Vintage Treasures: World’s Best Science Fiction First Series edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr
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World’s Best Science Fiction First Series (Ace Books, 1970). Cover by Jack Gaughan
If you want to understand science fiction, it’s not a bad idea to start by reading Year’s Best volumes. And if you’re going to do that, it’s not a bad idea to start with the World’s Best Science Fiction, edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr, an annual series that began in 1965 and lasted for an amazing 26 volumes. The last of which, The 1990 Annual World’s Best SF, appeared four months before Wollheim’s death at the age of 76.
The series survived both editorial changes and a switch in publishers (from Ace to DAW, in 1972), and was one of the only Year’s Best series to receive multiple paperback reprints. In fact, for collectors like me, its publication history is all rather confounding. Follow along while I try and figure it all out.
[Click images for the Year’s Best sizes.]
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World’s Best Science Fiction 1965 and 1966 (Ace Books, 1965/66). Covers: uncredited, and Cosimo Scianna
Let’s start with the basics.
Donald Wollheim and Terry Carr started the series as World Best Science Fiction in 1965, a line of paperback originals for Ace Books, and edited a total of seven volumes together.
1 World’s Best Science Fiction: 1965 by Terry Carr and Donald A. Wollheim
2 World’s Best Science Fiction: 1966 by Terry Carr and Donald A. Wollheim
3 World’s Best Science Fiction: 1967 by Terry Carr and Donald A. Wollheim
4 World’s Best Science Fiction: 1968 by Terry Carr and Donald A. Wollheim
5 World’s Best Science Fiction: 1969 by Terry Carr and Donald A. Wollheim
6 World’s Best Science Fiction: 1970 by Terry Carr and Donald A. Wollheim
7 World’s Best Science Fiction: 1971 by Terry Carr and Donald A. Wollheim
In 1971 Donald Wollheim left Ace and founded DAW Books, and took World’s Best Science Fiction with him. Terry Carr split off at this point as well, starting his own series, The Best Science Fiction of the Year. The first volume appeared from Ballantine Books in 1972; it lasted for 16 volumes, until Carr’s death in 1987.
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The other three volumes of the World’s Best Science Fiction reprint series, which
repackaged the 1965-68 volumes with new covers by Jack Gaughan, all released in 1970
Now stay with me, because it gets a little confusing from here.
In 1967 Jack Gaughan became the cover artist for the series; he was replaced two years later with John Schoenherr. In 1970 Wollheim repackaged the first four volumes of World Best Science Fiction, 1965-1968, bringing them back into print with new titles and new covers by Jack Gaughan (see above) so that they’d more closely resemble the current editions.
World’s Best Science Fiction First Series (1965), edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr (1970)
World’s Best Science Fiction Second Series (1966), edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr (1970)
World’s Best Science Fiction Third Series (1967), edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr (1970)
World’s Best Science Fiction Fourth Series (1968), edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr (1970)
To help keep things super confusing, Wollheim re-used Gaughan’s cover for World’s Best Science Fiction 1967 for the reprint edition of World’s Best Science Fiction 1966 (now retitled World’s Best Science Fiction: Second Series), because that’s just the way we did things in the 70s.
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The 1967-1972 volumes, published by Ace and DAW. Covers by Jack Gaughan
(67/68), John Schoenherr (69/70), Davis Meltzer (71), and John Schoenherr (72)
Wollheim didn’t abandon the idea of reprints just because he’d changed publishers.
In 1977 Wollheim again repackaged his earlier World’s Best volumes, starting with The 1972 Annual World’s Best SF, his first DAW title. He released one reprint per year for the next nine years, again with new titles and new cover art, and this time putting his name in lights.
Wollheim’s World’s Best SF: Series One (1977)
Wollheim’s World’s Best SF: Series Two (1978)
Wollheim’s World’s Best SF: Series Three (1979)
Wollheim’s World’s Best SF: Series Four (1980)
Wollheim’s World’s Best SF: Series Five (1981)
Wollheim’s World’s Best SF: Series Six (1982)
Wollheim’s World’s Best SF: Series Seven (1983)
Wollheim’s World’s Best SF: Series Eight (1984)
Wollheim’s World’s Best SF: Series Nine (1985)
Wollheim’s co-editor for the DAW volumes, starting with The 1972 Annual World’s Best SF, was Arthur Saha, though Saha never received cover credit.
