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Library of America 1950s Series
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Rhondak101
Posted 2012-07-18 10:10 AM (#3785)
Subject: Library of America 1950s Series



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 This series looks good.
 
http://www.loa.org/sciencefiction

 Be sure to check out the TIMELINE link. Very interesting. I've only made it through 1950 and 51.

 

 

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dustydigger
Posted 2012-07-18 3:52 PM (#3795 - in reply to #3785)
Subject: Re: Library of America 1950s Series



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Location: UK		It does Rhonda.I went on the site and saw that buying from them,the set of 9 1950s science fiction coasts $60.I am not up on US prices,so I am not sure if thats good or bad.What I do know is that many of these are just not available through my library.Here is the list of nine classic fifties books;
✔ Pohl & Kornbluth - The Space Merchants
✔Theodore Sturgeon - More Than Human
Leigh Brackett - The Long Tomorrow
✔Alfred Bester - The Stars my Destination
James Blish - A Case of Conscience
Algis Budrys - Who?
Robert A Heinlein - Double Star
Fritz Leiber - The Big Time
✔Richard Matheson - The Shrinking Man
Only one of these books,the Fritz Leiber,is in stock,so I am sighing longingly over this set.

I enjoyed the mini reviews on the site too.Good stuff!
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Rhondak101
Posted 2012-07-18 4:14 PM (#3796 - in reply to #3785)
Subject: Re: Library of America 1950s Series



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Location: SC, USA		Dusty,
According to the currency converter on my phone, that's 38.34 pounds.
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Scott Laz
Posted 2012-07-18 6:40 PM (#3797 - in reply to #3785)
Subject: Re: Library of America 1950s Series



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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		I've been collecting Library of America books since the early '80s (one of my main reading sources during the years I was away from SF!), and have over 200 volumes. Even been culling my book collection and getting most of my new books electronically to save shelf space, I continue to collect the Library of America. They're absolutely worth the price, considering what goes into their production. The binding, paper, etc. are all top-notch and extremely durable, and it's a very compact format (most volumes are in the 700 to 1000 page range, which is why they can put five '50s SF novels in one volume). The ones I bought thirty years ago look just as new as the ones I got last month. The editing is also excellent, with great care taken to use the best possible text sources, and near-perfect proofreading (which seems to be more and more rare these days), along with useful endnotes. I also like to keep supporting them financially, as they are a non-profit with the goal of keeping the best of American literature in print permanently. For SF/fantasy fans, also available are three Philip K. Dick volumes (more than a dozen novels), the two-volume American Fantastic Tales horror/fantasy anthology, edited by Peter Straub, two volumes of Vonnegut (all the novels up through Breakfast of Champions), and a Shirley Jackson omnibus. The move into genre fiction was a little controversial at first, so it's nice to see that it continues... (Sorry if I sound like a commercial, but I do love these books!)
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dustydigger
Posted 2012-07-19 2:20 AM (#3802 - in reply to #3785)
Subject: Re: Library of America 1950s Series



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Location: UK		Thank you for your interesting info,Scott.I didnt know about the LoA background,that it was non profit making.
Good book production has almost disappeared now.I lost all my books in Uganda,and had to slowly rebuild my shelves.Some of the secondhand books I got from before about the late 50s are in excellent condition,but the paperbacks from recent decades are now in appalling condition.They look like I was puffing away at dozens of cigarettes while reading! It seems that some chemical that they put in the mix while making the paper soon degrades,turning the pages a disgusting yellow,and they become brittle.All my dear old Dick Francis books are in that state,and my tatty old copy of A Princess of Mars,hardly brilliant condition when new,is now pretty horrible!
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Emil
Posted 2012-07-19 2:48 AM (#3804 - in reply to #3802)
Subject: Re: Library of America 1950s Series



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Location: Grootfontein, Namibia		On my wishlist to get the 50's boxset when released in Sept 2012. Oh dear, the bank manager will complain.
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Scott Laz
Posted 2012-07-19 3:16 PM (#3816 - in reply to #3785)
Subject: Re: Library of America 1950s Series



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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		Getting it shipped out of the country might break the bank, but Amazon (U.S.) has the set for $45.

