The Best of Fritz Leiber

The Best of Fritz Leiber

Company type	Anthology
Industry	Publishing
Founded	May 1974 (1974-05)
Headquarters	United Kingdom; United States
Products	Short story collection

The Best of Fritz Leiber is a 1974 anthology compiling short fiction by the American writer Fritz Leiber. It was first released in the United Kingdom as a paperback by Sphere Books in May 1974, followed by a hardcover edition from Doubleday in the United States in June 1974. Subsequent editions included a UK hardcover from Sidgwick & Jackson and a US paperback issued by Ballantine Books in November 1974, the latter as part of the Classic Library of Science Fiction series. Sphere republished the UK paperback in June 1977, and Ballantine reissued the US paperback in September 1979.

Summary

This collection contains twenty-two stories spanning fantasy, science fiction, and horror genres. Notably, the UK and US versions exhibit some variations: the British edition credits editor Angus Wells and organizes the stories according to their original publication dates, featuring an introduction by the author and a bibliography from 1973. Conversely, the American edition omits editorial acknowledgment, places "Gonna Roll the Bones" at the forefront, substitutes the author's introduction with one by Poul Anderson, and adds an afterword penned by Leiber himself.

Contents

British edition:

• "Introduction"
• "Sanity" (Astounding Science Fiction, Apr. 1944)
• "Wanted - An Enemy" (Feb. 1945)
• "The Man Who Never Grew Young" (1947)
• "The Ship Sails at Midnight" (Sep. 1950)
• "The Enchanted Forest" (Oct. 1950)
• "Coming Attraction" (Galaxy Science Fiction, Nov. 1950)
• "Poor Superman" (Jul. 1951)
• "A Pail of Air" (Dec. 1951)
• "The Foxholes of Mars" (Jun. 1952)
• "The Big Holiday" (Jan. 1953)
• "The Night He Cried" (Feb. 1953)
• "The Big Trek" (Oct. 1957)
• "Space-Time for Springers" (Nov. 1958)
• "Try and Change the Past" (Mar. 1958)
• "A Deskful of Girls" (Apr. 1958)
• "Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-TAH-Tee" (May 1958)
• "Little Old Miss Macbeth" (Dec. 1958)
• "Mariana" (Feb. 1960)
• "The Man Who Made Friends with Electricity" (Mar. 1962)
• "The Good New Days" (Oct. 1965)
• "Gonna Roll the Bones" (1967)
• "America the Beautiful" (1970)
• "The Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of Fritz Leiber"

American edition:

• "The Wizard of Nehwon" (Poul Anderson)
• "Gonna Roll the Bones" (1967)
• "Sanity" (1944)
• "Wanted - An Enemy" (1945)
• "The Man Who Never Grew Young" (1947)
• "The Ship Sails at Midnight" (1950)
• "The Enchanted Forest" (1950)
• "Coming Attraction" (1950)
• "Poor Superman" (1951)
• "A Pail of Air" (1951)
• "The Foxholes of Mars" (1952)
• "The Big Holiday" (1953)
• "The Night He Cried" (1953)
• "The Big Trek" (1957)
• "Space-Time for Springers" (1958)
• "Try and Change the Past" (1958)
• "A Deskful of Girls" (1958)
• "Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-TAH-Tee" (1958)
• "Little Old Miss Macbeth" (1958)
• "Mariana" (1960)
• "The Man Who Made Friends with Electricity" (1962)
• "The Good New Days" (1965)
• "America the Beautiful" (1970)
• "Afterword"

Awards

This volume earned the 1975 Locus Poll Award recognizing it as Best Single Author Collection. The story "Gonna Roll the Bones" was honored with both the 1967 Nebula Award and the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.

Night Shade edition

In July 2009, Night Shade Press announced plans for a new compilation of Leiber's work under the same title, encompassing his career up to 1992. Released in 2010 as Selected Stories, this collection received the Locus Award for Best Collection in 2011.

External links

• Fantastic Fiction entry