The Norton Book of Science Fiction: North American Science Fiction, 1960-1990 [Hardcover]

Ursula K. Le Guin (Author), Brian Attebery (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993

In the tradition of other groundbreaking Norton anthologies, Ursula K. Le Guin and Brian Atteberry's "Norton Book of Science Fiction" provided the first truly comphrehensive and cohereent look at the best of contemporary science fiction. Its 67 stories, all published since 1960, offer compelling evidence that science fiction is the source of the most thoughtful, imaginative - indeed literary - fiction being written today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With the help of SF author Karen Joy Fowler (billed as "consultant"), editors Le Guin ( Tehanu ) and Attebery ( Strategies of Fantasy ) have assembled a massive volume of admirable scope and ingenuity that includes most--no one could include all --of the influential North American science fiction writers of the past 30 years. From Fritz Leiber and Samuel R. Delany through Zenna Henderson, James Tiptree Jr. and Barry N. Malzberg to Harlan Ellison, Joanna Russ, John Varley, Octavia Butler, Orson Scott Card and Connie Willis, the table of contents reads like an SF Who's Who. But the editors have collected "rarely anthologized gems," an approach that may not serve readers unfamiliar with the genre: by and large, they've chosen lesser-known works by these well-known authors, rather than the stories that best exemplify their contributions to the field. All the selections are quite good, but in many cases they don't demonstrate what makes these writers important: for instance, William Gibson is represented by "The Gernsback Continuum" instead of one of the cyberpunk tales that made him famous. For those well-versed in futuristic fiction, this volume offers a treasure trove of more obscure but eminently worthwhile stories. For the newcomer, it will serve as only a partial introduction to the subject.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The distinguished publisher of a library-full of canon-establishing anthologies finally embraces science fiction. As an sf master and critic whose reputation transcends the genre, LeGuin is ideal for overseeing the project, albeit assisted by an academic. The resulting collection limits its scope to North American writers of the last three decades--a period said to contain "science fiction in its maturity"--but its more than 60 stories by as many authors include some of the most brilliantly crafted works the field has to offer. They represent the full range of thematic possibilities, from alternate history (e.g., Kim Stanley Robinson's "The Lucky Strike," a plainspoken revision of the A-bomb's first drop) to alien culture (e.g., Vonda McIntyre's evocative "The Mountains of Sunset, the Mountains of Dawn"). Such veterans as Knight, Silverberg, and Ellison as well as many considerably less-known names prove equally adept at every stylistic maneuver from postmodernist plot inversion to dystopian satire. Indeed, by ignoring mere reputation (notably absent, for instance, are Asimov and Clarke) and focusing on less-anthologized stories, the editors have produced a compilation of intelligent and entertaining sf that belongs in virtually every fiction collection. Carl Hays

Product Details

• Hardcover: 870 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st edition (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393035468
• ISBN-13: 978-0393035469
• Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 9 x 6.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #648,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine collection slightly flawed by ideology, September 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Norton Book of Science Fiction: North American Science Fiction, 1960-1990 (Hardcover)

This is a fine and thoughtful anthology of serious science fiction, compiled mainly by Ursula Le Guin, one of science fiction's finest and most thoughtful voices. As a Brit, I was slightly disappointed by the North American bias -- but the canvas of science fiction is vast, and there must be limitations. That having been said, the book contains more than sixty cracking stories -- and the bulk of science fiction, good and bad, comes from the United States anyway. However, the anthology is flawed by a hang-up about political correctness, which leads to a certain lack of humor. To be sure, it's nice to see a good representation of female authors here, but the emphasis should be on good SF, irrespective of the gender of the author. Happily, the anthology remains just this side of feminist hectoring: after all, I suspect that the publishers would not want to alienate what is probably an overwhelmingly male readership.

30 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Norton Book of PC Science Fiction, November 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Norton Book of Science Fiction: North American Science Fiction, 1960-1990 (Hardcover)

While there are some excellent stories in this volume, the editors excluded authors and stories because they didn't meet their politically correct feminist viewpoints. Accordingly, this book doesn't represent a true cross section of the SF field which greatly diminishes it's usefulness as a reference.

43 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I love LeGuin, but...., February 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Norton Book of Science Fiction: North American Science Fiction, 1960-1990 (Hardcover)

This anthology is certainly that: an "anthology", a collection of stories. What it is NOT, however, is a "representative anthology". As an introduction to SF it is terrible. As an intro to "mature" SF it is also terrible. By excluding everything written before 1960-in other words before LeGuin and her associates became active-an enormous number of the genres masterpieces were disqualified. By limiting the collection to American stories-and LeGuin is certainly American- the entire, and seminal, British and Continental contribution to SF goes unrepresented. This is historical revisionism of the worst, most destructive sort. And deeply manipulative.

There is also something fishy going on in the word count. Avowedly feminist -and female- authors put far more words into this volume than the male authors. This, in spite of the fact that most of the SF written today and yesterday is and was written by men. The feminists' (and I have always considered myself one) strongest and longest stories have been included while the shorter, less substantial stories of men are offered. This is suspiciously ideological.

I realize that LeGuin has a vast reputation, and it is certainly as deserved as anybody's. Her fiction and her non-fiction both have an important place in my heart and on my bookshelf. But... the publishers and co-editors have let that reputation blind them to the ideological distortions of this book. And I am here to tell you that the emperor has no clothes.