Donald A. Wollheim (1914–1990)
Author of The 1980 Annual World's Best SF
About the Author
Disambiguation Notice:
The Anthology Series World's Best Science Fiction/ Annual World's Best SF/ Wollheim's World's Best SF was republished under various titles with inconsistant numbering. See Series page for more information before separating/combining.
Series
Works by Donald A. Wollheim
The ... Annual world's best SF 6 copies
The Rag Thing [short story] 6 copies
Top Secret 4 copies
Planetringenes gåde 3 copies
The Man From the Future 2 copies
Advancing the electronic age 2 copies
Up There [short story] 2 copies
Bones 2 copies
Il Gradino di Venere 2 copies
The Lysenko Maze [short fiction] 2 copies
The Earth in Peril 2 copies
10 Story Fantasy Magazine (1951) 2 copies
Cosmic Stories 1941 07 2 copies
Extending The Holdings 2 copies
World's Best Science Fiction 2 copies
A Galaxy Trilogy, Vol. 4: Across Time, Mission to a Star, The Rim of Space (Library Edition) (2009) 1 copy, 1 review
Destiny World 1 copy
Castaway 1 copy
The feminine fraction 1 copy
Avon Fantasy Reader No. 1-18 1 copy
Blind Flight 1 copy
Zacherley's Vulture Stew 1 copy
Lotta di giganti 1 copy
She 1 copy
Give Her Hell 1 copy
The Haters 1 copy
Malice Aforethought 1 copy
nueva dimensión - 020 1 copy
Babylon: 70M 1 copy
Saknarth 1 copy
Pogo Planet 1 copy
The Planet of Illusion 1 copy
Un mondo per Ajax 1 copy
Secrets of Saturn's Rings 1 copy
Associated Works
Ackermanthology: 65 Astonishing, Rediscovered Sci-Fi Shorts (1997) — Contributor — 97 copies, 1 review
Creatures from Beyond: Nine Stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy (1975) — Contributor — 89 copies, 1 review
England Swings SF: Stories of Speculative Fiction (1968) — Preface, some editions — 88 copies, 3 reviews
Bug-Eyed Monsters: 13 Stories of Dripping, Creeping, Gurgling, Purling, Trilling, Oozing, Seeping, Gushing Deadly Monsters (1980) — Contributor — 79 copies, 2 reviews
Famous Fantastic Mysteries: 30 Great Tales of Fantasy and Horror from the Classic Pulp Magazines Famous Fantastic Mysteries & Fantastic Novels (1991) — Contributor — 67 copies, 1 review
The Secret Visitors / Master of Life and Death (Vintage Ace Double, D-237) (1957) — Editor, some editions — 46 copies, 1 review
The Paradox Men / Dome Around America (Ace Double, No. D-118) (1955) — Editor, some editions — 44 copies, 1 review
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction November 1952, Vol. 3, No. 7 (1952) — Contributor — 8 copies
Friendly Aliens: Thirteen Stories of the Fantastic Set in Canada by Foreign Authors (1981) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Wollheim, Donald A.
- Legal name
- Wollheim, Donald Allen
- Other names
- Pearson, Martin
Grinnell, David
White, W. Malcolm
Gordon, Millard Verne
Wells, Braxton
Woods, Lawrence (show all 9)
Raynor, Darrell G.
