Search Worlds Without End

Judith Merril was a pioneer of twentieth-century science fiction, a prolific author, and editor. She was also a passionate social and political activist. In fact, her life was a constant adventure within the alternative and experimental worlds of science fiction, left politics, and Canadian literature. Better to Have Loved is illustrated with original art works, covers from classic science fiction magazines, period illustrations, and striking photography.

Table of Contents:

• ix - Introduction (Beyond the Barriers of Space and Time) - essay by Theodore Sturgeon
• xiii - Editor's Preface (Beyond the Barriers of Space and Time) - essay by Judith Merril
• 3 - Wolf Pack - short story by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
• 19 - No One Believed Me - short story by Will Thompson
• 35 - Perforce to Dream - short story by John Wyndham
• 49 - The Laocoön Complex - short story by J. C. Furnas
• 61 - Crazy Joey - short story by Alex Apostolides and Mark Clifton
• 79 - The Golden Man - novelette by Philip K. Dick
• 111 - Malice Aforethought - short story by Donald A. Wollheim
• 117 - The Last Séance - short story by Agatha Christie
• 131 - Medicine Dancer - short story by Bill Brown
• 137 - Behold It Was a Dream - short story by Rhoda Broughton
• 153 - Belief - novelette by Isaac Asimov
• 185 - The Veldt - short story by Ray Bradbury
• 199 - Mr. Kinkaid's Pasts - short story by John R. Pierce
• 209 - The Warning - short story by Peter Phillips
• 215 - The Ghost of Me - short story by Anthony Boucher
• 231 - The Wall Around the World - novelette by Theodore R. Cogswell
• 257 - Operating Instructions - short story by Robert Sheckley
• 275 - Interpretation of a Dream - short story by John Collier
• 283 - Defense Mechanism - short story by Katherine MacLean
• 291 - Bibliography (Beyond the Barriers of Space and Time) - essay by Judith Merril

The most stimulating challenge that has come to science fiction writers recently has been the question of whether it is time for a change. The advocates of what is called the New Wave say yes. They insist that the "old" science fiction belongs to the past, is stereotyped, and no longer represents the whirl of modern times, the revolution of new thinking and the mind-tingling innovations that seem to be prevalent in all the arts these days.

The New Wave in SF--they prefer to call it Speculative Fiction--has its roots among the imaginative writers of England, most specifically around the magazine New Worlds, and a great deal has been coming from that source that is indeed different and surprising. Judith Merril, an acknowledged authority on science fiction, has made herself the foremost American defender of the New Wave, and in this book ENGLAND SWINGS SF she has produced an anthology and a running, sparkling dialogue between its contributors and its editor on what they are doing to SF in England and why they are doing it.

Are the New Wave advocates correct? Is it indeed time for new forms and new approaches to imaginative speculative fiction? Has science fiction as we have known it really become moribund?

Here is the book which may be the turning point of that New Wave. Ace Books presents it because it is a work, a manifesto perhaps in the form of a group of most unusual SF stories, which everyone interested in science fiction ought to read. It will be a stimulating experience, whether you agree with Miss Merril or not.

Ace Books, long the foremost publisher of science fiction in America, does not take any stand on this controversy. We have published and will continue to publish the best obtainable in all types of writing, from space-action adventures to the award-winning Specials, from the old "classics" to the best of the new collections of short stories. We reprint ENGLAND SWINGS SF not because we are in agreement or in disagreement with it, but because we think it is part of Ace's traditional service to science fiction.

Two quotes may be apropos. Josephine Saxton says, inside the book, "British writers are in the vanguard--one thing they do is make much American S.F. look old-fashioned."

Isaac Asimov said, outside the book, "I hope that when the New Wave has deposited its froth and receded, the vast and solid shore of science fiction will appear once more."

Decide for yourself.

"A mind-stretching, nerve-sizzling adventure."
-- Raleigh News & Observer

"So far out it's left the understandable galaxy."
-- Atlanta Journal

"Intriguing, disturbingly mod... a bit too much of a good thing."
-- Publishers Weekly

"This book is a must for anyone interested in the future of the field of SF. Or in the future."
-- WBAI, New York

"They are closer to the world of Kafka and William Burroughs than to Asimov and Bradbury... it is doubtful that the New Wave will sweep away the more traditional science fiction."
-- Boston Globe

"The first wholesale application of modern styles of writing to the SF short story form."
-- Columbus Dispatch

