- Karel Capek, "R.U.R." (a play first produced in Prague on January 26, 1921; the English version opened on October 9, 1922)
- Clifford D. Simak, "Skirmish"* (from Amazing Stories, December 1950)
- Michael Shaara, "Soldier Boy" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1953)
- S. Fowler Wright, "Automata: 3" (from Weird Tales, September 1929; the final third of the novelette)
- Alan Bloch, "Men Are Different"* (original to this anthology)
- Chan Davis, "Letter to Ellen"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1947)
- Wallace West, "Sculptors of Life" (from Astounding Science Fiction, December 1939)
- Theodore Sturgeon, 'The Golden Egg"* (from Unknown Fantasy Fiction, August 1941)
- Wallace Macfarlane, "Dead End"* (from Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1952)
- Hal Clement, "Answer" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1947)
- Poul Anderson, "Sam Hall"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, August 1953; set in the same universe as the author's 1964 novel Three Worlds to Conquer)
- Walter M. Miller, Jr., "Dumb Waiter"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1952)
- Robert Sherman Towne, "Problem for Emmy"* (from Startling Stories, June 1952)
- "Selected List of Tales About Robots, Androids, and Computers"
14) A Way Home (1955; by Theodore Sturgeon, edited by Conklin; a collection of 11 stories; all further editions of this title contains 9 of the 11 stories marked *)
15) Science Fiction Adventures in Mutation (1955) (The Berkley edition reprints 14 of the 20 stories, marked *)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- "Unite and Conquer"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, October 1948)
- "Special Aptitude"* (from Other Worlds Science Stories, March 1951 as "Last Laugh")
- "Mewhu's Jet"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, November 1946; Conklin included this story in his anthology Big Book of Science Fiction and in his other Sturgeon collection Thunder and Roses)
- "Hurricane Trio"* (from Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1955)
- "...And My Fear Is Great..." (from Beyond Fantasy Fiction, July 1953; nominated for the 2004 Retro Hugo Award for Best Novella; Conklin also included this story in his other Sturgeon collection Thunder and Roses)
- "Minority Report" (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1949; Conklin also included this story in his other Sturgeon collection Thunder and Roses)
- "The Hurkle Is a Happy Beast"* (from The Magazine of Fantasy, Fall 1949; Conklin also included this story in his anthology The Science Fiction Galaxy and in his other Sturgeon collection Thunder and Roses)
- "Thunder and Roses"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, November 1947; Conklin included this as the title story in his other Sturgeon collection)
- "Bulkhead"* (from Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1955 as "Who?"; nominated for a 1956 Hugo Award for Best Novelette; Conklin included this story in his other Sturgeon collection Thunder and Roses)
- "Tiny and the Monster"* (from Astoundng Science Fiction, May 1947; Conkin included this story in his anthology Invaders of Earth and in his other Sturgeon collection Thunder and Roses)
- "A Way Home"* (from Amazing Stories, April-May 1953; Conklin included this story in his other Sturgeon anthology Thunder and Roses)
15) Science Fiction Adventures in Mutation (1955) (The Berkley edition reprints 14 of the 20 stories, marked *)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Stephen Arr, "Chain of Command"* (from Galaxy Science Fiction, May 1954)
- James Blish, "Battle of the Unborn"* (from Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, May/June 1950)
- Miles J. Breuer, M.D., "The Hungry Guinea Pig" (from Amazing Stories, January 1930)
- Fredric Brown, "Keep Out"* (from Amazing Stories, March 1953)
- Ed M. Clinton, Jr., "The Small World of M-75" (from If, July 1954)
- Theodore R. Cogswell, "Limiting Factor"* (from Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1954)
- "David Grinnell" (Donald A. Wollheim), "The Lysenko Maze"* (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1954)
- E. Mayne Hull, "The Patient"* (from Unknown Worlds, October 1943)
- Henry Kuttner (with C. L. Moore, uncredited?), "Cold War"* (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1949; part of the author's Hogben series)
- Murray Leinster, "Skag with the Queer Head"* (from Marvel Science Fiction, August 1951)
- Emmett McDowell, "Veiled Island" (from Astounding Science Fiction, January 1946)
- Kris Neville. "Experimental Station" (original to this anthology -- sort of; this is; this is an extensively reworked version of "The First", Super Science Stories, September 1950)
- Alan E. Nourse, "Family Resemblance"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1953)
- Mack Reynolds, "And Thou Beside Me" * (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1954)
- Eric Frank Russell, "This One's on Me"* (from Nebula Science Fiction, Number 4, June 1953)
- Margaret St. Clair, "Age of Prophecy" (from Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, March 1951)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "The Love of Heaven"* (from Astounding Science Fiction, November 1948)
- F. L. Wallace, "The Impossible Voyage Home" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, August 1954)
- James White, "The Conspirators"* (from New Worlds Science Fiction, #24, June 1954)
- S. Fowler Wright, "The Better Choice"* (original to this anthology?)