Cooke, Arthur
Zweig, Allen - Birthdate
- 1914-10-01
- Date of death
- 1990-11-02
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- editor
publisher
writer - Organizations
- Futurians
Avon Books
Ace Books
DAW Books
Fantasy Amateur Press Association
New York Science Fiction League (show all 7)
Casa Susanna - Awards and honors
- First Fandom Hall of Fame Award (1975)
World Fantasy Special Award Nominee (professional, 1975)
World Fantasy Special Award Nominee (professional, publishing and editing, 1976)
World Fantasy Special Award Nominee (professional, DAW Books, 1978)
World Fantasy Special Award Nominee (professional, DAW Books, 1980)
World Fantasy Special Award (professional, DAW Books, 1981) (show all 12)
World Fantasy Convention Award (1986)
World SF Convention Guest of Honor (1988)
Hugo Nominee (Professional Editor, Retro-Hugo, [1946], 1996)
SF Hall Of Fame (Posthumous Inductee, 2002)
Hugo Nominee (Professional Editor, Retro-Hugo, [1954], 2004)
Hugo Nominee (Fan Writer, Retro-Hugo, [1939], 2014) - Relationships
- Wollheim, Elizabeth R. (daughter)
Wollheim, Elsie (wife) - Short biography
- Author, Publisher. Born in New York City, New York, he was a member of the "Futurians", a group of science fiction enthusiasts who would go on to be prominent authors and editors in the field. He was one of the leading influences on the development of science fiction in the United States in the 20th century. He founded DAW Books in 1971 (company designed to produce exclusively science fiction publications), and is remembered for works such as "Across Time," "The Martian Missile," "Destination Saturn," "Two Dozen Dragon Eggs" and "The Man From Ariel."
- Cause of death
- heart attack
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- New York, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- Flushing, Queens, New York, New York, USA
- Place of death
- New York, New York, USA
- Burial location
- Mount Carmel cemetery, Queens, New York, New York, USA
- Disambiguation notice
- The Anthology Series World's Best Science Fiction/ Annual World's Best SF/ Wollheim's World's Best SF was republished under various titles with inconsistant numbering. See Series page for more information before separating/combining.
- Associated Place (for map)
- Queens, New York, New York, USA
Members
Reviews
Recently while shopping at a used bookstore I found a battered collection of Ace Double science fiction novels from the 1950s in their giveaway bin. While they were published before my time, seeing them brought back fond memories of the cheap mass-market paperback novels I enjoyed as a youth, some of which were reprints of these Ace Doubles split into in single-book format. The combination of availability and nostalgia proved too irresistible to pass up, so I decided to pick them up and show more indulge in a trip down into the past's future.
I started with this pair of novels. The first one I read was Across Time, which was written by Donald A. Wollheim using his pen name "David Grinnell." It was an appropriate place start for reasons I didn't appreciate until afterward, as Wollheim is the editor who invented the Ace Doubles series. He is regarded as one of the most important, perhaps even the most important, figure in the history of science fiction publishing, and has been recognized for all he did in that area (his daughter credits him as well with kick-starting the modern fantasy field by publishing the first edition of the Lord of the RIngs trilogy in paperback, so there's that, too). Wollheim was modest about his skills as an author, though, and (to borrow from Churchill) he has much to be modest about, as his novel is a rather pedestrian tale involving flying saucers and a love triangle between two brothers and a woman. While there are some nifty elements in the book — including a sentient warship that is probably the first of its type in science fiction — overall the outcome was so predictable as to rob the book of narrative tension.
After finishing Wollheim's novel I flipped the book over and started Robert Silverberg's Invaders from Earth. And once I began it, I found myself drawn into a fantastic story in which a 21st century expedition to Ganymede finds both an inhabited world and one with valuable minerals, and an advertising firm is hired to pave the way for exploitation. The plot revolved around one of the men spearheading the campaign, whom the firm sends to Ganymede to give his ideas added verisimilitude, only for him to have a crisis of conscience when he realizes just what he's done. There's a nice Mad Men vibe to the tale (unsurprising for a novel written in 1957 that's set in an ad firm), as well as an anti-imperialist commentary that is unusual for science fiction novels of the time. It was definitely the highlight of the pair, and it left me eager to see what other gems I might find in my newly-acquired trove. show less
I started with this pair of novels. The first one I read was Across Time, which was written by Donald A. Wollheim using his pen name "David Grinnell." It was an appropriate place start for reasons I didn't appreciate until afterward, as Wollheim is the editor who invented the Ace Doubles series. He is regarded as one of the most important, perhaps even the most important, figure in the history of science fiction publishing, and has been recognized for all he did in that area (his daughter credits him as well with kick-starting the modern fantasy field by publishing the first edition of the Lord of the RIngs trilogy in paperback, so there's that, too). Wollheim was modest about his skills as an author, though, and (to borrow from Churchill) he has much to be modest about, as his novel is a rather pedestrian tale involving flying saucers and a love triangle between two brothers and a woman. While there are some nifty elements in the book — including a sentient warship that is probably the first of its type in science fiction — overall the outcome was so predictable as to rob the book of narrative tension.