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (1968) - essay by Judith Merril
• The Island - (1965) - shortstory by Roger Jones
• Ne Déjà Vu Pas - (1967) - shortstory by Josephine Saxton
• Signals - (1966) - shortstory by John Calder
• Saint 505 - (1967) - shortstory by John Clark
• The Singular Quest of Martin Borg - (1965) - novelette by George Collyn
• The First Gorilla on the Moon - (1968) - poem by Bill Butler
• Blastoff - (1964) - shortstory by Kyril Bonfiglioli
• You and Me and the Continuum - (1966) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
• Who's in There with Me? - (1968) - shortstory by Daphne Castell
• The Squirrel Cage - (1966) - shortstory by Thomas M. Disch
• Manscarer - (1966) - novelette by Keith Roberts
• The Total Experience Kick - (1966) - shortstory by Charles Platt
• The Silver Needle - (1967) - poem by George MacBeth
• The Baked Bean Factory - (1967) - shortstory by Michael Butterworth
• The Hall of Machines - (1968) - shortstory by Langdon Jones
• The Run - (1966) - shortstory by Christopher Priest
• All the King's Men - (1965) - novelette by Barrington J. Bayley
• Still Trajectories - [Colin Charteris] - (1967) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
• Sun Push - (1967) - shortstory by Graham Hall
• Report on a Supermarket - (1968) - poem by Michael Hamburger
• Dr. Gelabius - (1968) - shortstory by Hilary Bailey
• The Heat Death of the Universe - (1967) - shortstory by Pamela Zoline
• The Mountain - (1965) - shortstory by Michael Moorcock
• Psychosmosis - (1966) - shortstory by David I. Masson
• The Idea of Entropy at Maenporth Beach - (1967) - poem by Peter Redgrove
• Same Autumn in a Different Park - (1967) - shortstory by Peter Tate
• The Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy Considered as a Downhill Motor Race - (1966) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
• Plan for the Assassination of Jacqueline Kennedy - (1966) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard

Who was this strange girl who had been born in this place--and still it wasn't her home?...

This short story appears in the collection, Homecalling and Other Stories: The Complete Solo Short SF of Judith Merril (2005), by Judith Merril

Originally appeared in the November, 1956 issue of Fantastic Universe , the story is available free on Project Gutenberg.

Table of Contents:

• 7 - Wolves Don't Cry - short story by Bruce Elliott
• 18 - The Ambassadors - short story by Anthony Boucher
• 23 - Share Alike - short story by Jerome Bixby and Joe E. Dean
• 35 - Blood - short story by Fredric Brown
• 36 - A Way of Thinking - novelette by Theodore Sturgeon
• 64 - Child's Play - novelette by William Tenn
• 92 - O Ugly Bird! - short story by Manly Wade Wellman
• 104 - The Wheelbarrow Boy - short story by Richard Parker
• 108 - Fish Story - short story by Leslie Charteris
• 120 - Desertion - short story by Clifford D. Simak
• 132 - The Triflin' Man - short story by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
• 144 - The Night He Cried - short story by Fritz Leiber
• 152 - The Demon King - short story by J. B. Priestley
• 165 - Proof of the Pudding - short story by Robert Sheckley
• 173 - Homecoming - short story by Ray Bradbury
• 185 - Mop-Up - short story by Arthur Porges

Contents:

• That Only A Mother
• Death is the Penalty
• Barrier of Dread
• Survival Ship
• Woman's Work is Never Done
• Daughters of Earth
• Hero's Way
• Whoever You Are
• A Little Knowledge
• So Proudly We Hail
• Connection Completed
• Dead Center
• Peeping Tom
• Rain Check
• Stormy Weather
• Pioneer Stock
• Project Nursemaid
• Exile From Space
• Homecalling
• The Lady Was a Tramp
• A Woman of the World
• Wish Upon a Star
• The Deep Down Dragon
• The Shrine of Temptation
• The Lonely
• The Future of Happiness

Written in 1950 this is an early science fiction look at the after effects of a nuclear war. A typical day in a Westchester suburb of New York for a family of four is shattered by a nuclear attack on New York City.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (1976) - essay by Virginia Kidd
• That Only a Mother - (1948)
• The Shrine of Temptation - (1962)
• Whoever You Are - (1952)
• Daughters of Earth - (1952)
• Stormy Weather - (1954)
• Dead Center - (1954)
• The Lady Was a Tramp - (1957)
• Wish Upon a Star - (1958)
• The Lonely - (1963)
• Auction Pit - (1946)
• In the Land of Unblind - (1974)

If we practice our "Space Speech" and listen real hard--Is this the sort of thing we're going to hear?

This short story appears in the collections:

• The Best of Judith Merril (1976), by Judith Merril
• Homecalling and Other Stories: The Complete Solo Short SF of Judith Merril (2005), by Judith Merril

Originally appeared in the October, 1963 issue of Worlds of Tomorrow, the story is available free on Project Gutenberg.

