Gates to Tomorrow

- An Introduction to Sci-Fi

~ A Collection of Short Stories by Various Authors

Selected & Edited by Andre Norton & Ernestine Donaldy

gates.to.tomorrow

 

Contains ~

  • Introduction by Andre Norton & Ernestine Donaldy
  • Shape ["Keep Your Shape"] (nv) by Robert Sheckley, Galaxy Nov. (1953)
  • Rust (ss) by Joseph E. Kelleam, Astounding Oct. (1939)
  • Command (nv) by Bernard I. Kahn, Astounding Jan. (1947)
  • The Naming of Names (ss) by Ray Bradbury, Thrilling Wonder Stories Aug. (1949)
  • The Plague (nv) by Keith Laumer, Analog Nov. (1970)
  • A Pail of Air (ss) by Fritz Leiber, Galaxy Dec. (1951)
  • Living Fossil (ss) by L. Sprague de Camp, Astounding Feb. (1939)
  • The Flame Midget (ss) by Frank Belknap Long, Astounding Dec. (1936)
  • Expedition Polychrome (nv) by Joseph A. Winter M.D., Astounding Jan. (1949)
  • Untouched by Human Hands ["One Man's Poison"] (ss) by Robert Sheckley, Galaxy Dec. (1953)
  • Ultimatum ["Mightiest Qorn"] (nv) by Keith Laumer, If Jul. (1963)
  • The Sheriff of Canyon Gulch ["Heroes Are Made"] (ss) by Gordon R. Dickson & Poul Anderson, Other Worlds May (1951)

 

Synopsis ~

Write-up from the front flap of the dust jacket ~

In this highly selective collection of twelve stories by masters of their craft, the editors present a splendid introduction to the burgeoning field of science fiction. Stories in this field all ask and then offer speculative answers to the question: "What If...?" From these speculations, inventions and discoveries that are now a part of our daily life have been born, though once they were considered impossible dreams.

Here are the robot, the mutant, the off-world pioneer, the spaceship in distress, future medical discoveries, telepathy, and galactic diplomacy, among other themes, around which recognized leaders in the field, including Rasy Bradbury, Joseph E. Kelleam, Fritz Leiber, Frank Belkap Long, Robert Sheckley, J.A. Winter, and others have spun their immensely inventive, seeming fantastic, always fascinating tales.

Andre Norton, a leading science fiction writer, and Ernestine Donaldy, head of a hogh school English department have chosen these widely varied stories for their appeal to young readers who are beginning to explore science fiction. Not only will the book open possible gates to tomorrow, but the doors of the readers' own imaginations as well.

 

Reviews ~

Kirkus Reviews ~ Issue: April 1st, 1973
The introduction occupies barely more than two pages; otherwise, this is just another anthology -- containing twelve stories united by their open-faced messages and generally unproblematical styles. The quality, however, is anything but consistent, ranging downward from Bradbury's "Naming of Names," the obvious star here, through Sheckley's clever metamorphoses in "Shape," Laumer's bluffing contest "Ultimatum," and Anderson and Dickson's "Sheriff of Canyon Gulch," in which extra-terrestial teddy bears and reptiles fight it out in a style copied straight from our cowboy and Indian movies. At the lower end of the scale, however, Laumer's honest freeholder fends off a "Plague" of stupid, grasping welfare recipients determined to settle on his land, Kahn's "Command" is a thoroughly obvious treatment of the problem of a psychotic aboard a spaceship, and Frank Belknap Long's nightmare of a "Flame Midget" is as tired as its 1936 copyright date suggests. Donaldy's tenth grade high school English class supposedly tested and approved the selections, but it's a good bet that even younger classes will want a more exotic mixture. 

 

Various reviews ~ For more info and other listings see Articles Over the Years

1973 by E. Haynes in Library Journal, July
1973 in Booklist, September 15
1974 by Theodore Sturgeon in New York Times Book Review, February 02
1974 by Theodore Sturgeon in Galaxy, March, reprinted in: (UK) Galaxy Science Fiction
1974 by L. Bloom in Luna Monthly #53 (fnz), August

 

Dedications and Acknowledgements ~

With gratitude, the co-editors of this volume wish to acknowledge their dept to:
MRS. HELEN HUZAREWICK who suggested that such a book would be most helpful for use in junior and senior high school classes wishing to study science fiction.
And MISS HAZEL HALEY head of the English Department, Lakeland Senior High School, Lakeland, Florida, who allowed these stories to be class tested during the period of selection.
And THE MEMBERS OF MRS. ERNESTINE DONALDY'S FIVE ENGLISH II (10th Grade) CLASSES at Lakeland Senior High School, during the spring term of 1972, who gave more illuminating and vigorous criticism and approval to these final choices.

 

Bibliography of English Editions ~

  • (1973) Published by Atheneum, HC, 0-689-30321-1, 978-0-689-30321-0, LCCN 72085921, $6.50, 264pg ~ cover by Jack Gaughan {Orange Cloth Boards, Blue End Papers, Library Edition – Light Blue Boards with Pictorial Front}

 

Non-English Editions ~

  • (1978) Published in Malmo, Sweden: by Tryckt hos Beyronds AB, 91-29-5217-X ~ translation by Sven Christer Swahn ~ cover by Annette Rydstrom-Vollrathson ~ Swedish title En Dorr Mot Det Okanda [A Door into the Unknown]
  • (1997) Published in Copenhagen, Denmark; by Gyldendal (Gyldendals ungdoms science fiction), OCLC: 61054425 ~ translated by Franz Berliner ~ Danish title Historier fra en anden verden [Stories from another world] 

View the Original contract

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://andre-norton.com/works-of-a-master/edits-of-a-master/464-gates-to-tomorrow#sigProIda3d18c60b3

 

 

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