Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales


Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales is an anthology of science fiction short stories and poems edited by Isaac Asimov and Groff Conklin. It was first published in paperback by Collier Books in 1963 and reprinted in 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, and 1978; a later reprint was issued by Scribner Paperback Fiction in August 1997. The book has been translated into Italian.
The book collects fifty short stories and two poems by various science fiction authors, together with two introductions, one by each editor. The pieces were previously published from 1941 to 1962 in various magazines, not only of science fiction.

Contents

  • "Introduction No. 1"
  • "Introduction No. 2"
  • ""
  • "The Fun They Had"
  • "Men Are Different"
  • "The Ambassadors"
  • "The Weapon"
  • "Random Sample"
  • "Oscar"
  • "The Mist"
  • "Teething Ring"
  • "The Haunted Space Suit"
  • "Stair Trick"
  • "Unwelcome Tenant"
  • "The Mathematicians"
  • "The Third Level"
  • "Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful!"
  • "The Figure"
  • "The Rag Thing"
  • "The Good Provider"
  • "Columbus Was a Dope"
  • "Texas Week"
  • "Hilda"
  • "The Choice"
  • "Not With a Bang"
  • "The Altar at Midnight"
  • "A Bad Day for Sales"
  • "Who's Cribbing?"
  • "Spectator Sport"
  • "The Cricket "
  • "Double-Take"
  • "Prolog"
  • "The Available Data on the Worp Reaction"
  • "Narapoia"
  • "Tiger by the Tail"
  • "Counter Charm"
  • "The Fly"
  • "The Business, As Usual"
  • "Two Weeks in August"
  • "See?"
  • "Appointment at Noon"
  • "We Don't Want Any Trouble"
  • "Built Down Logically"
  • "An Egg a Month from All Over"
  • "The Perfect Woman"
  • "The Hunters"
  • "The Martian and the Magician"
  • "Barney"
  • "Talent"
  • "Project Hush"
  • "The Great Judge"
  • "Emergency Landing"
  • "Obviously Suicide"
  • "Six Haiku"