. .a nubile young witch who yearns to taste human love. . .an expedition that hunts dinosaurs across the fragile and dangerous chasm of time. . . These strange and wonderful tales of beauty and terror will transport you from the begininng of time to the outermost limits of the future. Selected from his best-selling collections "The Golden Apples Of The Sun" and "R Is For Rocket," here are thirty-two superb stories from one of the master fantastics of our age--the inimitable Ray Bradbury.

    The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man's dominance over the natural world. The mountain paradise of 'Monte Verità' promises immortality, but at a terrible price; a neglected wife haunts her husband in the form of an apple tree; a professional photographer steps out from behind the camera and into his subject's life; a date with a cinema usherette leads to a walk in the cemetery; and a jealous father finds a remedy when three's a crowd . . .

    This beautiful volume showcases the full range of Poe's genius--from "The Raven" and terrifying tales like "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Fall of the House of Usher," and "The Masque of the Red Death," to humorous sketches, the very first detective stories, early works of science fiction, and literary criticism.

    In 'The Metamorphosis', the estrangement of everyday life becomes corporealized when Gregor Samsa wakes up as a giant bug and wonders how he is going to get to work on time. Kafka inverts the implied degradation of a man's transformation into an animal in 'A Report of the Academy', an ape's address to a group of scientists.

    Contributor John Cheever; Shirley Jackson; Henry Kuttner

    But who's behind it? Clarke's 1952 novel is read by Nicholas Boulton.

    This volume contains all the stories from the original book entitled This Was The Old Chief's Country and three of the short novels from Five, the book which won the Somerset Maugham Award in 1954.'I believe,' writes Doris Lessing, "that the chief gift from Africa to writers, white and black, is the continent itself, its presence which for some people is like a old fever, latent always in their blood; or it like an old wounded throbbing in the bones as the air changes. That is not a place to visit unless one chooses to be an exile ever afterwards from an inexplicable majestic silence lying just over the border of memory or of thought. Africa gives you the knowledge that man is a small creature, among other creatures, in a large landscape.'In this Edition:The Old Chief MshlangaA Sunrise on the VeldNo Witchcraft for SaleThe Second HutThe NuisanceThe De Wets Come to Kloof GrangeLittle TembiOld John's Place'Leopard' GeorgeWinter in JulyA Home for the Highland CattleEldoradoThe AntheapIncludes the Preface for the 1964 Collection and a new Preface for the 1973 Collection. All of these stories appeared in African Stories, 1963.

    A binge drinking session is just the thing to allow Gallegher's brilliant subconscious to emerge and save the day, but what weird critter keeps stealing all the liquor?

    

    A child's jealousy of his place in his mother's life erupts when his father comes home from the war, not to subside until a new baby arrives placing his father and him in the same position.'My Oedipus Complex' first appeared in 'Today's Woman' magazine.

    verso.

    Read stories by Theodore Sturgeon, H.P. Lovecraft, Anthony Boucher, Richard Matheson, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Lester del Rey, Arthur C. Clarke, John D. MacDonald, and many others, and find yourself transported to strange and distant worlds in an enduring collection of timeless science fiction tales.Stories in book:John Thomas's Cube John LeimertHyperpilosity L. Sprague de CampThe Thing in the Woods Fletcher Pratt & B. F. RubyAnd be Merry... Katherine MacLeanThe Bees From Borneo Will H. GrayThe Rag Thing David GrinnellThe Conqueror Mark CliftonNever Underestimate... Theodore SturgeonThe Doorbell David H. KellerA Subway Named Mobius A. J. DeutschBackfire Ross RocklynneThe Box James BlishZeritsky's Law Ann GriffithThe Fourth Dynasty R. R. WinterbothamThe Color Out of Space H. P. LovecraftThe Head Hunters Ralph WilliamsThe Star Dummy Anthony BoucherCatch That Martian Damon KnightShipshape Home Richard MathesonHomo Sol Isaac AsimovAlexander the Bait William TennKaleidoscope Ray Bradbury"Nothing Happens on the Moon" Paul ErnstTrigger Tide Wyman GuinPlague Murray LeinsterWinner Lose All Jack VanceTest Piece Eric Frank RussellEnvironment Chester S. GeierHigh Threshold Alan E. NourseSpectator Sport John D. MacDonaldRecruiting Station A. E. von VogtA Stone and a Spear Raymond F. JonesWhat you Need Lewis PadgettThe Choice W. Hilton-YoungThe War Against the Moon Andre' MauroisPleasant Dreams Ralph RobinManners of the age H. B. FyfeThe Weapon Frederick BrownThe Scarlet Plague Jack LondonHeritage Robert AbernathyHistory Lesson Arthur C. ClarkeInstinct Lest del ReyCounter Charm Peter Phillips

    

