None So Blind: A Short Story Collection (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"In action, a writer looks pretty much like a clerk." So Joe Haldeman writes in the introduction to this collection. But Haldeman, like Einstein, proves that clerks can have enough vision to rock the cosmos. This book includes 11 stories and four story poems, ranging in length from two pages to just over 100. Together they have earned two Nebula, two Hugo and one World Fantasy awards. Each one showcases the author's grasp of what it means to be alive and human (or inhuman), written with a powerful clarity and a subtle imagination. Publishers Weekly called this one "a stunner." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The title tale in this new collection from Haldeman (Worlds Apart) is a stunner; it won the 1995 Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards for best short story. In it, two misfit geniuses, a neurosurgeon and a blind musician, revolutionize near-future society by discovering how blindness enhances the learning process. Perhaps this is a "crazy idea," as Haldeman labels it in an author's note, but it's inspired as well, as are most of the 15 selections here, all first published between 1986 and 1994. In fact, two other Hugo winners grace the book: "The Hemingway Hoax" builds the classic SF concept of multiple universes into a novella rich in characterization and insights into the creative process; "Graves" reflects-as does much of his work-Haldeman's Vietnam experience. Some of the pieces here are too short to have much impact, but the four story-poems are very effective, and "If I Had the Wings of an Angel" speaks eloquently to the young adult market. The introduction and notes that round out the collection say much about the process of turning ideas into stories-a transformation at which, apparently, Haldeman is still a master.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 289 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1St Edition edition (May 14, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688147798
• ISBN-13: 978-0688147792
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,791,238 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good collection of stories and a great batch of poems, September 23, 1997

By	Randy Stafford (St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: None So Blind: A Short Story Collection (Mass Market Paperback)

Not every story in Haldeman's new short story collection "None So Blind" is great, but all are interesting because of notes by Haldeman explaining his intentions and what in each story draws from his life and what has been invented.<b>

Of course, Haldeman, science fiction's most famous veteran, has plenty of tales here that draw from his Vietnam experience. In "Images" what a battle-scarred 'Nam veteran sees while he secretly watches the actresses of his theater company undress makes up for the somewhat contrived plot of oh-so-compatible love. "The Monster" is a Lovecraftian tale about an imprisoned man narrating how he discovered an unearthly presence in a remote area, Vietnam, and how it destroyed his life. Of course, he comes to a bad end. The story is also interesting for what Haldeman has to say about the reality of the much glamorized Long Range Recon Patrols of the Vietnam War. "Graves" is the most vivid distillation of Haldeman's war experiences even though he says he made

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing tales that GRIP the imagination, June 28, 2000

By	Hank Schwartz "banjo & SciFi" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: None So Blind: A Short Story Collection (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't usually turn to short stories for a good read, but I was completely fascinated and satisfied by this collection of 11 tales and 4 story poems.

Haldeman's unbounded imagination has yielded a variety of most curious beings and circumstances, augmented by many of his personal experiences that sparked or helped to form these vignettes.

I appreciated the biographical insights that he provided in his introduction and in the brief addenda that follow each piece.

Some short, some quite long, but each one a thought provoker with haunting images that will continue to pull at you after you believed that you'd laid this one down.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great stuff!, November 2, 1998

By	[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: None So Blind: A Short Story Collection (Mass Market Paperback)

A very enjoyable collection of short stories, a novella, and poems that compose a detailed portrait of the author. Admittedly, "The Hemmingway Hoax" is pretty darn confusing, but the first two short stories are so good, I just didn't care. As for the poems, it's been a while since I've had any desire to read modern poetry, but Haldeman got my attention with them. In each part of this collection, he shows the amazing ability to compose very vivid images with the use of few words, something most authors these days know nothing about. Oh yes, the author's notes at the end of each piece are fascinating. I wish I could give this 9 out of 10.