Description:

If you own only one anthology of classic science fiction, it should be The Science Fiction Hall of Volume One, 1929-1964. Selected by a vote of the membership of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA), these 26 reprints represent the best, most important, and most influential stories and authors in the field. The contributors are a Who's Who of classic SF, with every Golden Age giant Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, John W. Campbell, Robert A. Heinlein, Fritz Leiber, Cordwainer Smith, Theodore Sturgeon, and Roger Zelazny. Other contributors are less well known outside the core SF readership. Three of the contributors are famous for one story--but what stories!--Tom Godwin's pivotal hard-SF tale, "The Cold Equations"; Jerome Bixby's "It's a Good Life" (made only more infamous by the chilling Twilight Zone adaptation); and Daniel Keyes's "Flowers for Algernon" (brought to mainstream fame by the movie adaptation, Charly). The collection has some minor but frustrating flaws. There are no contributor biographies, which is bad enough when the author is a giant; but it's especially sad for contributors who have become unjustly obscure. Each story's original publication date is in small print at the bottom of the first page. And neither this fine print nor the copyright page identifies the magazines in which the stories first appeared.Prefaced by editor Robert Silverberg's introduction, which describes SFWA and details the selection process, The Science Fiction Hall of Volume One, 1929-1964 is a wonderful book for the budding SF fan. Experienced SF readers should compare the table of contents to their library before making a purchase decision. Fans who contemplate giving this book to non-SF readers should bear in mind that, while several of the collected stories can measure up to classic mainstream literary stories, the less literarily-acceptable stories are weighted toward the front of the collection; adult mainstream-literature fans may not get very far into The Science Fiction Hall of Volume One, 1929-1964. --Cynthia Wardix Introduction (The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume I) (1970) essay by Robert Silverberg13 A Martian Odyssey [Tweel] (1934) novelette by Stanley G. Weinbaum40 Twilight (1934) shortstory by John W. Campbell, Jr.62 Helen O'Loy (1938) shortstory by Lester del Rey74 The Roads Must Roll (1940) novelette by Robert A. Heinlein115 Microcosmic God (1941) novelette by Theodore Sturgeon145 Nightfall (1941) novelette by Isaac Asimov183 The Weapon Shop [Weapon Shops of Isher] (1942) novelette by A. E. van Vogt226 Mimsy Were the Borogoves (1943) novelette by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore [as by Lewis Padgett ]261 Huddling Place [City] (1944) shortstory by Clifford D. Simak281 Arena (1944) novelette by Fredric Brown310 First Contact (1945) novelette by Murray Leinster344 That Only a Mother (1948) shortstory by Judith Merril354 Scanners Live in Vain [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1950) shortstory by Cordwainer Smith391 Mars Is Heaven! (1948) shortstory by Ray Bradbury410 The Little Black Bag (1950) novelette by C. M. Kornbluth440 Born of Man and Woman (1950) shortstory by Richard Matheson444 Coming Attraction (1950) shortstory by Fritz Leiber458 The Quest for Saint Aquin (1951) novelette by Anthony Boucher477 Surface Tension [Pantropy] (1952) novelette by James Blish515 The Nine Billion Names of God (1953) shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke523 It's a Good Life (1953) shortstory by Jerome Bixby543 The Cold Equations (1954) novelette by Tom Godwin570 Fondly Fahrenheit (1954) novelette by Alfred Bester591 The Country of the Kind (1956) shortstory by Damon Knight605 Flowers for Algernon (1959) novelette by Daniel Keyes636 A Rose for Ecclesiastes (1963) novelette by Roger Zelazny