Although Judith Merril is best known for her short fiction and her novels (in collaboration with C. M. Kornbluth), she wrote a great deal of nonfiction. She wrote about SF fandom. She wrote about space and space exploration. And she wrote about science fiction. This volume collects Merril's nonfiction from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Extrapolation, and her Year's Best anthologies. In these collected pieces, Merril works through and develops her definition of S-F and what makes S-F good. She chronicles changes within the genre, including the emergence of the New Wave. And she provides a history of the genre: its writers, its publishers, and its magazines.

Decades ago, Samuel R. Delany declared that Merril...is perhaps the most important intra-genre critic the field has had and...the absence of any of her critical work in book form, in a field aspiring to take itself seriously, is preposterous.... [O]ne cannot know the history of science fiction from 1956 to 1969 if one has not read the brilliant commentary that runs through Merril's best-of-the-year anthologies for that period --from Samuel R. Delany, Starboard Wine.

Now, in 2016, Aqueduct brings Judith Merril and her place in that history to today's readers.

"The Tomorrow People," was penned by well known author, Judith Merril, who spins a chilling sci-fi tale. Something on Mars was killing people! An ill-fated expedition to the Red Planet vanished without so much as a trace. On another expedition, only one man came back alive. That man was Johnny Wendt, and he was the only man to ever set foot on Mars and return to tell about it. His knowledge could prove to be decisive in the desperate East-West race for outer space superiority. Unfortunately, Johnny Wendt didn't know just exactly what it was that made Mars a death trap...and he didn't know that he'd brought it back with him!

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Judith Merril
• The Hoofer - (1955) - shortstory by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
• Bulkhead - (1955) - novelette by Theodore Sturgeon
• The Anything Box - (1956) - shortstory by Zenna Henderson
• Prima Belladonna - (1956) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
• Casey Agonistes - (1958) - shortstory by Richard McKenna
• A Death in the House - (1959) - shortstory by Clifford D. Simak
• Space-Time for Springers - (1958) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
• Pelt - (1958) - shortstory by Carol Emshwiller
• Stranger Station - (1956) - novelette by Damon Knight
• Satellite Passage - (1958) - shortstory by Theodore L. Thomas
• No, No, Not Rogov! - (1959) - shortstory by Cordwainer Smith
• Compounded Interest - (1956) - shortstory by Mack Reynolds
• Junior - (1956) - shortstory by Robert Abernathy
• Sense from Thought Divide - (1955) - novelette by Mark Clifton
• Mariana - (1960) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
• Plenitude - (1959) - shortstory by Will Mohler
• Day at the Beach - (1959) - shortstory by Carol Emshwiller
• Let's Be Frank - (1957) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
• The Wonder Horse - (1957) - shortstory by George Byram
• Nobody Bothers Gus - (1955) - shortstory by Algis Budrys
• The Prize of Peril - (1958) - shortstory by Robert Sheckley
• The Handler - (1960) - shortstory by Damon Knight
• The Golem - (1955) - shortstory by Avram Davidson
• The Sound Sweep - (1959) - novelette by J. G. Ballard
• Hickory, Dickory, Kerouac - (1958) - shortstory by Richard Gehman
• Dreaming Is a Private Thing - (1955) - shortstory by Isaac Asimov
• The Public Hating - (1955) - shortstory by Steve Allen
• You Know Willie - (1957) - shortstory by Theodore R. Cogswell
• One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts - (1955) - shortstory by Shirley Jackson

Table of contents:

• Introduction - essay by Orson Welles
• Preface - essay by Judith Merril
• The Stutterer - (1955) - novelette by R. R. Merliss
• The Golem - (1955) - shortstory by Avram Davidson
• Junior - (1956) - shortstory by Robert Abernathy
• The Cave of Night - (1955) - shortstory by James E. Gunn
• The Hoofer - (1955) - shortstory by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
• Bulkhead - (1955) - novelette by Theodore Sturgeon
• Sense from Thought Divide - (1955) - novelette by Mark Clifton
• Pottage - (1955) - novelette by Zenna Henderson
• Nobody Bothers Gus - (1955) - shortstory by Algis Budrys
• The Last Day of Summer - (1955) - shortstory by E. C. Tubb
• One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts - (1955) - shortstory by Shirley Jackson
• The Ethicators - (1955) - shortstory by Willard Marsh
• Birds Can't Count - (1955) - shortstory by Mildred Clingerman
• Of Missing Persons - (1955) - shortstory by Jack Finney
• Dreaming Is a Private Thing - (1955) - shortstory by Isaac Asimov
• The Country of the Kind - (1956) - shortstory by Damon Knight
• The Public Hating - (1955) - shortstory by Steve Allen
• Home There's No Returning - (1955) - novelette by C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner
• The Year's S-F: A Summation by the Editor - essay by Judith Merril
• Honorable Mention - essay by Judith Merril

Table of Contents:

• The Man Who Liked Lions - (1956) - shortstory by John Bernard Daley
• The Cosmic Charge Account - (1956) - novelette by C. M. Kornbluth
• The Far Look - (1956) - novelette by Theodore L. Thomas
• When Grandfather Flew to the Moon - (1956) - shortstory by E. L. Malpass
• The Doorstop - (1956) - shortstory by Reginald Bretnor
• Silent Brother - (1956) - shortstory by Algis Budrys
• Stranger Station - (1956) - novelette by Damon Knight
• Each an Explorer - (1956) - shortstory by Isaac Asimov
• All About "The Thing" - (1956) - poem by Randall Garrett
• Put Them All Together, They Spell Monster - (1956) - shortstory by Ray Russell
• Digging the Weans - (1956) - shortstory by Robert Nathan
• Take a Deep Breath - (1956) - shortstory by Roger Thorne
• Grandma's Lie Soap - (1956) - shortstory by Robert Abernathy
• Compounded Interest - (1956) - shortstory by Mack Reynolds
• Prima Belladonna - (1956) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
• The Other Man - (1956) - novella by Theodore Sturgeon
• The Damnedest Thing - (1956) - shortstory by Garson Kanin
• Anything Box - (1956) - shortstory by Zenna Henderson
• The Year's S-F, Summation and Honorable Mentions - (1957) - essay by Judith Merril

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (1958) - essay by Judith Merril
• Let's Be Frank - (1957) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
• The Fly - (1957) - novelette by George Langelaan
• Let's Get Together - (1957) - shortstory by Isaac Asimov
• The Wonder Horse - (1957) - shortstory by George Byram
• You Know Willie - (1957) - shortstory by Theodore R. Cogswell
• Near Miss - (1958) - shortstory by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
• Game Preserve - (1957) - shortstory by Rog Phillips
• Now Let Us Sleep - (1957) - shortstory by Avram Davidson
• Wilderness - [The People] - (1957) - novelette by Zenna Henderson
• Flying High - (1957) - shortstory by Eugène Ionesco
• The Edge of the Sea - (1958) - shortstory by Algis Budrys
• How Near Is the Moon? - (1958) - essay by Judith Merril
• Transition-from Fantasy to Science - (1957) - essay by Arthur C. Clarke
• Sputnik: One Reason Why We Lost - (1958) - essay by G. Harry Stine
• Going Up! - (1957) - essay by Dennis Driscoll
• Where Do We Go from Here? - (1958) - essay by Willy Ley
• Science Fiction Still Leads Science Fact - (1957) - essay by Anthony Boucher
• The Year's S-F: A Summary - essay by Judith Merril
• The Year's S-F: Honorable Mention - essay by Judith Merril

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (1959) - essay by Judith Merril
• Pelt - (1958) - shortstory by Carol Emshwiller
• Triggerman - (1958) - shortstory by J. F. Bone
• The Prize of Peril - (1958) - shortstory by Robert Sheckley
• Hickory, Dickory, Kerouac - (1958) - shortstory by Richard Gehman
• The Yellow Pill - (1958) - shortstory by Rog Phillips
• River of Riches - (1958) - shortstory by Gerald Kersh
• Satellite Passage - (1958) - shortstory by Theodore L. Thomas
• Casey Agonistes - (1958) - shortstory by Richard McKenna
• Space-Time for Springers - (1958) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
• Or All the Seas with Oysters - (1958) - shortstory by Avram Davidson
• Ten-Story Jigsaw - (1958) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
• Fresh Guy - (1958) - shortstory by E. C. Tubb
• The Beautiful Things - (1958) - shortstory by Arthur Zirul
• The Comedian's Children - (1958) - novelette by Theodore Sturgeon
• The Short-Short Story of Mankind - (1958) - shortstory by John Steinbeck
• From Science Fiction to Science Fact: The Universe - (1959) - essay by Judith Merril
• Man in Space - (1958) - essay by Daniel Lang
• Rockets to Where? - (1959) - essay by Judith Merril
• The Thunder-Thieves - (1958) - poem by Isaac Asimov
• The Thunder-Thieves (afterword) - essay by Isaac Asimov
• The Year's S-F: A Summary - (1959) - essay by Judith Merril