- ""Selected List of Tales About Mutants and Changlings"
16) Science Fiction Terror Tales (1955)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Ray Bradbury, "Punishment Without Crime" (from Other Worlds Science Stories, March 1950; part of the author's Marionettes, Inc. series)
- Fredric Brown, "Arena" (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1944; Conklin had previously used this story in Big Book of Science Fiction)
- Robert Sheckley, "The Leech" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1952)
- Richard Matheson, "Through Channels" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1951)
- Peter Phillips, "Lost Memory" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, May 1952)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Memorial" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1946)
- Margaret St. Clair, "Prott" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1953)
- Isaac Asimov, 'Flies" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1953)
- Paul Ernst, "The Microsopic Giants" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1936)
- Anthony Boucher, "The Other Inauguration" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1953)
- Alan E. Nourse, "Nightmare Brother" (from Astounding Science Fiction, February 1953)
- Murray Leinster, "Pipeline to Pluto" (from Astounding Science Fiction, August 1945)
- Philip K. Dick, "Imposter" (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1953)
- Robert a. Heinlein, "They" (from Unknown Fantasy Fiction, April 1941)
- Chad Oliver, "Let Me Live in a House" (from Universe Science Fiction, March 1954)
17) Operation Future (1955)
- Groff Coinklin, "Introduction"
- Theodore Sturgeon, 'The Education of Drusilla Strange" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1954)
- Peter Phillips, "c/o Mr. Makepeace" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1954)
- "John Benyon" ("John Wyndham"), "Technical Slip" (from The Arkham Sampler, Spring 1949)
- "Idris Seabright" (Margaret St. Clair) "Short in the Chest" (from Fantastic Universe, July 1954)
- Murray Leinster, "Cure for a Ylith" (from Startling Stories, Novenber 1949 as "William Fitzgerald")
- Eric Frank Russell, "Exposure" (from Astounding Science Fiction, July 1950)
- Clifford D. Simak, "Worrywart" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, September 1953)
- Lester del Rey, "Day Is Done" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1039)
- Jack Finney, "Quit Zoomin' Those Hands in the Air" (from Collier's, August 4, 1951)
- H. B. Hickey, "Hilda" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1952)
- Chad Oliver, "Blood's a Rover" (from Astounding Science Fiction, May 1952)
- Winston K. Marks, 'Call Me Adam" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1954)
- Damon Knight, "Special Delivery" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1954)
- Robert F. Young, "The Garden in the Forest" (from Astounding Science Fiction, September 1953)
- Malcolm Jameson, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1941, under the pen name "Colin Keith")
- Katherine MacLean, "Games" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1953)
- Jerome Bixby, "The Holes Around Mars" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, January, 1954)
- "Lewis Padgett" (Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore), "Project" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1947)
- Isaac Asimov, "The Fun They Had" (from NEA Service, "Boys and Girls page", December 1951)
18) Thunder and Roses (collection of 8 stories by Theodore Sturgeon and edited by Conklin; all stories were included in Conklin's previous Sturgeon collection A Way Home; ISFDb includes this as a separate book and I am following their lead)
19) The Graveyard Reader (1958)
- "Mewhu's Jet" (from Astounding Science Fiction, November 1946; Conklin also included this story in his anthology Big Book of Science Fiction)
- "...And My Fear Is Great..." (from Beyond Fantasy Fiction, July 1953; nominated for the 2004 Retro Hugo Award for Best Novella)
- "Minority Report" (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1949)
- "The Hurkle Is a Happy Beast" (from The Magazine of Fantasy, Fall 1949; Conklin also included this story in his anthology The Science Fiction Galaxy)
- "Thunder and Roses" (from Astounding Science Fiction, November 1947)
- "Bulkhead" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1955 as "Who?"; nominated for the 1956 Hugo for Best Novelette)
- "Tiny and the Monster" (from Astounding Science Fiction, May 1947; Conklin also included this story in his anthology Invaders of Earth)
- "A Way Home" (from Amazing Stories, April-May 1953)
19) The Graveyard Reader (1958)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Ray Bradbury, "The Screaming Woman" (from Today, May 27, 1951; part of Bradbury's GreenTown series)
- Ambrose Bierce, "A Bottomless Grave" (from the San Francisco Examiner, February 26, 1888)
- Richard Hughes, "The Cart" (from the author's 1926 collection A Moment in Time)
- Henry Kuttner, "The Graveyard Rats" (from Weird Tales, March 1936)
- Roald Dahl, 'Skin" (from The New Yorker, May 17, 1952)
- Mary Elizabeth Counselman, "Night Court" (from Weird Tales, March 1953)
- Charles Beaumont, "Free Dirt" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1955)
- Wallace West, "Listen, Children, Listen!" (from Fantastic Universe, October-November 1953)
- John Collier, "Special Delivery" (from the author's 1941 collection Presenting Moonshine)
- Fitz-James O'Brien, "The Child That Loved a Grave" (from Harper's, April 1861)
- H. P. Lovecraft, "The Outsider" (from Weird Tales, April 1926)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "The Graveyard Reader" (from Science Fantasy, #31, October 1958)
20) Br-r-r! (1959)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Theodore Sturgeon, "It" (from Unknown, August 1940)
- Charles Beaumont, "Nursery Rhyme" (from the author's 1957 collection The Hunger and Other Stories)
- Will F. Jenkins, "Doomsday Deferred" (from The Satuday Evening Post, September 24, 1949 under the pen name "Murray Leinster")
- Horace L. Gold, "Warm, Dark Places" (from Unknown Fantasy Fiction, October 1940)
