The SFWA Grand Masters, Volume 1: Robert A. Heinlein, Jack Williamson, Clifford D. Simak, L. Sprague de Camp, and Fritz Leiber (Hardcover)

~ Frederik Pohl (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Three cheers for Tor Books! The SFWA Grand Masters, Volume One, is a terrific idea: a collection of stories by the Golden Age writers (in this volume, Robert A. Heinlein, Jack Williamson, Clifford D. Simak, Fritz Leiber, and L. Sprague de Camp) who established the fundamentals of the science fiction genre ... the writers who first dazzled the world with their brilliant ideas and sent our imaginations zooming into the future. Representative short stories from each of the writers--such as a tale of the ever rich and strange world of Nehwon from Leiber--are accompanied by a sample of each writer's nonfiction, an overview of their life and career by Pohl--who knew them all--and a recommended reading list. All together, this volume is both the perfect way to introduce someone just discovering science fiction to the classic writers of the field, and ideal for veteran science fiction readers to remind themselves just why they love the genre so much. "With Folded Hands," anyone? --Blaise Selby

From Library Journal

This is the beginning of a three-volume anthology of selected works by the first 15 recipients of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Associations Grand Master award, which recognizes a lifetime body of work, of a quality that helped to shape the entire course of science fiction writing. Pohl, himself a Grand Master, has selected four to five works, mostly short stories, from the first five recipients: Robert A. Heinlein, Jack Williamson, Clifford D. Simak, L. Sprague de Camp, and Fritz Leiber. He introduces each group with a short history of the writers career and anecdotes from Pohls personal acquaintance with him. The short stories, while not always the authors best works, are representative of their styles and motifs and the early days of sf writing. Pohl has also included some extracts from novels, autobiographies, and essays, which, unfortunately, feel fragmented. Still, this is a good choice for sf collections.Devon Thomas, Highland Twp. Lib., MI
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 383 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312868812
• ISBN-13: 978-0312868819
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,413,795 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The SFWA Grand Masters Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Breadth of the Genre, February 16, 2003

By	L. Berk "Leah Lionheart" (Praha, CR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The SFWA Grand Masters, Volume 1: Robert A. Heinlein, Jack Williamson, Clifford D. Simak, L. Sprague de Camp, and Fritz Leiber (Paperback)

firstly, this book is from the "golden age" of science fiction - generally, the time span of the 1950s - late 1960s. of course, there is quite the sf debate to be had as to whether this was really a "golden age" or not, but that's left out of this review ;) there are three volumes, each containing assorted works by five grandmaster award winners.

essentially, the grandmaster award "may not be awarded more than six times in ten years" and is given to a contemporary (re: living) science fiction author.

heinlein's stories are very good - they take up approximately 1/3 of the book, though. "the roads must roll" was quite dated, and definitely the worst of the bunch; though that alone is completely relative, by itself it wouldn't have been nearly so bad. the rest of his stories are magnificant, and he remains arguably one of the best science fiction writers to ever put the pen to the paper.

jack williamson, clifford simak, l. sprague de camp, and fritz leiber all produce fantastic stories for this anthology, as well.

one of the best aspects of this anthology is that it offers stories which may not otherwise have been discovered. frederick pohl does an appropriate and respectful job introducing the authors, and his love of the genre is apparant. this book should not be overlooked and is one of the most valuable science fiction short story anthologies i have come across. highly recommended.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great mix of familar stories and little-seen material, July 26, 2000

By	"sdixonsf" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The SFWA Grand Masters, Volume 1: Robert A. Heinlein, Jack Williamson, Clifford D. Simak, L. Sprague de Camp, and Fritz Leiber (Paperback)

Frederik Pohl has done a fantastic job of assembling this collection of material. Himself one of the first 15 SFWA grand masters, Pohl's personal reflections on each of these authors are worth the purchase price by themselves.

For each writer, Pohl has selected at least one seminal gem from their body of work, and at least one neglected treasure, with additional pieces that show the tremendous range each of these authors was/is capable of.

Although most of Heinlein's fiction is still in print, these days it can be hard to find the work of these other Grand Masters, especially the older material. That makes this volume especially valuable.

For myself, Clifford Simak and Fritz Leiber are two of my all-time favorite writers, and I am happy to see there work exposed to a new generation of readers, especially in this context. Both the Science Fiction Writers of America and Frederik Pohl should be applauded for this worthy tribute.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, Humorous, and Thought-Provoking, February 21, 2002

By	Edward Roberts (Acworth, Ga United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: The SFWA Grand Masters, Volume 1: Robert A. Heinlein, Jack Williamson, Clifford D. Simak, L. Sprague de Camp, and Fritz Leiber (Paperback)

I'd been frustrated by the "Golden Age" because it is often written or talked about and is often impossible to find, even in used bookstores. Heinlein can still be found, but even works of his, some considered classics, are out-of-print. Anthologies of those times are difficult to find, and modern anthologies often throw in a "Golden Age" story as an afterthought.

This anthology is different. Each of the authors featured in this volume (Heinlein, Williamson, Simak, de Camp, and Leiber) were the "Golden Age".

With the exception of two stories by Fritz Leiber ("Sanity" & "A Bad Day for Sales") whose pessimism put me off, each story in this volume captured and held my attention throughout. The themes of these stories inspired my own speculations, and unlike much of modern science fiction, the entertainment value alone makes this volume worth purchasing.

Frederik Pohl has written succinct, informative introductions and recommends further reading which has sent me to the used bookstores already. More importantly, however, he has chosen great stories and has let the authors speak for themselves.

Personally, I would recommend "The Year of the Lottery" ( a humorous story about the ultimate bad day), "With Folded Hands" (inhuman "perfection" taken to the extreme), all of Clifford D. Simak, and "Gun for Dinosaur" (30 years ahead of Jurassic Park and infinitely superior). However, cracking this book at any place will lead to good results.