Alexei Panshin's The Abyss of Wonder

 
 
 
 
 


 
 

Contents


INTRODUCTION, by James Blish
I. PRELIMINARIES
1. The Question    2. Robert Heinlein    3. Heinlein's Career
II. THE PERIOD OF INFLUENCE
1. Heinlein's First Period    2. 1940     3. 1941    4. 1942
III. THE PERIOD OF SUCCESS
1. Heinlein's Second Period    2. 1947    3. 1948    4. 1949    5. 1950   
6. 1951    7. 1952    8. 1953    9. 1954    10. 1955    11. 1956    12. 1957    13. 1958
IV. THE PERIOD OF ALIENATION
1. Heinlein's Third Period    2. 1959    3. 1960-1961    4. 1962-1964    5. 1965-1967
V. CONSTRUCTION
1. Story Elements    2. Context    3. People     4. Problems    5. Structure      6. Attitude
VI. EXECUTION
1. Stories on Paper    2. Style    3. Sexual Relationships    4. Plot    5. Some Examples
VII. CONTENT
1. Speculation     2. Liberty    3. The Heinlein Individual    4. Unreality    5. Import
VIII. HEINLEIN'S NON-FICTION
IX. THE FUTURE OF HEINLEIN
APPENDIX
1. Bibliography of Critical Works on the Field of Science Fiction
2. Chronological Bibliography of Science Fiction by Robert Heinlein
3. Chronological Bibliography of Non-Fiction by Robert Heinlein
INDEX

 
 
For

and

 Erwin Bettinghaus
Damon Knight
Joe Hensley
Acknowledgments

Far too many people have given me help in the course of researching and writing this book for me to thank all of them individually.  However, I would like to thank Robert Briney, Howard DeVore, Frank Dietz, Al Halevy, and Ed Wood for lending me materials; Anthony Boucher, L. Sprague de Camp and Jack Williamson for being kind enough to make suggestions; and in particular to thank George Price who lent material, made suggestions and offered welcome sympathy.  Because of the help that these and other people gave me, this book is better and more accurate than it might otherwise have been.  Any mistakes herein, however, are my own.
 
 

Portions of Chapters II, IV, V, VI, and VII appeared in Riverside Quarterly, copyright 1965 by Arthur Jean Cox, copyright 1966, 1967 by Leland Sapiro.  Portions of Chapters III and VIII appeared in Speculation, copyright 1966 by Peter R. Weston.  A portion of Chapter IV appeared in Nyarlathotep, copyright 1967 by Benjamin Solon.
 

Copyright © 1968, by Alexei Panshin

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Originally published by Advent:Publishers, Inc., Chicago, IL.
First Edition, April 1968
Cover illustration by Alex Eisenstein

The print edition is still available from Advent:Publishers at PO Box A3228, Chicago, IL 60690 or (autographed) from me.  $17 for a hardcover copy, $10 for a paperback.  I charge for shipping and handling, Advent doesn't.
 
 

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