- Isaac Asimov and "James MacCreigh" (Frederik Pohl), "Legal Rites" (from Weird Tales, September 1950)
- Algernon Blackwood, "An Egyptian Hornet" (from the author's 1917 collection Day and Night Stories; first published in 1915, source unknown)
- "Idris Seabright" (Margaret St. Clair) "White Goddess" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1956)
- Ray Bradbury, "The Handler" (from Weird Tales, January 1947)
- Roald Dahl, "The Sound Machine" (from The New Yorker, September 17, 1949)
- David H. Keller, M.D., "The Worm" (from Amazing Stories, March 1929)
21) Four for the Future (1959)
- Poul Anderson. "Enough Rope" (from Astounding Science Fiction, july 1953; part of the author's Wing Alak series)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "The Claustrophile" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, August 1956)
- Henry Kuttner (with C. L. Moore, uncredited), "The Children's Hour" Astounding Science Fiction, March 1944 as by "Lawrence O'Donnell")
- Eric Frank Russell, "Plus X" (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1956)
22) Ten Great Mysteries by Edgar Allan Poe (1960, edited by Groff Conklin)
23) 13 Great Stories of Science Fiction (1960)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (first published in Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine, April 1841; part of the author's Chevalier Dupin series)
- "The Purloined Letter" (first published in The Gift, September 1844; part of the author's Chevalier Dupin series)
- "The Tell-Tale Heart" (first published in The Pioneer, January 1843; Conklin included this story in his anthology Twisted)
- "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" (first published in The Broadway Journal, December 20, 1845; Conklin included this story in his anthology Great Science Fiction About Doctors)
- ""The Pit and the Pendulum" (first published in The Gift, a Christmas and New Year's Present for 1843, October 1842; Conklin included this story in his anthology In the Grip of Terror)
- "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains" (first published in The Baltimore Weekly Sun, March 23, 1844; Coinklin included this story in his anthology The Best of Science Fiction)
- "A Descent Into the Maelstrom" (first published in Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine, May 1841)
- "The Black Cat" (first published in United States Saturday Post, August 19, 1843)
- "'Thou Art the Man'" (first published in Godey's Lady's Book, November 1844)
- "Metzengerstein" (first published in Saturday Courier, January 14, 1842)
23) 13 Great Stories of Science Fiction (1960)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Algis Budrys, "The War Is Over" (from Astounding Science Fiction, February 1957)
- Poul Anderson, "The Light" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1957)
- John Wyndham, "Compassion Circuit" (from Fantastic Universe, December 1954)
- Wyman Guin, "Volpla" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, May 1956)
- Arthur C. Clarke, "Silence, Please!" (from Science Fantasy, #2, Winter 1950: part of the author's Tales from the White Hart series)
- William T. Powers, "Allegory" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1953)
- Alan Nelson, "Soap Opera" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1953)
- William Morrison, "Shipping Clerk" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1952)
- G. C. Edmondson, "Technological Retreat" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1956)
- Damon Knight, "The Analogues" (from Astounding Science Fiction, January 1952; the first story in the author's The Analogues series)
- Lion Miller, "The Available Data on the Worp Reaction" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1953)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "The Skills of Xanadu" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1956)
- Richard Gehman, "The Machine" (first published in 1946. source unknown)
24) Six Great Short Science Fiction Novels (1960)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Isaac Asimov, "Galley Slave" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1957; a Susan Calvin story)
- Judith Merril, "Project Nursemaid" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1955)
- Clifford D. Simak, "Final Gentleman" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1960)
- Algis Budrys, "Chain Reaction" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1957)
- Damon Knight, 'Rule Golden" (from Science Fiction Adventures, May 1954)
- Katherine MacLean, "Incommunicado" (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1950)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Isaac Asimov, "What If..." (from Fantastic, Summer 1952; Conklin included this in a previous anthology, Science Fiction Adventures in Dimension)
- Eric Temple Bell ("John Taine"), "The Ultimate Catalyst" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1939; Conklin included this in a previous anthology, The Best of Science Fiction)
- Miles J. Breuer, M.D., "The Gostak and the Doshes" (from Amazing Stories, March 1930; Conklin included this in a previous anthology, Science Fiction Adventures in Dimension)
- Arthur C. Clarke, 'Summertime on Icarus" (from Vogue, June 1960)
- Ralph S. Cooper, "The Neutrino Bomb" (previously published in 1961, source unknown)
- Chan Davis, "Last Year's Grave Undug" (original to this anthology)
- J. B. S. Haldane, "The Gold-Makers" (previously published in 1932, source unknown)
- Julian Huxley, "The Tissue-Culture King" (from The Yale Review, April 1926; Conklin included this in a previous anthology, The Best of Science Fiction)
- Willy Ley, "A Martian Advenure" (previously published in 1937 under the pen name "Robert Willey, source unknown)
- James McConnell, "Learning Theory" (from If, December 1957)
- Chad Oliver, "Mother of Necessity" (from the author's 1955 collection Another Kind)
- John R. Pierce, "John Sze's Future" (original to this anthology)
- Robert S. Richardson, "Kid Anderson" (previously published in 1957, source unknown; may have been published under the author's "Philip Lathan" pen name)
- Dr. Louis N. Ridenour, 'Pilot Lights of the Apocalypse" (previously published in 1946, source unknown)
