This is one of the greatest science fiction books of all time. Althrough written in the late 1950s, it is still as relevant today as when it was written. The classics do not lose their relevance. Read this book, however you can get it.

Pohl & Kornbluth shake us from our everyday acceptance of reality. A marvelous exploration of companies grown out of control. An accidental hero who overcomes incredible obstacles to make the world a better place.

A wonderful exploration of the meaning of "political classes" in the guise of a rousing sci-fi adventure. The kind of story that just isn't written anymore.

Really brilliant work. Very captivating , ease to read book. It combines all the best in sci-fi.

Although it's not as well known as some of his other work this is Pohl at his best! Take the worst trends of society right now and that's where this book starts. This is the sequel to Space Merchants and in some ways it's a redrafting of that story. Excellent.

Written in the late 50's /early 60's,FrederickPohl's short novel foretells the universal use of the "Joybringer" - a portable object which serves as telephone, credit card and entertainment device in a highly automated world. To own this device is to be a part of day-to-day life in the Age of the Pussyfoot. But if you are without one, you are disenfranchised.

Anyone who recognises the similarity between this vision of the future and the consolidation of digital technology into the ever more powerful mobile phone is well advised to ask for this disturbing book,written 40 years ago,to be brought back into print

Due to Pohl's other careers as both a literary agent and a SF magazine editor, Pohl didn't achieve the same amount of output as his contemporaries Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke. This is our loss, since Pohl really excelled in the short form (not that he is any slouch at novel length). This "best of" collection is an excellent starter for anyone unfamiliar with Pohl's short stories. There's not a clinker in the bunch.

By far Pohl's best book. I read a lot of sci-fi and this is one of my all time faves. If you like good character development and solid quantum theory with people jumping between alternate earths then read this book. It's out of print but worth finding!

This book contains a small number of stories. In fact some of them could be more correctly called novellas than short stories. The link between them all is that they are all extemely well written, and their main characters have been involved in war in some way. Most of these are not new, but put together like this they make an outstanding collection. Included is one Miles Vorkosigan story (not new) if you are looking up this book because of that author's series.

This book contains the following stories:

"Call him Lord" by Gordon R. Dickson
"pilots of the twilight" by Edward Bryant
"Sepulcher" by Ben Bova
"The high test" by Frederik Pohl
"When Johnny comes marching home" by Timothy Zahn
"Labyrinth" by Lois McMaster Bujold

Read, and enjoy:)

I loved this book. It was witty and funny, but more importantly...it is damn good Sci fi!!

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.

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.

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.

The Space Merchants is an interesting little science fiction novel which describes the world in the 23rd century. By then global capitalism, especially the top advertisers, almost literally rule the plant. Excessive population and pollution have driven the masses underground. People are nourished by the flesh of weird genetically modified beasts. Considering this book was written fifty years ago I found the subject matter surprisingly fresh and relevant.

The story involves a top ad man who finds his task of developing a campaign for the colonisation of Venus dramatically undermined by dark forces. In this complex stew of industrial espionage are competing ad companies and the underground conservationist guerillas. The mystery moves along at a good clip although it sputters a bit towards the end.

Overall this book touches some deep issues along the lines of Aldous ('Brave New World') Huxley, and has a satiric (and weird) feel like the works of Philip K. ('Ubik') Dick. Certainly a minor classic in its own right.

Written 50 years ago, you might expect this book, set in "the future", to be hopelessly trite and dated, but it holds up remarkably well. If anything, many of the issues in the book resonate more today than they may have when it was first published. The characters are believable and well constructed, and Pohl gives them a story to tell that moves quickly. He avoids the pitfalls of some authors who write future-based morality plays -- there's no preaching or sidebar pontificating here, just a very good read. My only complaint is that I wish it had been longer!

It's a shame that a book this good is available only in a crummy paperbound edition with cheesy, generic cover art. The Space Merchants deserves to be read by all aficionados of the genre, being one of the true classics. The authors collaborated on several other works, but this one is the first and most well known. Since Kornblouth in particular was a great admirer of George Orwell, its no coincidence that links can be drawn between this dystopian novel and 1984. Both are anti-establishment, both intense and well written, and both have their share of knockout lines and phrases. In this future world capitalism acts as an enslaver of the underclass, and the driving force in our protagonist's life is his job selling his firm's products to the masses. His personality and his job have put him on bad terms with his wife, but that is the least of his problems after his identity is stolen and he becomes a slave of the system he helped build, forced to be, part migrant worker and part indentured servant.

Although the political aspects of the novel are important, don't forget that really, the Space Merchants is a humorous book in addition to being a work of science fiction. It's just brisling with irony, and because of this, it is a fun read as Mitch takes a darkly comedic ride from the very top to the very bottom and tries to get back on top again. In conclusion, buy this novel, even in this lousy edition, and then repurchase it in hardcover. It's worth the effort.

I had a hard time tracking down a copy of this, but I finally did and am glad that I took the bother.
It's a story of two halves, and strongly promotes the old adage that 'absolute power corrupts absolutely'. The first half of the story leads you to believe that people in a post-apocalyptic world are being attacked by 'fire-spirits', which possess the hosts to take over their bodies to perform all sorts of nasty and sinful acts. Once the plot begins to resolve itself, it becomes apparent that this is not necessarily so. Without revealing the premise of the second half, the plot does twist and takes a different direction.
A good example of Pohl writing well. Not his best work, but very entertaining.

A Frederick Pohl classic. A small group of people acquire the ability to control others by taking them over, and operating them like remote machines. Soon the term "possessed" becomes a legal defence against any crime - unless you are caught and outcast as a "hoaxer" -

Pohl establishes this structure and develops a highly personalised account of one man's travels. both in and out of body, in this altered society.

Where can I get it ?

This book is as powerful, brutal, and disturbing as George Orwell's "1984". NOT for the faint of heart.