''Imagination Unlimited'' is an anthology of
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
short stories edited by
Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
and
T. E. Dikty
Thaddeus Maxim Eugene "Ted" Dikty (June 16, 1920 – October 11, 1991) was an American editor who also played a role as one of the earliest science fiction anthologists, and as a publisher.
Early career
In 1947, Dikty joined Shasta Publi ...
, first published in hardcover by
Farrar, Straus & Young in
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, ...
. As originally published, the anthology includes thirteen stories by various authors, with an introduction and four brief essays by the editors. In the UK
The Bodley Head
The Bodley Head is an English book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1887 by John Lane and Elkin Mathews, The Bodley Head existed as an independent entity or as part of multiple consortia until it was acquired by Random ...
published the work as two separate anthologies in 1953, one, containing the first six stories, under the same title as the American edition and the other, containing the remaining seven stories, as ''Men of Space and Time''. The anthology was also reprinted in an abridged paperback edition containing seven of the stories by
Berkley Books
Berkley Books is an American imprint founded in 1955 by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein owned by the Penguin Group unit of Penguin Random House.
History
Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Compa ...
in April, 1959. Only the original edition included the introduction and the essays.
Ten of the stories collected originally appeared in the magazine ''
Astounding
''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 ...
''; the others came from ''
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 ...
'', ''
Imagination
Imagination is the production of sensations, feelings and thoughts informing oneself. These experiences can be re-creations of past experiences, such as vivid memories with imagined changes, or completely invented and possibly fantastic scenes ...
'' and ''
Galaxy Science Fiction
''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edi ...
''.
Contents
Key: I = reprinted in the abridged UK edition (1953); M = reprinted in ''Men of Space and Time'' (1953); stories in italics were reprinted in the abridged paperback edition (1959).
* "Introduction" (
Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
&
T. E. Dikty
Thaddeus Maxim Eugene "Ted" Dikty (June 16, 1920 – October 11, 1991) was an American editor who also played a role as one of the earliest science fiction anthologists, and as a publisher.
Early career
In 1947, Dikty joined Shasta Publi ...
)
* "Mathematics and Philosophy" (
Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
&
T. E. Dikty
Thaddeus Maxim Eugene "Ted" Dikty (June 16, 1920 – October 11, 1991) was an American editor who also played a role as one of the earliest science fiction anthologists, and as a publisher.
Early career
In 1947, Dikty joined Shasta Publi ...
)
** I '
What Dead Men Tell'' (
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 ...
) (from ''Astounding Science Fiction'', v. 44, no. 3, Nov. 1949)
** I ''"Referent"'' (
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 ...
) (from ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'', v. 33, no. 1, Oct. 1948)
* "The Physical Sciences" (
Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
&
T. E. Dikty
Thaddeus Maxim Eugene "Ted" Dikty (June 16, 1920 – October 11, 1991) was an American editor who also played a role as one of the earliest science fiction anthologists, and as a publisher.
Early career
In 1947, Dikty joined Shasta Publi ...
)
** I "Blind Man’s Buff" (
Malcolm Jameson) (from ''Astounding Science Fiction'', v. 34, no. 2, Oct. 1944)
** I "Pressure" (
Ross Rocklynne
Ross Rocklynne (February 21, 1913 – October 29, 1988) was the pseudonym, pen name used by Ross Louis Rocklin, an American science fiction authors, science fiction author active in the Golden Age of Science Fiction. He also wrote under the ...
) (from ''Astounding Science-Fiction'', v. 23, no. 4, Jun. 1939)
** I "The Xi Effect" (
Philip Latham
Charles Philip Latham (17 January 1929 – 20 June 2020) was an English actor. He was best known for playing Willy Izard in '' The Troubleshooters'' (1965–1972) and Plantagenet Palliser in '' The Pallisers'' (1974).
Early life
Latham was bor ...
) (from ''Astounding Science Fiction'', v. 44, no. 5, Jan. 1950)
** I "Old Faithful" (
Raymond Z. Gallun) (from ''Astounding Stories'', v. 14, no. 4, Dec. 1934)
* "The Biological Sciences" (
Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
&
T. E. Dikty
Thaddeus Maxim Eugene "Ted" Dikty (June 16, 1920 – October 11, 1991) was an American editor who also played a role as one of the earliest science fiction anthologists, and as a publisher.
Early career
In 1947, Dikty joined Shasta Publi ...
)
** M "Alas, All Thinking!" (
Harry Bates) (from ''Astounding Stories'', v. 15, no. 4, Jun. 1935)
** M ''"Dune Roller"'' (
Julian May
Julian Clare May (July 10, 1931 – October 17, 2017) was an American science fiction, fantasy, horror, science and children's writer who also used several literary pseudonyms. She is best known for her '' Saga of Pliocene Exile'' (''Saga of the ...
) (from ''Astounding Science Fiction'', v. 48, no. 4, Dec. 1951)
** M ''"
Employment
Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...
"'' (
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American author of science fiction, Fantasy literature, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of ...
) (from ''Astounding Science-Fiction'', v. 23, no. 3, May 1939)
* "The Social Sciences" (
Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
&
T. E. Dikty
Thaddeus Maxim Eugene "Ted" Dikty (June 16, 1920 – October 11, 1991) was an American editor who also played a role as one of the earliest science fiction anthologists, and as a publisher.
Early career
In 1947, Dikty joined Shasta Publi ...
)
** M ''"Dreams Are Sacred"'' (Peter Phillips) (from ''Astounding Science Fiction'', v. 42, no. 1, Sep. 1948)
** M "Hold Back Tomorrow" (
Kris Neville
Kris Ottman Neville (May 9, 1925 – December 23, 1980) was an American science fiction writer from California.
He was born in St. Louis. His first science fiction work was published in 1949. His most famous work, the novella ''Bettyann'', is ...
) (from ''Imagination'', v. 2, no. 4, Sep. 1951)
** M ''"Berom"'' (John Berryman) (from ''Astounding Science Fiction'', v. 46, no. 5, Jan. 1951)
** M ''"The Fire and the Sword"'' (
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019), nicknamed "the Judge", was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams over 21 seasons: the Cincinnati Reds (1956–196 ...
) (from ''Galaxy Science Fiction'', v. 2, no. 5, Aug. 1951)
"Referent" was originally published under the byline "Brett Sterling". "Employment" was originally published under the byline "Lyman R. Lyon".
[
]
Reception
P. Schuyler Miller, noting that the anthology was "built around more or less scientific concepts," praised it as "a good job, well done," meeting the standards of the editors' previous projects.["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 C ...
'', November 1952, p.158
References
Sources
*{{cite web
, last = Contento
, first = William G.
, title = Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections
, url = http://contento.best.vwh.net/t10.htm#A238
, access-date = 2008-01-24
, archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080104164625/http://contento.best.vwh.net/t10.htm#A238
, archive-date = 2008-01-04
, url-status = dead
1952 anthologies
Science fiction anthologies
Farrar, Straus and Giroux books