- Leo Szilard, "Report on 'Grand Central Terminal'" (from the author's 1961 collection The Voice of the Dolhins, and Other Stories; originally written in 1948. source unknown)
- Norbert Weiner, 'The Brain" (from Technical Engineering News, April 1952, under the pen name "W. Norbert"; Conklin included this in a previous anthology, Crossroads in Time)
26) Twisted (1962) (The Horwitz edition contains 10 of the 15 stories, marked *)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Ray Bradbury, "The Playground" (from the author's 1952 collection The Illustrated Man)
- George Langelaan, "The Other Hand" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1961)
- David H. Keller, M.D., "The Thing in the Cellar" (from Weird Tales, March 1932; Conklin included this in a previous anthology The Supernatural Reader)
- Guy de Maupassant, "The Diary of a Madman" (first published in France in Le Gaulois in 1895; first English publication in 1895, source unknown; Conklin included this in a previous anthology In the Grip of Terror)
- Stephen Crane, "The Upturned Face" (from Ainslee's Magazine, March 5, 1900; Conklin included this in a previous anthology In the Grip of Terror)
- William W. Stuart, 'The Little Man Who Wasn't Quite" (from Galaxy Magazine, December 1961)
- Will F. Jenkins ("Murray Leinster") "Night Drive" (first published in 1950, source unknown; Conklin include this in a previous anthology In the Grip of Terror)
- Walter M. Miller, Jr., "The Song of Marya" (from Venture Science Fiction Magazine, March 1957, as "Vengeance for Nikolai")
- 'Stephen Grendon" August Derleth), "Mrs. Manifold" (from the anonymously edited -- by Donald A. Wollheim -- 1949 anthology The Girl with the Hungry Eyes, and Other Stories; Conklin included this in a previous anthology The Supernatural Reader)
- Ambrose Bierce, "A Holy Terror" (from Wasp, December 23, 1882)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Impulse" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1938; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Invaders of Earth)
- Margaret St. Clair, "Brenda" (from Weird Tales, March 1945)
- Edgar Allan Poe. "The Tell-Tale Heart" (from The Pioneer, January 1983)
- H. P. Lovecraft, "The Shunned House" (first published in a 1928 booklet printed by Paul Cook with a print run of 100 or less. of which only 6 were originally circulated; first major publication in Weird Tales, October 1927)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "The World Well Lost" (from Universe Science Fiction, June 1953)
27) Worlds of When (1962)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Chad Oliver, "Transfusion" (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1959)
- Fritz Leiber, "Bullet with His Name" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1958)
- Arthur C. Clarke, "Death and the Senator" (from Analog Science Fact -> Fiction, May 1961)
- Mack Reynolds. "Farmer" (Galaxy Magazine, June 1961)
- Margaret St. Clair, "Rations of Tantalus" (from Fantastic Universe, July 1954)
28) Human and Other Beings (1963; edited by "Allen DeGraeff' [Albert P. Blaustein] with Groff Conklin as an uncredited "subeditor)
- Groff Conklin, 'Science Fiction and Ideas" (forward)
- "Allen DeGraeff" (Albert P. Blaustein), "Preface"
- Fredrik Brown and Mack Reynolds, "Dark Interlude" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1951)
- Richard Wilson, "Love" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1952)
- Richard Wilson, "Honor" (from Science Fiction Quarterly, February 1956)
- Raymond E. Banks, "Double Dome" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, May 1957)
- Ray Bradbury, "Way in the Middle of the Air" (from the author's 1950 collection The Martian Chronicles)
- Ray Bradbury, "The Other Foot" (from New Story Magazine, March 1951)
- Evelyn E. Smith, "The Vilbar Party" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, January 19550
- J. T. mcIntosh, "Made in U.S.A. (from Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1953: Conklin included this in a previous anthology Crossroads in Time)
- George P. Elliott, "The NRACP" (from The Hudson Review, Fall 1949)
- Theodore R. Cogswell, "The Big Stink" (from If, July 1954)
- William Tenn, "Down Among the Dead Men" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1954)
- Leigh Brackett, "All the Colors of the Rainbow" (from Venture Science Fiction Magazine, November 1957)
- Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth, "The World of Myrion Flowers" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1961)
- Frederik Pohl, "My Lady Green Sleeves" (from the author's 1957 collection The Case Against Tomorrow)
- Robert Sheckley, "Holdout" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1957)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Test Piece" (from Other Worlds Science Stories, March 1951; Conklin included this story in a previous collection Omnibus of Science Fiction)
29) Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales (1963; edited by Isaac Asimov and Groff Conklin)
- Isaac Asimov, "Introduction 1"
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction 2"
- Poul Anderson, "Ballarde of an Artificial Satellite", (rom The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1958)
- Isaac Asimov, "The Fun They Had" (from NEA Service, Boys and Girls page, December 1951; Conklin included this story in a previous collection Operation Future)
- Alan Bloch, "Men Are Different" (from Conklin's 1954 anthology Science Fiction Thinking Machines)
- Anthony Bucher, "The Ambassadors" (from Startling Stories, June 1953)
- Fredric Brown, "The Weapon" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1951; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Omnibus of Science Fiction)
- T. P. Cravan, "he Random Sample" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1953)
- Cleve Cartmill, "Oscar" (from Unknown Fantasy Fiction, February 1941)
- "Peter Cartur" (Peter Grainger), "The Mist" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1952; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Science Fiction Adventures in Dimension)
- James Causey, "Tething Ring" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1953)
- Arthur C. Clarke, "The Haunted Space Suit" (from New Worlds Science Fiction, #73, November 1958 as "Who's There?")
