Robert Silverberg was born in New York City, attended high school in Brooklyn, and graduated with a B.A. in English literature from Columbia University in 1956. During his university years he began publishing actively in science fiction and received a Hugo Award in 1956 as the Most Promising Science Fiction Author of 1955. This prestigious award, which he received at a remarkably young age, attested to his stature among science-fiction authors and fans. He lived in New York City in a mansion which formerly belonged to Mayor Fiorello Henry La Guardia until the early 1970s, when he moved to his current residence in Oakland, California, with his wife Barbara Brown, whom he had married in 1956. When not involved in science fiction, he enjoys gardening, especially raising fuchsias and cacti, and traveling. His special interests include contemporary literature and music and medieval geography. Most science-fiction authors and readers consider Robert Silverberg...