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"50 Short Science Fiction Tales" is a collection of short-short stories, edited by Asimov, from a wide selection of good and great science fiction authors of the late forties and fifties. (1940s and 50s, in case this review survives that long). Each tale is approximately a thousand words (four to five pages), with minor exceptions, and meets the challenge of creating an alien world, establishing characters, and getting to the punch, all in the same amount of space most stories use to describe the weather. In our hectic world, these "bite-size" bits of sci-fi are a welcome diversion while waiting in line, or for your next appointment.
This was Isaac Asimov's second anthology, published in 1963, and followed his successful "The Hugo Winners" in ‘62. He was aided in his selection of tales by Groff Conklin, who became a personal friend of the good doctor, and was noted for his evaluation of the merits of science fiction as well as his science and technical writings. A chain smoker, he died in 1968.
The only problem with this clever little collection, from an Asimov's fan point of view, is the lack of Asimov. Other than the introduction, he is nowhere to be found. This still being in his developmental period, Asimov had not yet come of the habit of opening and/or closing each piece with his usual observations. In this case that is a bigger than normal loss as this collection has many authors that may have been forgotten over the span of fifty years. Also, while these were all written considerably before my time, some in publications no longer available, some of the stories seem very familiar. It would be interesting to know if they were dramatized on TV or the ideas for later films. Asimov recognized the importance of historical context, and in his later anthologies, he included extensive wordage in the form of introductions, forewords, and afterwords. That is why I look for his name on the cover, and I am sure many fans feel the same way.
A quick footnote: In his autobiography, "I. Asimov," Isaac said that he recognized the need for introductions after his first anthology, and "never again" did he let collections lie there without a single editorial word from him. Apparently, he forgot about "50 Short Science Fiction Tales."
Published in 1963 by Macmillian Publishing Company, it was reprinted by Scribner Paperback in 1997 and is generally available.
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