- "Introduction", Groff Conklin
- "Battle of the Unborn", James Blish (Future 1950)
- "Keep Out", Fredric Brown (Amazing 1954)
- "Limiting Factor", Theodore R. Cogswell (Galaxy 1954)
- "The Lysenko Maze", Donald A. Wollheim (F&SF 1954)
- "The Patient", E. Mayne Hull (Unknown 1943)
- "Cold War", Henry Kuttner (Thrilling Wonder Stories 1949)
- "Skag with the Queer Head", Murray Leinster (Marvel Science Fiction 1951)
- "Family Resemblance", Alan E. Nourse (Astounding 1953)
- "And Thou Beside Me", Mack Reynolds (F&SF 1954)
- "This One’s on Me", Eric Frank Russell (Nebula 1953)
- "The Love of Heaven", Theodore Sturgeon (Astounding 1948)
- "The Conspirators", James White (New Worlds 1954)
- "The Better Choice", S. Fowler Wright (original to the anthology)
- "Bibliography of Mutation Stories"
How many of you SF readers came to the genre by way of a Groff Conklin anthology? If you didn't, and if you're my age, you must at least have encountered two or three of them during your younger days since he edited 40 of them. He was a huge influence on me. I was reading SF novels, but I knew nothing of the existence of the SF magazines until I came across the Omnibus of Science Fiction in my school library. When I looked at the copyright page and saw the sources for the stories, I decided to see if I could find any of those magazines in the small local bookstore. Sure enough, I could, and I was off on a buying frenzy that still hasn't ended.
Conklin's hardcover anthologies were sometimes big, thick books, so when they were reprinted, a few stories were often left out. As you can see from the title of this Berkley edition, only "selected stories" are included. This abridged edition came out in 1965, and as the copyright dates show, it included stories more than 20 years old. Conklin's books were great for those of us who were interested in seeing some of the older SF that we hadn't been around to read when it first appeared.
While I think of this as a forgotten book, it's not entirely out of mind. I borrowed the ToC from Wikipedia, and it even has a Facebook page. Only 5 "likes" (including mine), but at least there are a few of us who remember.
5 comments:
Interesting that none of these are anything like the first stories one thinks of when thinking of the authors in question...Conklin was one of the pioneer anthologists in sf and fantasy (among other fields...he co-edited the first massive selection from THE SMART SET as well), but was never quite into sticking with Approved Favorites, even from the early received opinion...
I certain;y saw this, if I didn't read it, though I think I did. I had several Conklin anthologies at one time but weeded them out over time. I kinda wish now I hadn't but I was young and, uh, thoughtless.
Groff Conklin was the Marty Greenberg of his time.
For me, it wasn't Conklin but Healy and McComas' "Adventures in Time and Space." My dad was a science fiction addict and he owned a hardback original. I cut my teeth on stories like "Nightfall," "Who Goes There," and "Farewell to the Master." A few years ago I was able to purchase a replica reprint of the book and it's one of my "Desert Island" reads not only for the great stories but for its ability to evoke my childhood just by holding it in my hands.
I remember the abridged paperback edition of that one from my childhood. Also the Ditky and Bleiler "Best of" anthologies that I got from the SF Book Club.
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