- Mildred Clingerman, "Stair Trick" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 1952)
- Roger Dee, "Unwelcome Tenant" (from Planet Stories, Summer 1950)
- Arthur Feldman, "The Mathematicians" (from Amazing Stories, October-November 1953)
- Jack Finney, "The Third Level" (from Collier's, October 7, 1950)
- Stuart Friedman, "Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful" (from Future Science Fiction Stories, March 1952)
- Edward Gendron, "The Figure" (from Astounding Science Fiction, July 1947; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology A Treasury of Science Fiction)
- "David Grinnell" (Donald A. Wollheim), "The Rag Thing" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1951; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Omnibus of Science Fiction)
- Marion Gross, "The Good Provider" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1952; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Science Fiction Adventures in Dimension)
- Robert A. Heinlein, "Columbus Was a Dope" (from Startling Stories, May 1947)
- Albert Hernhuter, "Texas Week" (from Fantastic Universe, January 1954)
- H. B. Hickey, "Hilda" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1952: Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Operation Future)
- W. Hilton-Young, "The Choice" (from Punch, March 19, 1952; Conklin inclulded this story in a previous anthology Omnibus of Science Fiction)
- Damon Knight, "Not with a Bang" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Winter-Spring 1950; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Big Book of Science Fiction)
- C. M. Kornbluth, "The Altar at Midnight" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, November 1952)
- Fritz Leiber, "A Bad Day for Sales" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1953)
- Jack Lewis, "Who's Cribbing?" (from Startling Stories, January 1953)
- John D. MacDonald, "Spectator Sport" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, February 1950; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Omnibus of Science Fiction)
- Avro Manhattan, "The Cricket Ball" (from Lilliput, 1955, date not given)
- Winston K. Marks, "Double-Take" (from Science Fiction Adventures, December 1953 as "Ken Winney)
- John P. McKnight, "Prolog" (from The Magazine of Fantasy ans Science Fiction, August 1951)
- Lion Miller, "The Available Data on the Worp Reaction" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1953; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology 13 Stories of Great Science Fiction)
- Alan Nelson, "Narapoia" (from What's Doing, April 1948; the first of two stories about Dr. Manly J. Departure)
- Alan E. Nourse, "Tiger by the Tail" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, November 1951; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Adventures in Dimension)
- Peter Phillips, "Countercharm" (first pulished in 1951, source unknown; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Omnibus of Science Fiction)
- Arthur Porges, "The Fly" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1952)
- Mack Reynolds, "The Business, As Usual" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1952)
- Frank M. Robinson, "Two Weeks in August" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, February 1951)
- Edward G. Robles, Jr., "See?" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1954)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Appointment at Noon" (from Amazing Stories, March 1954)
- James H. Schmitz, "We Don't Want Any Trouble" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1953)
- Howard Schoenfeld, "Built Down Logically" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1951)
- "Idris Seabright" (Margaret St. Clair), "An Egg a Month from All Over" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1952)
- Robert Sheckley, "The Perfect Woman" (from Amazing Stories, December 1953-January 1954)
- Walt Sheldon, 'The Hunters" (from Startling Stories, March 1952)
- Evelyn E. Smith,"The Martian and the Magician" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1952)
- Will Stanton, "Barney" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1951)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Talent" (from Beyond Fantasy Fiction, September 1953)
- William Tenn, "Project Hush" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, February 1954)
- A. E. van Vogt, "The Great Judge" (from Fantasy Book, No. 3, July 1948)
- Ralph Williams, "Emergency Landing" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1940; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Big Book of Science Fiction)
- S. Fowler Wright, "Obviously Suicide" (first published in 1951, source unknown)
- Karen Anderson, "Six Haiku" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1962)
30) Great Science Fiction About Doctors (1963) (edited by Noah D. Fabricant, M.D. and Groff Conklin)
- Noah D. Fabricant and Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Miles J. Breuer, M.D., "The Man Without an Appetite" (first published in Czech magazine Bratrsky Vestnikcirca 1916)
- Arthur C. Clarke, "Out of the Cradle, Endlessly Orbiting" (from Dude, March 1959)
- Clifton Dance, Jr., M.D., "The Brothers" (first published in 1952, source unknown)
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, M.D., "The Great Keinplatz Experiment" (from Belgravia, July 1885; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology The Best of Science Fiction)
- David Harold Fink, M.D., "Compound B" (from Raymond J. Healy's 1954 anthology 9 Tales of Space and Time)
- Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Rappaccini's Daughter" (from The United States Magazine and Democratic Review, December 1844)
- David H. Keller, M.D. "The Pychophonic Nurse" (from Amazing Stories, November 1928)
