Frederik Pohl

One of science fiction's undisputed grandmasters, Frederik Pohl built an astonishing career that spanned more than seven decades. In publishing novels, short stories, and essays, Pohl won millions of readers and seemingly as many awards while leaving a lasting mark on the genre. Michael R. Page traces Pohl's extraordinary journey from discovering books as a boy at the Brooklyn Public Library to publishing the novel All the Lives He Led at age 91. A first-of-its-kind study, Frederik Pohl delves into the iconic works of fiction like The Space Merchants , Jem , and the tales of the Gateway universe, as well as Pohl's creative alliances with the likes of Kornbluth, Clarke, and Asimov. But Page also examines Pohl's as-essential contributions in other areas. He represented many of the major SF writers as a literary agent in the 1940s and 1950s. He helped professionalize the field by midwifing SF publishing at Ballantine and Ace Books. Finally, while working at Galaxy and If , he aided countless careers as, in Gardner Dozois' words, "quite probably the best SF magazine editor who ever lived."