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (1960) - essay by Judith Merril
• The Handler - (1960) - shortstory by Damon Knight
• The Other Wife - (1960) - shortstory by Jack Finney
• No Fire Burns - (1959) - shortstory by Avram Davidson
• No, No, Not Rogov! - (1959) - shortstory by Cordwainer Smith
• The Shoreline at Sunset - (1959) - shortstory by Ray Bradbury
• The Dreamsman - (1959) - shortstory by Gordon R. Dickson
• Multum in Parvo - (1959) - shortstory by Jack Sharkey
• Flowers for Algernon - (1959) - novelette by Daniel Keyes
• "What Do You Mean ... Human?" - (1959) - essay by John W. Campbell, Jr.
• Sierra Sam - (1960) - essay by Ralph Dighton
• A Death in the House - (1959) - shortstory by Clifford D. Simak
• Mariana - (1960) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
• An Inquiry Concerning the Curvature of the Earth's Surface and Divers Investigations of a Metaphysical Nature - (1958) - shortstory by Roger Price (US)
• Day at the Beach - (1959) - shortstory by Carol Emshwiller
• Hot Argument - [Poor Willie] - (1960) - poem by Randall Garrett
• What the Left Hand Was Doing - (1960) - novelette by Randall Garrett
• The Sound Sweep - (1959) - novelette by J. G. Ballard
• Plenitude - (1959) - shortstory by Will Mohler
• The Man Who Lost the Sea - (1959) - shortstory by Theodore Sturgeon
• Make a Prison - (1959) - shortstory by Lawrence Block
• What Now, Little Man? - (1959) - novelette by Mark Clifton
• Me - (1959) - poem by Hilbert Schenck
• The Year's S-F: A Summary - (1960) - essay by Judith Merril

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Judith Merril
• Double, Double, Toil and Trouble - (1960) - shortstory by Holley Cantine
• The Never-Ending Penny - (1960) - novelette by Bernard Wolfe
• The Fellow Who Married the Maxill Girl - (1960) - novelette by Ward Moore
• Something Invented Me - (1960) - shortstory by R. C. Phelan
• A Sigh for Cybernetics - poem by Felicia Lamport
• Obvious! (cartoon) - (1960) - interior artwork by Michael Ffolkes
• I Remember Babylon - (1960) - shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Lagging Profession - (1961) - essay by Theodore L. Thomas
• The Distortion (cartoon) - (1960) - interior artwork by Shel Silverstein
• Report on the Nature of the Lunar Surface - (1960) - shortstory by John Brunner
• J.G. (Excerpt from J.G. the Upright Ape) - (1960) - shortfiction by Roger Price (US)
• Chief - (1960) - shortstory by Henry Slesar
• Psalm - (1960) - poem by Lester del Rey
• The Large Ant - (1960) - shortstory by Howard Fast
• A Rose by Other Name ... - (1960) - shortstory by Christopher Anvil
• Enchantment - (1960) - shortstory by Elizabeth Emmett
• Thiotimoline and the Space Age - (1960) - shortstory by Isaac Asimov
• Beach Scene - (1960) - shortstory by Marshall King
• Creature of the Snows - (1960) - shortstory by William Sambrot
• Abominable - (1960) - shortstory by Fredric Brown
• The Man on Top - (1951) - shortstory by Reginald Bretnor
• David's Daddy - (1960) - shortstory by Rosel George Brown
• The Thinkers (cartoon) - interior artwork by Walt Kelly
• Something Bright - (1960) - shortstory by Zenna Henderson
• In the House, Another - (1960) - shortstory by Joseph Whitehill
• A Serious Search for Weird Worlds - (1960) - essay by Ray Bradbury
• Ed Lear Wasn't So Crazy! - (1960) - poem by Hilbert Schenck
• Instructor (cartoon) - interior artwork by Thelwell
• The Brotherhood of Keepers - (1960) - novelette by Dean McLaughlin
• Hemingway in Space - (1960) - shortstory by Kingsley Amis
• Mine Own Ways - (1960) - shortstory by Richard McKenna
• Old Hundredth - (1960) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
• Radiation Blues - (1960) - poem by Theodore R. Cogswell
• Blowup Blues - (1960) - poem by Theodore R. Cogswell
• Ballad of the Shoshonu - poem by Gordon R. Dickson
• How to Think a Science Fiction Story (excerpt) - essay by G. Harry Stine
• The Year in S-F (The 6th Annual of the Year's Best S-F) - essay by Judith Merril
• S-F Books - 1960 - essay by Anthony Boucher
• Honorable Mentions - essay by Judith Merril

Table of Contents:

• Oneiromachia - (1961) - poem by Conrad Aiken
• A Passage from the Stars - (1961) - shortstory by Kaatje Hurlbut
• Among the Dangs (excerpt) - (1958) - shortfiction by George P. Elliott
• Immediately Yours - (1961) - shortstory by Robert Beverly Hale
• Parky - (1961) - shortstory by David Rome
• The Fastest Gun Dead - (1961) - shortstory by Julian F. Grow
• All the Tea in China - (1961) - shortstory by Reginald Bretnor
• The Portobello Road - (1956) - novelette by Muriel Spark
• Ottmar Balleau X 2 - (1961) - shortstory by George Bamber
• The Dandelion Girl - (1961) - shortstory by Robert F. Young
• Nightmare in Time - shortstory by Fredric Brown
• Three Prologues and an Epilogue - (1961) - poem by John Dos Passos
• It Becomes Necessary - (1961) - shortstory by Ward Moore
• My Trial as a War Criminal - (1949) - shortstory by Leo Szilard
• A Prize for Edie - (1961) - shortstory by J. F. Bone
• Freedom - (1961) - novelette by Mack Reynolds
• High Barbary - (1961) - shortstory by Lawrence Durrell
• The Quaker Cannon - (1961) - novelette by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth
• Quake, Quake, Quake (Excerpt) - (1961) - poem by Paul Dehn
• Quake, Quake, Quake - (1961) - interior artwork by Edward Gorey
• Judas Bomb - (1961) - shortstory by Kit Reed
• A Small Miracle of Fishhooks and Straight Pins - (1961) - shortstory by David R. Bunch
• The Tunnel Ahead - (1961) - shortstory by Alice Glaser
• Extraterrestrial Trilogue on Terran Self-Destruction - (1961) - poem by Sheri S. Tepper
• The Countdown - (1961) - shortstory by John Haase
• The Beat Cluster - (1961) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
• In Tomorrow's Little Black Bag - essay by James Blish
• The Ship Who Sang - (1961) - novelette by Anne McCaffrey
• A Planet Named Shayol - (1961) - novelette by Cordwainer Smith
• The Asteroids, 2194 - (1960) - shortstory by John Wyndham
• The Long Night - (1961) - shortstory by Ray Russell
• To an Astronaut Dying Young - (1961) - poem by Maxine W. Kumin
• Summation: S-F, 1961 - essay by Judith Merril
• Books - essay by Anthony Boucher
• Honorable Mentions - essay by Judith Merril

The most startling, original and exciting new notions today [1963] are being explored in science fiction. These twenty-eight stories represent the very newest and the very finest of the writings in this field. Selected by Judith Merril, an acknowledged master in her field, and with a commentary by author-critic Anthony Boucher, it is a superb excursion into the extraordinary.

Table of Contents:

• The Unsafe Deposit Box - (1962) - shortstory by Gerald Kersh
• Seven-Day Terror - (1962) - shortstory by R. A. Lafferty
• Toy Shop - (1962) - shortstory by Harry Harrison
• The Face in the Photo - (1962) - shortstory by Jack Finney
• The Circuit Riders - (1962) - shortstory by R. C. FitzPatrick
• Such Stuff - (1962) - shortstory by John Brunner
• The Man Who Made Friends with Electricity - (1962) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
• Kings Who Die - (1962) - novelette by Poul Anderson
• The Unfortunate Mr. Morky - (1962) - shortstory by Vance Aandahl
• Christmas Treason - (1962) - novelette by James White
• A Miracle of Rare Device - (1962) - shortstory by Ray Bradbury
• All the Sounds of Fear - (1962) - shortstory by Harlan Ellison
• One of Those Days - (1962) - shortstory by William F. Nolan
• The Day Rembrandt Went Public - (1962) - shortstory by Arnold M. Auerbach
• Ms. Found in a Bus - (1962) - shortstory by Russell Baker
• The Insane Ones - (1962) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
• Leprechaun - (1962) - shortstory by William Sambrot
• Change of Heart - (1961) - shortstory by A. Bertram Chandler
• Angela's Satyr - (1962) - shortstory by Brian Cleeve
• Puppet Show - (1962) - shortstory by Fredric Brown
• Hang Head, Vandal! - (1962) - shortstory by Mark Clifton
• Earthlings Go Home! - (1962) - shortstory by Mack Reynolds
• The Martian Star-Gazers - shortstory by Frederik Pohl
• Planetary Effulgence - (1959) - shortstory by Bertrand Russell
• The Deadly Game - (1962) - shortstory by Edward Wellen
• Subcommittee - (1962) - novelette by Zenna Henderson
• The Piebald Hippogriff - (1962) - shortstory by Karen Anderson
• Home from the Shore - (1963) - novelette by Gordon R. Dickson
• Summation: S-F, 1962 - essay by Judith Merril
• Books - essay by Anthony Boucher
• Honorable Mentions - essay by Judith Merril

Table of Contents:

• Bernie the Faust - (1963) - novelette by William Tenn
• Fortress Ship - [Berserker] - (1963) - shortstory by Fred Saberhagen
• Mr. Waterman - (1961) - shortstory by Peter Redgrove
• Mrs. Pigafetta Swims Well - (1959) - shortstory by Reginald Bretnor
• Tree Trunks (cartoon) - (1963) - interior artwork by John Gallagher
• They Don't Make Life Like They Used To - (1963) - novelette by Alfred Bester
• The Great Nebraska Sea - (1963) - shortstory by Allan Danzig
• The Faces Outside - (1963) - shortstory by Bruce McAllister
• A Slight Case of Limbo - (1963) - shortstory by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
• 237 Talking Statues, Etc. - (1963) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
• The Jazz Machine - (1962) - poem by Richard Matheson
• Mourning Song - (1963) - shortstory by Charles Beaumont
• Dog Eat Dog (cartoon) - (1963) - interior artwork by Jules Feiffer
• The Jewbird - (1963) - shortstory by Bernard Malamud
• On the Fourth Planet - (1963) - shortstory by J. F. Bone
• Poppa Needs Shorts - (1964) - shortstory by Walt Richmond and Leigh Richmond
• Double Standard - (1963) - shortstory by Fredric Brown
• Interview - (1963) - shortstory by Frank A. Javor
• Eight O'Clock in the Morning - (1963) - shortstory by Ray Nelson
• Where Is Everybody? - (1963) - essay by Ben Bova
• The Earth Dwellers - (1963) - novelette by André Maurois
• The Nobel Prize Winners - (1963) - shortstory by W. J. J. Gordon
• Hot Planet - (1963) - shortstory by Hal Clement
• IBM (cartoon) - (1963) - interior artwork by Mort Gerberg
• Confessions of the First Number - (1963) - shortstory by Cliff Owsley
• The Ming Vase - (1963) - shortstory by E. C. Tubb
• A Bargain with Cashel - (1963) - shortstory by Gerald Kersh
• Drunkboat - (1963) - novelette by Cordwainer Smith
• Summation: SF, 1963 - essay by Judith Merril
• Books - essay by Anthony Boucher
• Honorable Mentions - essay by Judith Merril

Here, out there, or beyond, S-F has produced some of the most imaginative fiction in out literature -- and Judith Merril has established herself as its premiere anthologist and critic.

Her latest collection, the tenth in this consistently excellent series, surpasses all that have gone before. Never have Miss Merril's forays into the realms of available science-fiction yielded as stunning a literary harvest: Romain Gary, Arthur C. Clarke, James T. Farrell, Issac Bashevis Stinger, Fritz Leiber, J.G. Ballard, John D. MacDonald, Alan E. Nourse, Thomas M. Disch, and Stephen Becker are just a few of the glittering array that has been selected.

This edition of The Year's Best S-F contains more than thirty of the finest examples of science-fiction inventiveness. It is an extraordinary anthology that will stimulate and challenge even the most seasoned science-fiction traveler.

Table of Contents:

• Automatic Tiger - (1964) - shortstory by Kit Reed
• The Carson Effect - (1964) - shortstory by Richard Wilson
• The Shining Ones - (1964) - shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke
• Pacifist - (1964) - shortstory by Mack Reynolds
• The New Encyclopaedist - (1964) - shortstory by Stephen Becker
• The Legend of Joe Lee - (1964) - shortstory by John D. MacDonald
• Gas Mask - (1964) - shortstory by James D. Houston
• A Sinister Metamorphosis - (1965) - shortstory by Russell Baker
• Sonny - (1963) - shortstory by Rick Raphael
• The Last Secret Weapon of the Third Reich - (1964) - shortstory by Josef Nesvadba
• Descending - (1964) - shortstory by Thomas M. Disch
• Decadence - (1946) - shortstory by Romain Gary
• Be of Good Cheer - (1964) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
• It Could Be You - (1964) - shortstory by Frank Roberts
• A Benefactor of Humanity - (1958) - shortstory by James T. Farrell
• Synchromocracy - (1964) - shortstory by Hap Cawood
• The Search - (1964) - poem by Bruce Simonds
• The Pirokin Effect - (1964) - shortstory by Larry Eisenberg
• The Twerlik - (1964) - shortstory by Jack Sharkey
• A Rose for Ecclesiastes - (1963) - novelette by Roger Zelazny
• The Terminal Beach - (1964) - novelette by J. G. Ballard
• Problem Child - (1964) - shortstory by Arthur Porges
• The Wonderful Dog Suit - (1964) - shortstory by Donald Hall
• The Mathenauts - (1964) - shortstory by Norman Kagan
• Family Portrait - (1964) - shortstory by Morgan Kent
• The Red Egg - (1964) - shortstory by José María Gironella
• The Power of Positive Thinking - (1964) - shortstory by M. E. White
• A Living Doll - (1964) - shortstory by Robert Wallace
• Training Talk - (1964) - shortstory by David R. Bunch
• A Miracle Too Many - (1964) - shortstory by Philip H. Smith and Alan E. Nourse
• The Last Lonely Man - (1964) - shortstory by John Brunner
• The Man Who Found Proteus - (1964) - shortstory by Robert Rohrer
• Yachid and Yechida - (1964) - shortstory by Isaac Bashevis Singer
• Summation - essay by Judith Merril
• Honorable Mentions - essay by Judith Merril

