James Tiptree, Jr., is the major pseudonym of Alice B. Sheldon although she also writes under the name Raccoona Sheldon. Sheldon/Tiptree was born in Chicago in 1915 to Mary Hastings Bradley, author, journalist, and writer of travel books. She lived in Africa and India as a child, and spent much of her life in government service, including the U.S. Army and a period in what she describes as a "Pentagon sub-basement." She holds a Ph.D. in experimental psychology (1967) and was involved in psychological research for many years. She revealed her actual identity in 1977. Tiptree is considered one of the most important new writers of the 1970s. Her work is primarily social science fiction, drawing on her extensive knowledge of psychology, anthropology, and related areas.

Ten Thousand Light-Years From Home (1973) was Tiptree's first collection and represents much of her early work from 1968-1972. It includes her first...