The Best of Murray Leinster

The Best of Murray Leinster is the title of two collections of science fiction short stories by American author Murray Leinster. The first, a British edition edited by Brian Davis, was first published in paperback by Corgi in December 1976. The second, an American edition edited by J. J. Pierce, was first published in paperback by Del Rey/Ballantine in April 1978 as a volume in its Classic Library of Science Fiction. The American edition has since been translated into German and Italian.

Summary

The British edition contains ten short works of fiction by the author, together with an introduction by editor Brian Davis. The American edition contains thirteen short works of fiction by the author, together with an introduction by editor J. J. Pierce. The selection of stories varies between the two versions, with only three common to both.

Contents (British edition)

"Introduction"
"Time to Die"
"The Ethical Equations"
"Symbiosis"
"Interference"
"De Profundis"
"Pipeline to Pluto"
"Sam, This Is You"
"The Devil of East Lupton"
"Scrimshaw"
"If You Was a Moklin"

Contents (American edition)

"The Dean of Science Fiction"
"Sidewise in Time"
"Proxima Centauri"
"The Fourth-Dimensional Demonstrator"
"First Contact"
"The Ethical Equations"
"Pipeline to Pluto"
"The Power"
"A Logic Named Joe"
"Symbiosis"
"The Strange Case of John Kingman"
"The Lonely Planet"
"Keyhole"
"Critical Difference"

Reception

The British edition was reviewed by Philip Stephensen-Payne in Paperback Parlour, February 1977, Brian Stableford in Vector Review Supplement 1, 1977, and Richard Lupoff in Starship, Fall 1979. The American edition was also reviewed by Richard Lupoff in Starship, Fall 1979.

Awards

"First Contact" won the 1946 Retro Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 1996, and "The Ethical Equations" was nominated for the Retro Hugo Award for Best Short Story for the same year, both in 1996.