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Judith Merril
• Something Else - (1965) - shortstory by Robert J. Tilley
• The Volcano Dances - (1964) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
• Slow Tuesday Night - (1965) - shortstory by R. A. Lafferty
• Better Than Ever - (1965) - shortstory by Alex Kirs
• Coming-of-Age Day - (1965) - shortstory by A. K. Jorgensson
• The Wall - (1965) - shortstory by Josephine Saxton
• The Survivor - (1965) - novelette by Walter F. Moudy
• Moon Duel - (1965) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
• Project Inhumane - (1964) - shortstory by Alexander Malec
• Those Who Can, Do - (1965) - shortstory by Robert T. Kurosaka
• Susan - (1965) - shortstory by Keith Roberts
• Yesterdays' Gardens - (1965) - shortstory by Johnny Byrne
• The Roaches - (1965) - shortstory by Thomas M. Disch
• Game - (1965) - shortstory by Donald Barthelme
• J Is for Jeanne - (1965) - shortstory by E. C. Tubb
• Terminal - (1965) - shortstory by Ron Goulart
• The Plot - (1965) - shortstory by Tom Herzog
• Investigating the Bidwell Endeavors - (1965) - shortstory by David R. Bunch
• The Case - (1966) - poem by Peter Redgrove
• There's a Starman in Ward 7 - (1965) - shortstory by David Rome
• Eyes Do More Than See - (1965) - shortstory by Isaac Asimov
• Maelstrom II - (1965) - shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke
• Two Telepathic Letters to Lord Kelvin - (1965) - shortstory by Alfred Jarry
• Warrior - (1965) - shortstory by Gordon R. Dickson
• Mars Is Ours! - (1965) - shortstory by Art Buchwald
• Scarfe's World - (1965) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
• A Singular Case of Extreme Electrolyte Balance Associated with Folie a Deux - (1965) - shortstory by Robert D. Tschirgi
• A Magus - (1965) - poem by John Ciardi
• The Circular Ruins - (1940) - shortstory by Jorge Luís Borges
• The Girl Who Drew the Gods - (1965) - novelette by Harvey Jacobs
• The Drowned Giant - (1964) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
• Circe Undersea or a Cry from the Depths - (1965) - poem by George MacBeth
• Somewhere Not Far from Here - (1965) - shortstory by Gerald Kersh
• In the Ruins - (1965) - shortstory by Roald Dahl
• Traveller's Rest - (1965) - shortstory by David I. Masson
• Ado About Nothing - (1965) - shortstory by Robert K. Ottum
• Summation - essay by Judith Merril

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: Fish Out of Water, Man Beside Himself - essay by Judith Merril
• The Cinemagicians - (1966) - poem by Tuli Kupferberg
• In Seclusion - (1966) - novelette by Harvey Jacobs
• The Food Farm - (1967) - short story by Kit Reed
• Gogol's Wife - (1963) - short story by Tommaso Landolfi
• The Balloon - (1966) - short story by Donald Barthelme
• The Cloud-Sculptors of Coral D - (1967) - short story by J. G. Ballard
• Luana - (1966) - short story by Gilbert Thomas
• W-a-v-e-r - (1966) - poem by Tuli Kupferberg
• During the Jurassic - (1966) - short story by John Updike
• The Fall of Frenchy Steiner - (1964) - novelette by Hilary Bailey
• Light of Other Days - (1966) - short story by Bob Shaw
• Beyond the Weeds - (1966) - short story by Peter Tate
• Crab Apple Crisis - (1966) - short story by George MacBeth
• The Primary Education of the Camiroi - (1966) - short story by R. A. Lafferty
• When I Was Miss Dow - (1966) - short story by Sonya Dorman
• A Vacation on Earth - (1966) - poem by Thomas M. Disch
• Confluence - (1967) - short story by Brian W. Aldiss
• Journal from Ellipsia (excerpt) - (1965) - shortfiction by Hortense Calisher
• An Ornament to His Profession - (1966) - novelette by Charles L. Harness
• Narrow Valley - (1966) - short story by R. A. Lafferty
• They Do Not Always Remember - (1966) - short story by William S. Burroughs
• The Winter Flies - (1967) - short story by Fritz Leiber
• When I First Read ... - (1966) - poem by Dick Allen
• You: Coma: Marilyn Monroe - (1966) - short story by J. G. Ballard
• And More Changes Still - short story by Henri Michaux
• The Other - (1966) - short story by Katherine MacLean
• Chicken Icarus - (1966) - short story by Carol Emshwiller
• In the Egg - (1966) - poem by Günter Grass
• The Star-Pit - (1967) - novella by Samuel R. Delany
• Personal - (1966) - short story by Tuli Kupferberg