American Science Fiction: Five Classic Novels 1956-58 (LOA #228): Double Star / The Stars My Destination / A Case of Conscience / Who? / The Big Time ... America Classic Science Fiction Collection)

Following its acclaimed three-volume edition of the novels of science fiction master Philip K. Dick, The Library of America now presents a two-volume anthology of nine groundbreaking works from the golden age of the modern science fiction novel, works by turns satiric, adventurous, incisive, and hauntingly lyrical. Long unnoticed or dismissed by the literary establishment, these visionary “outsider” novels grappled in fresh ways with a world in rapid transformation and have gradually been recognized as American classics that opened new imaginative territory in American writing. This second volume contains: Robert Heinlein / Double Star Alfred Bester / The Stars My Destination James Blish / A Case of Conscience Algis Budrys / Who? Fritz Leiber / The Big Time LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries. This second of two volumes surveying the best science fiction novels of the 1950s presents works by five of the field's most admired and influential practitioners. In Robert A. Heinlein's Double Star (1956), an actor forced to impersonate a twenty-second-century political leader intent on forging bonds between Earthlings and Martians learns hard lessons about the nature of power. Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination (1956), which Neil Gaiman has called "the perfect cyberpunk novel," is a classic revenge tale set in a nightmarish future dominated by corporations. In James Blish's A Case of Conscience (1958), space voyagers on the remote planet Lithia find themselves challenged by the values of an alien civilization. Algis Budrys's Who? (1958) unleashes Cold War anxieties about technology and human identity with its story of a scientist rebuilt beyond recognition after a devastating accident. Set in "the Place," a bar and bordello in the backwater of time's stream, Fritz Leiber's The Big Time (1958) explores the implications of the "Change War," an endless cosmic struggle in which shadowy antagonists dart in and out of history in a contest to control destiny. The range of styles - by turns adventurous, satiric, incisive - is as varied as the themes addressed by these novels, all now acknowledged as American classics. Together they mark an explosively entertaining era in modern fiction. -- Dust jacket "In Robert A. Heinlein{u2019}s Double Star (1956), an actor forced to impersonate a twenty-second-century political leader intent on forging bonds between Earthlings and Martians learns hard lessons about the nature of power. Alfred Bester{u2019}s The Stars My Destination (1956), which Neil Gaiman has called ?the perfect cyberpunk novel,? is a classic revenge tale set in a nightmarish future dominated by corporations. In James Blish{u2019}s A Case of Conscience (1958), space voyagers on the remote planet Lithia find themselves challenged by the values of an alien civilization. Algis Budrys{u2019}s Who? (1958) unleashes Cold War anxieties about technology and human identity with its story of a scientist rebuilt beyond recognition after a devastating accident. Set in ?the Place,? a bar and bordello in the backwater of time{u2019}s stream, Fritz Leiber{u2019}s The Big Time (1958) explores the implications of the ?Change War,? an endless cosmic struggle in which shadowy antagonists dart in and out of history in a contest to control destiny"--From publisher description "In Robert A. Heinlein's Double Star (1956), an actor forced to impersonate a twenty-second-century political leader intent on forging bonds between Earthlings and Martians learns hard lessons about the nature of power. Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination (1956), which Neil Gaiman has called 'the perfect cyberpunk novel,' is a classic revenge tale set in a nightmarish future dominated by corporations. In James Blish's A Case of Conscience (1958), space voyagers on the remote planet Lithia find themselves challenged by the values of an alien civilization. Algis Budrys's Who? (1958) unleashes Cold War anxieties about technology and human identity with its story of a scientist rebuilt beyond recognition after a devastating accident. Set in 'The Place' a bar and bordello in the backwater of time's stream, Fritz Leiber's The Big Time (1958) explores the implications of the 'Change War,' an endless cosmic struggle in which shadowy antagonists dart in and out of history in a contest to control destiny"--Google Books Five Science Fiction Classics Of The 1950s In One Volume. Double Star / Robert Heinlein -- The Stars My Destination / Alfred Bester -- A Case Of Conscience / James Blish -- Who? / Algis Budrys -- The Big Time / Fritz Leiber. Gary K. Wolfe, Editor. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 813-835). Presents a collection of nine novels of American science fiction from the nineteen fifties