Ten thrilling and intriguing tales of space travel, war, and alien
encounters from the multiple Hugo Award-winning Grand Master of Science
Fiction.
From Frank Herbert's Dune to Isaac Asimov's Foundation series to
Philip K. Dick's stories of bizarre visions of a dystopian future, the
latter half of the twentieth century produced some of the finest
examples of speculative fiction ever published. Yet no science fiction
author was more highly regarded than Grand Master Clifford D. Simak,
winner of numerous honors, including the Hugo and Nebula Awards and a
Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.
This magnificent compendium of stories, written during science fiction's
golden age, highlights Simak at his very best, combining ingenious
concepts with his trademark humanism and exploring strange visitations,
remarkable technologies, and humankind's destiny in the possible worlds
of tomorrow. Whether it's an irascible old man's discovery of a very
unusual skunk that puts him at odds with the US Air Force, a county
agent's strange bond with the sentient alien flora he discovers growing
in his garden, the problems a small town faces when its children mature
too rapidly thanks to babysitters from another galaxy, or the gift a
lonely farmer receives in exchange for aiding a dying visitor from
another world, the events detailed in Simak's poignant and beautiful
tales will thrill, shock, amuse, and astonish in equal measure.
One of the genre's premier literary artists, Simak explores time travel
and time engines; examines the rituals and superstitions of galactic
travelers who have long forgotten their ultimate purpose; and even takes
fascinating detours through World War II and the wild American West in a
wondrous anthology that no science fiction fan should be without.
