''Assignment in Tomorrow'' is an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

of science fiction stories edited by American writer

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American list of science fiction authors, science-fiction writer, editor, and science fiction fandom, fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first ...

. Originally published in hardcover by Hanover House in 1954 with jacket art by Richard M. Powers, it was reprinted in paperback by

Lancer Books Lancer Books was a publisher of paperback books founded by Irwin Stein and Walter Zacharius that operated from 1961 through 1973. While it published stories of a number of genres, it was noted most for its science fiction and fantasy, particula ...

in 1972.

*"Mr. Costello, Hero" by

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Horror fiction, horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 ...

( ''Galaxy'' 1953) *"Angels in the Jets" by

Jerome Bixby Drexel Jerome Lewis Bixby (January 11, 1923 – April 28, 1998) was an American short story writer and scriptwriter. He wrote the 1953 story ''It's a Good Life'', which was included in '' The Science Fiction Hall of Fame''. ''It's a Good L ...

(''

Fantastic Fantastic or Fantastik may refer to: Music * ''Fantastic'' (Toy-Box album) * ''Fantastic'' (Wham! album) * '' Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1)'', an album by Slum Village * '' Fantastic, Vol. 2'', an album by Slum Village * ''Fantastic'' (EP), an EP by ...

'' 1952) *"The Adventurer" by C. M. Kornbluth (''

Space Science Fiction Between 1952 and 1954, John Raymond published four digest size, digest-size Science fiction magazine, science fiction and Fantasy magazine, fantasy magazines. Raymond was an American publisher of men's magazines who knew little about science ...

'' 1953) *"Subterfuge" by

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

(''

Astonishing Stories ''Astonishing Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published by Popular Publications between 1940 and 1943. It was founded under Popular's "Fictioneers" imprint, which paid lower rates than Popular's other magazines. The ...

'' 1943) *"

Helen O'Loy "Helen O'Loy" is a science fiction short story by American writer Lester del Rey (1915–1993), originally published in 1938 in ''Astounding Science Fiction''. It was subsequently published many times in various collections or anthologies. The ...

" by

Lester del Rey Lester del Rey (June 2, 1915 – May 10, 1993) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the author of many books in the juvenile Winston Science Fiction series, and the fantasy editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy an ...

( ''Astounding'' 1938) *" 5,271,009" by

Alfred Bester Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction author, TV and radio screenwriter, magazine Editing, editor and scriptwriter for comics. He is best remembered for his science fiction, including ''Th ...

(''

F&SF ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Bouche ...

'' 1954) *"The Big Trip Up Yonder" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (''Galaxy'' 1954) *"We Don’t Want Any Trouble" by

James H. Schmitz James Henry Schmitz (October 15, 1911 – April 18, 1981) was a German-American science fiction writer. Early life Schmitz was born in Hamburg, Germany to American parents and was educated at a ''Realgymnasium'' in Hamburg, and grew up sp ...

(''Galaxy'' 1953) *"The Peddler’s Nose" by

Jack Williamson John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006) was an American list of science fiction authors, science fiction writer, one of several called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the t ...

(''Astounding'' 1951) *"The Frightened Tree" by

Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, copy editing, editor and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome in collaboration with Jerome ...

(''Galaxy'' 1953) *"A Matter of Form" by Horace L. Gold (''Astounding'' 1938) *"Back to Julie" by Richard Wilson (''Galaxy'' 1954) *"She Who Laughs..." by

Peter Phillips Peter Mark Andrew Phillips (born 15 November 1977) is a British businessman. He is the son of Anne, Princess Royal, and Mark Phillips, and a nephew of King Charles III. At the time of his birth during the reign of his maternal grandmothe ...

(''Galaxy'' 1952) *"Official Record" by

Fletcher Pratt Murray Fletcher Pratt (25 April 1897 – 10 June 1956) was an American people, American List of science fiction authors, writer of history, science fiction, and fantasy. He is best known for his works on naval history and the American Civil War an ...

(''Space Science Fiction'' 1952) *"Hall of Mirrors" by

Fredric Brown Fredric Brown (October 29, 1906 – March 11, 1972) was an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer.D. J. McReynolds, "The Short Fiction of Fredric Brown" in Frank N. Magill, (ed.) ''Survey of Science Fiction Literature'', Vol. ...

(''Galaxy'' 1953) *"Mother" by

Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy novels and short story, short stories. Obituary. Farmer is best known for two sequences of novels, t ...

(''

Thrilling Wonder Stories ''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Sto ...

'' 1953) "The Frightened Tree" was originally published under the title "Protective Mimicry".

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reviewer J. Francis McComas found the anthology "a mild disappointment," noting that while some of the contents were "superb stories", several stories were "a bit overfamiliar", while others were "either too conventional in concept or flat in execution." P. Schuyler Miller, however, rated it "one of the best anthologies of 1954."Miller, P. Schuyler. "The Reference Library," ''

Astounding Science-Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cl ...

'', August 1955, p.149.

References

{{Reflist 1954 anthologies American short story collections Science fiction short story collections

Contents

Reception

References