Frederick Pohl, an author whom Robert W. Wilcox, in the St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers, has hailed as "a star among stars," is one of the world's most prolific and widely read science fiction writers. Pohl has worn many hats during his sixty-year career, including editor, literary agent, fan, and enthusiastic promoter of science fiction. He was a founding member of the first chapter of the Science Fiction League, and through his involvement he became associated with many of the authors who dominate modern science fiction writing. "Like all the other great men in Science Fiction," wrote Algis Budrys in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, "Frederick Pohl is idiosyncratic, essentially self-made and brilliant. Unlike many of the others, he has an extremely broad range of interests and education."

Pohl's myriad interests include all kinds of writing, as well as politics, science, and music. Ironically...