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All nine volumes of Wollheim’s World’s Best Science Fiction reprint series
(DAW Books, 1977-1985). Covers by John Berkey (1), Larry Ortiz (2), Segrelles
(3/4/9), Oliviero Berni (5/8), Bernal (6), and Graham Wildridge (7)
If you’re keeping track, that makes 39 paperback editions of the 26 volumes of the World’s Best Science Fiction volumes. There were also German editions of the first seven volumes published in magazine format (as Science-Fiction-Stories) by Ullstein, and paperback editions of later volumes from Bastei Lübbe.
Here’s the publication record for the nineteen volumes published by DAW.
8 The 1972 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1972)
9 The 1973 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1973)
10 The 1974 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1974)
11 The 1975 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1975)
12 The 1976 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1976)
13 The 1977 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1977)
14 The 1978 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1978)
15 The 1979 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1979)
16 The 1980 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1980)
17 The 1981 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1981)
18 The 1982 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1982)
19 The 1983 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1983)
20 The 1984 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1984)
21 The 1985 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1985)
22 The 1986 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1986)
23 The 1987 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1987)
24 The 1988 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1988)
25 The 1989 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1989)
26 The 1990 Annual World’s Best SF by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim (1990)
Arthur Saha made most of the selections, and Wollheim wrote the story introductions, a division of labor which in later years led to the occasional grumbles from Wollheim, such as his infamous swipe at Pat Cadigan’s “Pretty Boy Crossover” (in The 1987 World’s Best SF) for being part of something called ‘cyberpunk,’ which “has something to do with computers.”
Wollheim’s introduction to Pat Cadigan’s “Pretty Boy Crossover”
Why did Wollheim insists on titling his volumes World’s Best SF, despite their heavy American focus?
I think it’s because, at least at the start, he made an effort to include European science fiction. Including, in the first volume, “Vampires Ltd.” by Josef Nesvadba (translated from the Czech) and “What Happened to Sergeant Masuro? by Harry Mulisch (originally published in Dutch in 1957).
I’ve started digging into this legendary series of volumes, beginning with the first, which contains a Change War story by Fritz Leiber, a Federation of Humanity tale by Christopher Anvil, Philip K. Dick’s classic tale “Oh, to Be a Blobel!”, plus stories by John Brunner, Thomas M. Disch, Tom Purdom, William F. Temple, C. C. MacApp, Robert Lory, Ben Bova and Myron R. Lewis, and many others.
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Some of the magazine sources for stories in World’s Best Science Fiction: 1965
Here’s the complete Table of Contents of World’s Best Science Fiction: 1965 (also known as World’s Best Science Fiction First Series).
Introduction by Terry Carr and Donald A. Wollheim
“Greenplace” by Tom Purdom (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1964)
“Men of Good Will” by Ben Bova and Myron R. Lewis (Galaxy Magazine, June 1964)
“Bill for Delivery” by Christopher Anvil (Analog Science Fact/Science Fiction, November 1964)
“Four Brands of Impossible” by Norman Kagan (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1964)
“A Niche in Time” by William F. Temple (Analog Science Fact/Science Fiction, May 1964)
“Sea Wrack” by Edward Jesby (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1964)
“For Every Action” by C. C. MacApp (Amazing Stories, May 1964)
“Vampires Ltd.” by Josef Nesvadba (Vampires Ltd., 1964)
“The Last Lonely Man” by John Brunner (New Worlds SF, May-June 1964)
“The Star Party” by Robert Lory (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1964)
“The Weather in the Underworld” by Colin Free (Squire, June 1965)
“Oh, to Be a Blobel!” by Philip K. Dick (Galaxy Magazine, February 1964)
“The Unremembered” by Edward Mackin (New Worlds Science Fiction, March 1964)
“What Happened to Sergeant Masuro?” by Harry Mulisch (De versierde mens, 1957)
“Now Is Forever” by Thomas M. Disch (Amazing Stories, March 1964)
“The Competitors” by Jack B. Lawson (If, January 1964)
“When the Change-Winds Blow” by Fritz Leiber (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 1964)
Interestingly, this volume doesn’t contain any of the stories that made the Hugo ballot in 1965. There were only three:
“Soldier, Ask Not,” Gordon R. Dickson
“Once a Cop,” Rick Raphael
“Little Dog Gone,” Robert F. Young
Nebula Awards were not give out until the following year, 1966.