    Gault ]The Reluctant Heroes • (1951) • novelette by Frank M. RobinsonSusceptibility • (1951) • short story by John D. MacDonaldSecond Childhood • (1951) • short story by Clifford D. SimakThe Other Now • (1951) • short story by Murray LeinsterGood Night, Mr. James • (1951) • novelette by Clifford D. SimakInside Earth • (1951) • novelette by Poul AndersonI, the Unspeakable • (1951) • novelette by Walt SheldonField Study • (1951) • short story by Peter Phillips (1920-)Hostess • (1951) • novelette by Isaac AsimovAsk Me Anything • (1951) • novelette by Damon KnightMan of Destiny • (1951) • short story by John ChristopherDon't Live in the Past • (1951) • novelette by Damon KnightVenus Is a Man's World • (1951) • novelette by William TennCommon Denominator • (1951) • short story by John D. MacDonaldSyndrome Johnny • (1951) • short story by Katherine MacLean [as by Charles Dye ]Beyond Bedlam • (1951) • novella by Wyman GuinThe Pilot and the Bushman • (1951) • novelette by Sylvia JacobsA Little Journey • (1951) • short story by Ray BradburyIf You Was a Moklin • (1951) • novelette by Murray LeinsterCabin Boy • (1951) • novelette by Damon KnightThe Biography Project • (1951) • short story by H. L. Gold [as by Dudley Dell ]Judas Ram • (1950) • short story by Sam Merwin, Jr.Betelgeuse Bridge • (1951) • short story by William TennDark Interlude • (1951) • short story by Fredric Brown and Mack Reynolds The Stars Are the Styx • (1950) • novelette by Theodore SturgeonThird from the Sun • (1950) • short story by Richard MathesonThe Last Martian • (1950) • short story by Fredric BrownHoneymoon in Hell • (1950) • novelette by Fredric BrownComing Attraction • (1950) • short story by Fritz LeiberJaywalker • (1950) • short story by Ross RocklynneThe Waker Dreams • (1950) • short story by Richard MathesonRule of Three • (1951) • novelette by Theodore SturgeonMade to Measure • (1951) • novelette by William Campbell Gault [as by William C. Gault ]The Reluctant Heroes • (1951) • novelette by Frank M. RobinsonSusceptibility • (1951) • short story by John D. MacDonaldSecond Childhood • (1951) • short story by Clifford D. SimakThe Other Now • (1951) • short story by Murray LeinsterGood Night, Mr. James • (1951) • novelette by Clifford D. SimakInside Earth • (1951) • novelette by Poul AndersonI, the Unspeakable • (1951) • novelette by Walt SheldonField Study • (1951) • short story by Peter Phillips (1920-)Hostess • (1951) • novelette by Isaac AsimovAsk Me Anything • (1951) • novelette by Damon KnightMan of Destiny • (1951) • short story by John ChristopherDon't Live in the Past • (1951) • novelette by Damon KnightVenus Is a Man's World • (1951) • novelette by William TennCommon Denominator • (1951) • short story by John D. MacDonaldSyndrome Johnny • (1951) • short story by Katherine MacLean [as by Charles Dye ]Beyond Bedlam • (1951) • novella by Wyman GuinThe Pilot and the Bushman • (1951) • novelette by Sylvia JacobsA Little Journey • (1951) • short story by Ray BradburyIf You Was a Moklin • (1951) • novelette by Murray LeinsterCabin Boy • (1951) • novelette by Damon KnightThe Biography Project • (1951) • short story by H. L. Gold [as by Dudley Dell ]Judas Ram • (1950) • short story by Sam Merwin, Jr.Betelgeuse Bridge • (1951) • short story by William TennDark Interlude • (1951) • short story by Fredric Brown and Mack Reynolds

    

    

    Here also are examples of Crane's newspaper reporting, such as the raw materials of his fiction as his accounts of the Battle of San Juan and the wreck of the S.S. Commodore. All of Stephen Crane's finest fiction except The Red Badge of Courage is contained in this book.

    Some are macabre, others have a lighter and more amusing touch, but every story stimulates the imagination and reveals the acknowledged master of the short story at his very best.SMETHERS is a travelling salesman for Numnumo, who make a relish for meats and savouries. He shares a flat with an Oxford graduate called Linley, who fancies himself as a detective and to whom Scotland Yard is inclined to turn if they encounter a particularly challenging mystery. When a pretty young girl disappears and her lodger is suspected of murdering her, two bottles of Numnumo relish are the only clues, and Smethers is sent to gather more information . . .Amongst the hundreds of fantasy stories for which the Irish dramatist, poet and writer Lord Dunsany became deservedly famous there was one solitary little book of detective stories. Selected by Ellery Queen as an ‘unequivocal keystone’ in the history of crime writing, this quirky collection is a mixture of the masterful and the macabre, a book that lovers of detective stories and tales of the unexpected will want to savour.

    It was first published in 1952 by Simon & Schuster, and largely overlaps her first short story collection, Face to Face. (wikipedia)