- C. M. Kornbluth, 'The Little Black Bag" (from Astounding Science Fiction, Julu 1950; winner of the 2001 Retro Hugo Award for Best Novelette)
- Murray Leinster, "Ribbon in the Sky" (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1957; the first in the author's Med Service series)
- Winston K. Marks, "Mate in Two Moves" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, May 1954)
- William Morrison, "Bedside Manner" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, May 1954)
- Alan Nelson, "The Chopdropper" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1955; the second story about Dr. Manly J. Departure)
- Alan E. Nourse, M.D., "Family Resemblance" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1952: Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Science Fiction Adventures in Mutation)
- Edgar Allan Poe, "Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" (from Broadway Journal, December 20, 1845; Conklin included this story in the collection Ten Great Mysteries by Edgar Allan Poe)
- Arthur Porge, "Emergency Operation" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1956; the second story in the author's Ruum series)
- "J. R. Shango" (Clifton Dance), "A Matter of Ethics" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1954)
- F. L. Wallace, "Bolden's Pets" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1955)
- J. A. Winter, M.D., "Expedition Marcy" (from Astounding Science Fiction, November 1948; the first story in the author's Expedition series)
31) Great Stories of Space Travel (1963)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Lester del Rey, "The Wings of Night" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1942; Conkin included this story in a previous anthology Big Book of Science Fiction)
- Jerome Bixby, "The Holes Around Mars" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1954; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Operation Future)
- Ray Bradbury, "Kaleidoscope" (from Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1949; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Omnibus of Science Fiction)
- Jack Vance, "I'll Build Your Dream Castle" (from Astoundng Science Fiction, September 1947)
- A. E. van Vogt, "Far Centaurus" (from Astounding Science Fiction, January 1944)
- Murray Leinster, "Propagandist" (from Astounding Science Fiction, August 1947; Conklin included this story in a previous collection Possible Worlds of Science Fiction)
- Damon Knight, "Cabin Boy" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, September 1951)
- Arthur C. Clarke, "A Walk in the Dark" (from Between Time and Terror, 1950, no date given; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Possible Worlds of Science fiction)
- Isaac Asimov, "Blind Alley" (from Astounding Science Fiction, March 1945; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology The Best of Science Fiction)
- Poul Anderson, "The Helping Hand" (from Astounding Science Fiction, May 1950; nominated for the 2001 Retro Hugo Award for Best Novelette; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Possible Worlds of Science Fiction)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Allamagoosa" (from Astoundng Science Fiction, May 1955; winner of the Hugo Award for Best Short Story)
32) 17 X Infinity (1963)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Hollis Alpert, "The Simian Problem" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1960)
- Isaac Asimov, "Strikebreaker" (from Science Fiction Stories, January 1957 as "Male Strikebreaker")
- Ray Bradbury, "Come Into My Cellar" (from Galaxy Magazine, October 1962)
- Hal Draper, "MS Fnd in a Lbry" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1961)
- Howard Fast, "Cato the Martian" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1960)
- Henry Gregor Felson, "The Spaceman Cometh" (from Collier's, November 11, 1955)
- E. M. Forster, "The Machine Stops" (from Oxford and Cambridge Review, November 1909; Conklin include this story in a previous anthology The Science Fiction Galaxy)
- Richard Goggin, "Frances Harkins" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1952)
- Herbert Gold, "The Day They Got Boston" (from Metronome, January 1961)
- Frank Herbert, "A-W-F, Unlimited" (from Galaxy Magazine, June 1961)
- Rudyard Kipling, "As Easy as A.B.C." (from The London Magazine, March 1917; nominated 8 times for the Prometheus Hall of Fame from 2006-2014, but always a bridesmaid; Conklin included this story in an earlier anthology The Science Fiction Galaxy)
- Rudyard Kipling, "MacDonough's Song" (poem) (first published in 1912. no source given)
- Alan Nelson, "Silenzia" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1953)
- Frederik Pohl, "What To Do Until the Analyst Comes" (from the author's 1956 collection Alternating Currents "Everybody's Happy But Me!")
- "Idris Seabright" (Margaret St. Clair), "Short in the Chest" (from Fantastic Universe, July 1954; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Operation Future)
- Evelyn E. Smith, "The Last of the Spode" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1953)
- Theodore Sturgeon, 'Never Underestimate" (from If, March 1952; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology Omnibus of Science Fiction)
- William Tenn, "Brooklyn Project" (from Planet Stories, Fall 1948)
33) 12 Great Classics of Science Fiction (1963)
34) Great Detective Stories About Doctors (1964; edited by Groff Conklin and Noah D. Fabricant, M.D.; because this is not an SF anthology, ISFDb does not list the sources for most stories)
- Groff Conklin, 'Introduction"
- Algis Budrys, "Due Process" (from Astounding/Analog Science Fact & Fiction, February 1960)
- Fredrik Brown, "Earthmen Bearing Gifts" (from Galaxy Magazine, June 1960)
- Zenna Henderson, 'Things" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1960)