The final volume: The 1990 Annual World’s Best SF (DAW, July 1990). Cover by Jim Burns
World’s Best Science Fiction: 1965 was originally published in 1965, and republished as World’s Best Science Fiction First Series in 1970. The latter version is 288 pages, priced at $0.95. The original cover was uncredited; the reprint was by Jack Gaughan. It has been out of print for 54 years, and there is no digital edition.
Our previous coverage of books in the World’s Best SF series includes:
The 1975 World’s Best SF, edited by Donald A. Wollheim (2018)
The 1987 Annual World’s Best SF, edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha (2023)
The 1989 Annual World’s Best SF, edited by Donald A. Wollheim with Arthur W. Saha (2021)
And our coverage of Donald A. Wollheim includes:
Donald A. Wollheim and the Death of the Future (2023)
Swordsmen in the Sky, edited by Donald A. Wollheim (2021)
The Macabre Reader, edited by Donald A. Wollheim (2020)
Would You Spend $44 on a Collection of 30 Vintage DAW Paperbacks? (2021)
The Golden Age of Science Fiction: Donald A. Wollheim by Steven H Silver (2019)
Birthday Reviews: Donald A. Wollheim’s “Blueprint” by Steven H Silver (2018)
Rich Horton on The Earth in Peril, edited by Donald A. Wollheim (2017)
The Editor As Author: Donald A. Wollheim’s The Secret of the Ninth Planet by Violette Malan (2014)
The Ultimate Invader edited by Donald Wollheim (2014)
Tales of Outer Space, edited by Donald A. Wollheim (2013)
Kirkus Looks at Donald A. Wollheim and the Ace Double (2013)
See all our recent Vintage Treasures here.
The 1966 and 1968 World’s Best are two of the first sf books I ever bought, at the thrift store/used book store that was around the corner from my middle school. The lunches I was supposed to buy with the money would be long forgotten by now, but the books are still terrific, especially the 1968 volume. The table of contents will knock your eyes out; Wilson, Delaney, Kapp, Lafferty, Asimov, Silverberg, Disch, Zelazny, Offutt, Ellison, Goulart, Roberts, Niven, Aldiss, Compton – it’s like the science fiction equivalent of the 1927 Yankees.
No wonder I didn’t eat lunch for two years.
Thomas,
Now you’ve got me curious. I can’t remember which Wollheim volume I read first! I think it must be one of the mid-70s one, probably purchased at a used bookstore in Ottawa. I’ll have to review to TOCs and see which ones jog my memory!
Of course I had a couple or three bookcase shelves full of some of these volumes, and loved them all, but I do not remember even seeing those volumes with Wollheim’s name at the top! How did I miss them? I was buying and reading everything I could. Nevertheless, a great overview of these terrific collections, John.
The first one I saw — borrowed from a library our maybe bought used — was the 1966 volume. I mainly remember that for Vernor Vinge’s first story, “Apartness”. But it does have some great stuff.
From the 1965 volume, I think the stories by Disch and Dick (I’d forgotten “Blobel” was so late) are significant, and the stories by Purdom, Kagan, and Jesby are little known these days, and deserve more notice.
My eyebrows rose at the mention of Bova/Lewis’ “Men of Good Will”, a one joke story that really doesn’t belong in a Year’s Best. (And the joke has been repeated in other stories.)
The 1966 volume does indeed have some good stuff, including Ellison’s “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman,” “Becalmed in Hell” by Larry Niven, Simak’s “Over the River and Through the Woods,” and a Berserker story I remember liking, “Masque of the Red Shift” by Fred Saberhagen.
The 1966 volume may be when this series really began to shine, although the 1967 volume was even better, with “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,” “Light of Other Days,” “The Keys to December,” “Behold the Man,” “Bumberboom,” “Day Million,””For a Breath I Tarry,” and — the highlight, at least for me! — “Nine Hundred Grandmothers ,” by the brilliant R. A. Lafferty.
Indeed — what a great TOC that was in 1967. I think it was Dave Hook who suggested that “Bircher”, by A. A. Walde, is pretty good too (though I don’t remember it at all.)