@dusty: The state of old paperbacks is sad because the paper they used contains an acid that causes the paper to yellow and deteriorate over time. I think there are storage methods that can be used to slow the process, but that also adds to the expense. Old pulps have the same problem. There are groups out there dedicated to scanning them in order to preserve them digitally before they fade away completely... (I just replaced my fading copy of Princess of Mars with a new one on acid-free paper!)

I also forgot to mention that LoA also has a Lovecraft volume, along with the ERB facsimile additions (Tarzan of the Apes and Princess of Mars).
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Scott Laz
Posted 2012-07-19 3:17 PM (#3817 - in reply to #3785)
Subject: Re: Library of America 1950s Series



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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		deleted

Edited by Scott Laz 2012-07-19 3:27 PM
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Scott Laz
Posted 2012-07-19 3:24 PM (#3818 - in reply to #3785)
Subject: Re: Library of America 1950s Series



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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		delete

Edited by Scott Laz 2012-07-19 3:27 PM
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Engelbrecht
Posted 2012-07-20 5:45 AM (#3826 - in reply to #3785)
Subject: RE: Library of America 1950s Series



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@Rhonda:  Thanks for the link - that timeline is great!  The essays are nice too - I always enjoy reading Wolfe.

@Scott:  I'm jealous!  I remember hearing Peter Straub complaining a little bit on Coode Street about how intrusive and arbitrary LoA's editorial board was when he was working on American Fantastic Tales.  What are some of your LoA favorites?

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Scott Laz
Posted 2012-07-20 1:12 PM (#3832 - in reply to #3785)
Subject: Re: Library of America 1950s Series



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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		@engelbrecht: And I'm jealous of the weekend in the Sierras.

LoA started out sticking mostly to pre-1900 writings, so it probably wasn't too hard for their board to agree on what should be in the canon. Once the more obvious suspects were in, it got a bit more controversial in determining what should be included from the 20th century, especially for something like Fantastic Tales, which includes stories up to the present day, removing the benefit of hindsight. It was considered a big deal when they first moved into genre fiction with the Crime Novels set (which seems to be the model for the new SF set), along with the Chandler and Hammett (and now Goodis) volumes, and even more eyebrows were raised when they published PKD (having Jonathan Lethem edit the volumes probably helped that process along), but the fact that some of these volumes have become their biggest sellers may have helped a little to break down the resistance... Curation and gatekeeping are bound to be divisive, but overall I think they've been pretty reasonable in maintaining standards while slowly opening up to a wider range of authors as time has passed. Also on Coode Street, Strahan was annoyed that they published Edgar Rice Burroughs outside the regular series, because he hasn't been approved for inclusion by the editorial board, but can we really be too surprised that Burroughs (much as I appreciate him) isn't yet, and may never be, considered to be a writer on a par with Melville? It's in the nature of such things that lines have to be drawn, leading inevitably to disagreements. (It's like arguing over what should be included, or not, in the sort of "best of" lists that bring a lot of us to this site.)

Personal favorites that come to mind are Mark Twain, Henry James, Francis Parkman, the crime fiction mentioned above, Willa Cather, Reporting Vietnam (an anthology of journalism from the period), A. Lincoln, Poe, Charles Brockden Brown, Edith Wharton, Melville... I'd better stop there!
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Emil
Posted 2012-07-21 1:24 AM (#3841 - in reply to #3832)
Subject: Re: Library of America 1950s Series



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Location: Grootfontein, Namibia		@Engelbrecht - What else is there but Wolfe. Cry Wolfe, the evil quest did

@Scott, thanks, I saw that over at Amazon and on the wishlist. I think it is stunning collection and I have ordered the Lovecraft collection, as well as some Dicks. I find some allure in the faded appearance of old paperbacks. The smell is particularly nostalgic. (I'm weird like that.)

I think overall the investment will be worth it, for its durability and importance. I hoping my son would enjoy reading them when he can.
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