- George Sumner Albee, "The Top" (first published in 1953, source unknown)
- Poul Anderson, "My Object All Sublime" (from Galaxy Magazine, June 1961)
- Robert Sheckley, "Human Man's Burden" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, September 1956)
- J. F. Bone, "On the Fourth Planet" (from Galaxy Magazine, April 1963)
- Cordwainer Smith, "The Ballad of Lost C'Mell" (from Galaxy Magazine, October 1962)
- Robert F. Young, "Thirty Days Had September" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1957)
- A. Bertram Chandler, "The Cage" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science FictionJune 1957)
- William W. Stuart, "Star-Crossed Lover" (from Galaxy Magazine, April 1962)
- J. I. McIntosh, "Immortality...For Some" (from Astounding/Analog Science Fact & Fiction, March 1960)
34) Great Detective Stories About Doctors (1964; edited by Groff Conklin and Noah D. Fabricant, M.D.; because this is not an SF anthology, ISFDb does not list the sources for most stories)
- Groff Conklin and Noah D. Fbricant, M.D., "Introduction"
- Arnold Bennett, "Midnight in the Grand Bablylon Hotel"
- Lawrence G. Blochman, "Murder in a Motel"
- George Harmon Coxe, "The Doctor Takes a Case"
- Dorothy Canfield Fisher, "The Gift of Oblivion"
- Francis Leo Golden, "The Testimony of Dr. Farnsworth"
- Ben Hecht, "Miracle of the Fifteen Murderers"
- MacKinlay Kantor, "The Grave Grass Quivers"
- Gerald Kersh, "The Eye" (from The Saturday Evening Post, March 2, 1957, as "The Murderer's Eye")
- Rufus King, "The Seven Good Hunters"
- Manuel Komroff. "The Head"
- Helen McCloy, "The Other Side of the Curtain"
- "Wade Miller" (William Miller and Robert Wade), "The Memorial Hour"
- Alan E. Nourse, "The Man in the White Mask"
- Alan Rinehart, "The Mirrored Room"
- Anthony Wynne, "The Cyprian Bees" (from Flynn's Detective Fiction, February 6, 1926)
- Francis Brett Young, "A Bussman's Holiday"
35) Dimension 4 (1964)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Won't You Walk?" (from Astounding Science Fiction, January 1956)
- E. C. Tubb, "Sense of Proportion" (from Nebula Science Fiction, Number 32, July 1958)
- John D. MacDonald, "Trojan Horse Laught" (from Astounding Science Fiction, August 1949)
- Cleve Cartmill, "Someday We'll Find You" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1942)
36) Five-Odd (1964; also published as Possible Tomorrows)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Isaac Asimov, "The Dead Past" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1956)
- Kingsley Amis, "Something Strange" (from The Spectator, 1960, no date given)
- J. T. McIntosh, "Unit" (from New Worlds Science Fiction, #56, February 1957)
- James H. Schmitz, "Gone Fishing" (from Analog Science Fact -> Fiction, May 1961)
- F. L. Wallace, "Big Ancestor" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, November 1954)
37) 5 Unearthly Visions (1965)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Legwork" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1956; nominated for the 1956 Hugo Award for Best Novelette)
- Walter M. Miller, Jr., "Conditionally Human" (abridged) (from Galaxy Science Fiction, February 1952)
- Raymond Z. Gallun, "Stamped Caution" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, August 1953)
- Damon Knight, "Dio" (from Infinity Science Fiction, September 1957)
- Clifford D. simal, "Shadow World" (from Galaxy Science Fiction. September 1957)
38) Giants Unleashed (1966; also published as Minds Unleashed)
- Groff Conklin, "The Long Limitation of Intelligence" (Introduction)
- Theodore Sturgeon, "Microcosmic God" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, April 1941)
- Richard Ashby, "Commencement Night" (from Astounding Science Fiction, August 1953)
- Arthur C. Clarke, "The Deep Range" (from Argosy [UK], April 1954)
- J. T. McIntosh, "Machine Made" (from New Worlds, #10, Summer 1951)
- Edward Grendon, "Trip One" (from Astounding Science Fiction, July 1949)
- William Tenn, "Venus Is a Man's World" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, Julky 1951)
- Lawrence [sic] Manning, "Good-Bye, Ilha!" (from Judith Merril's 1952 anthology Beyond Human Ken)
- Isaac Asimov, "Misbegotten Missionary" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, November 1950)
- Murray Leinster, "The Ethical Equations" (from Astoundng Science Fiction, June 1945; nominated for a 1996 Retro Hugo Award for Best Short Story; Conklin included this story in a previous anthology A Treasury of Science Fiction)
- Robert A. Heinlein, "Misfit" (from Astounding Science-Fiction, November 1939; part of the author's Future History series)
- Poul Anderson, "The Genius" (from Astounding Science Fiction, December 1948)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Basic Right" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1958)
39) 13 Above the Night (1965)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- J. F. Bone, "Founding Father" (from Galaxy Magazine, April 1962)
- Frank Herbert, "Mating Call" (from Galaxy Magazine, October 1961)
- Fritz Leiber, "Nice Girl with Five Husband" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1951)
- Mack Reynolds, "Prone" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1954)
- C. M. Kornbluth, "The Education of Tigress Mccardle" (from Venture Science Fiction Magazine, July 1957)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Now Inhale" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1959)
- Stephen Barr, "The Back of Our Heads" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1958)
- Isaac Asimov, "Button, Button" (from Startling Stories, January 1953)
- Judith Merril, "The Deep Down Dragon" (from Galaxy Magazine, August 1961)
- Avram Davidson and Morton Klass, "The Kappa Nu Nexus" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 1961)
- Gordon R. Dickson, 'Idiot Solvant" (from Analog Science Fact -> Science Fiction, January 1962)
- James White, "Counter Security" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1963)
- J. Lincoln Paine, "The Dreistein Case" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1958)
40) Another Part of the Galaxy (1966)
- Groff Conklin. "Introduction: 'Act III Scene V, Another Part of the Forest'"
- Edgar Pangborn, "The Red Hills of Summer" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1959)
- "Paul Ash" (Pauline Ashwell), "Big Sword" (from Astounding Science Fiction,October 1958)
- J. T. McIntosh, "First Lady" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1953)
- J. F. Bone, "Insidekick" (from Galaxy Magazine, February 1959)
- Poul Anderson, "The Live Coward" (from Astounding Science Fiction, June 1956; part of the author's Wing Alak series)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Still Life" (from Astounding Science Fiction, January 1959 as "Study in Still Life")
41) Seven Come Infinity (1966)
- Groff Conklin, "Preface"
- Clifford D. Simak, "The Golden Bugs" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1960)
- Charles V. De Vet, "Special Feature" (from Astounding Science Fiction, May 1958)
- Eric Frank Russell, "Panic Button" (from Astounding Science Fiction, November 1959)
- Raymond F. Jones, "Discontinuity" (from Astounding Science Fiction, October 1950)
- Murray Leinster, "The Corianus Disaster" (from Science Fiction Stories, May 1960)
- William Tenn, "The Servant Problem" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1955)
- Chad Oliver, "Rite of Passage" (from Astounding Science Fiction, April 1954)
42) Science Fiction Oddities (1966; the Rapp & Whiting editions include 8 of 19 stories in a volume titled Science Fiction Oddities marked *, and 10 of 19 stories in a volume titled Science Fiction Oddities: Second Series marked @)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Alan Arkin, "People Soup"* (from Galaxy Magazine, November 1958)
- Isaac Asimov, "What Is This Thing Called Love?"* (from Amazing Stories, March 1961)
- Stephen Barr, "Callahan and the Wheelies"* (from The Magazine of Fantasy ans Science Fiction, August 1960)
- R. Bretnor, "Mrs. Poppledore's Id"* (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1952)
- Avram Davidson and Sidney Klein, "The Teeth of Despair"* (from The Magazine of Fantasy ans Science Fiction, May 1961)
- G. C. Edmondson, "The Galactic Calabash"* (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1960; part of the author's Mad Friend series)
- H. F. Ellis, "Space-Crime Continuum" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1954)
- Charles L. Harness, "The Chessplayers"* (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1953)
- R. A. Lafferty, "What's the Name of That Town?"* (from Galaxy Magazine, October 1964)
- Fritz Leiber, "Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-TAH-Tee"@ (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1958; nominated for the 1959 Hugo Award for Best Short Story)
- Robert Lory, "Rundown"@ (from If, May 1963)
- Edward Mackin, "The Trouble with HARRI"@ (from Authentic Science Fiction, #77, February 1957)
- Winston K. Marks, "The Water Eater@" (from Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1953)
- Robert Nathan, "A Pride of Carrots"@ (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1959)
- Gerard E. Neyroud, "The Terra-Venusian War of 1979"@ (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1959)
- Alan E. Nourse, "The Coffn Cure"@ (from Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1957)
- John Novotny, "On Camera"@ (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1956)
- John R. Pierce, "See No Evil"@ (original to this anthology)
- Fredrik Pohl, "Punch"@ (from Playboy, June 1961)
44) Seven Trips Through Time and Space (1968)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction"
- Larry Niven, "Flatlander" (from If; March 1967; nominated for the 1968 Nebula Award for Best Novelette)
- Cordwainer Smith, "The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal" (from Amazing Stories, May 1964; part of the author's Instrumentality of Mankind series)
- "Johnathan [sic} Blake MacKenzie" (Randall Garrett), "Overproof" (fom Analog Science Fact -> Fiction, October 1965)
- J. T. MacIntosh, "Poor Planet" (from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 1964)
- Kris Neville, "Shamar's War" (from Galaxy Magazine, February 1964)
- Frank Herbert, "The Tactful Saboteur" (from Galaxy Magazine, October 1964)
- H. Beam Piper, "Ministry of Disturbance" (from Astounding Science Fiction, December 1958)
45) Elsewhere and Elsewhen (1968: the Rapp & Whiting reprint published the book in two volumes: Science Fiction Elsewhen with 4 of the 9 stories marked * and Science Fiction Elsewhere with 5 of the 9 stories marked @)
- Groff Conklin, "Introduction)
- Walt Richmond and Leigh Richman, "Shortstack"* (from Analog Science Fact -> Science Fiction, December 1964; part of the authors' Willy Shorts series)
- Mark Clifton, "How Allied"* (from Astounding Science Fiction,March 1957; part of the author's Ralph Kennedy series)
- J. T. McIntosh, "The Wrong World"* (from Galaxy Magazine, December 1960)
- Allen Kim Lang, "World in a Bottle"* (from Galaxy Magazine, October 1960)
- Cordwainer Smith, "Think Blue, Count Two"@ (from Galaxy Magazine, February 1963; winner of the 1990 Seiun Award for Best Translated Short Story)
- Poul Anderson, "Turning Point"@ (from If, May 1963)
- Michael Shaara, "The Book"@ (from Galaxy Science Fiction, Nevember 1953)
- James H. Schmitz, "Trouble Tide"@ (from Analog Science Fact -> Science Fiction. May 1965; part of the author's The Hub series)
- Donald E. Westlake, "The Earthman's Burden"@ (from Galaxy Magazine, October 1962)