After finishing Wollheim's novel I flipped the book over and started Robert Silverberg's Invaders from Earth. And once I began it, I found myself drawn into a fantastic story in which a 21st century expedition to Ganymede finds both an inhabited world and one with valuable minerals, and an advertising firm is hired to pave the way for exploitation. The plot revolved around one of the men spearheading the campaign, whom the firm sends to Ganymede to give his ideas added verisimilitude, only for him to have a crisis of conscience when he realizes just what he's done. There's a nice Mad Men vibe to the tale (unsurprising for a novel written in 1957 that's set in an ad firm), as well as an anti-imperialist commentary that is unusual for science fiction novels of the time. It was definitely the highlight of the pair, and it left me eager to see what other gems I might find in my newly-acquired trove. show less
Nostalgia has its limits.
This was very possibly the first science fiction book I ever read, probably around 1970. I found it in my elementary school library, and presumably thought that something about the ninth planet would be interesting. So I read it -- and remembered it enough to identify it half a century later and find a copy. Having read it again, I find myself wondering what made it so interesting.
The book is, of course, highly inaccurate about the solar system; it was written before show more any interplanetary probes had been launched. I can accept that; I have no problems, e.g., with Robert A. Heinlein's "Future History" books, which feature a human-habitable Mars, or James Blish's "Cities in Flight," which give us a tenth planet that isn't there. An author can't be expected to know what no one knows.
But an author can be expected to know what everyone knows. Proper science fiction obeys the laws of physics except where it justifies an exception. The justification may be hand-waving ("hyperspace"), but there is one, and the number of exceptions is kept as small as possible. Here, we have anti-gravity, "sun-tapping" (capturing solar energy at a distance and redirecting it), an energy weapon that produces a visible beam in a vacuum, mind control of aliens at a distance, and an orbital entanglement of Neptune and Pluto that was known to be impossible even in 1959. And life on Neptune. How? Life needs energy. Where does it come from? And how can a pressure suit that works in Venus conditions also work on Pluto? It's too many new laws and gadgets.
And there are logical flaws. Assume that "sun-tapping" is possible -- maybe, since anti-gravity is possible, you can generate special gravity to pull in the energy. Sure, the laws of thermodynamics would make this more costly, energy-wise, than it's worth, but assume it for the sake of the argument. What sort of idiot builds the "sun-tap" stations on planets, two of which have inhabitants and three of which have atmospheres and all of which have geology (earthquakes) which might interfere. Don't build them on planets; build them in a random orbit and keep them safe! The sun-tappers are simply too stupid to have developed their technology.
And what sane person shoots at aliens on sight? Sure, the sun-tappers had been tapping the sun, but for all we know, that's an attempt to communicate: "Here's our base; come visit us." Eventually it appears this is not so (though the sun-tappers still seem too socially primitive for their technology), but the earth people don't even try. Exactly who are the uncivilized brutes here?
The whole thing reads like the worst of 1930s "science fiction" -- gadget fantasy with no science and no sociology. It's pre-John Campbell (who revolutionized science fiction in 1938), and there was a reason why Campbell's coming was such a revolution: he swept away stuff like this.
Admittedly all that might be accepted if the story were good. But 80% of the book is spent traveling between worlds and blowing up alien artifacts, and the worlds are not only inaccurate but poorly realized. It's only in the last few chapters that we get some idea of what is going on, and watch Our Heroes win an improbable victory against enemies who are, yet again, too stupid to make any sense. It's not exciting, merely improbable.
Frankly, I feel ashamed that I liked this book enough to remember it. Yes, I was a pre-teen. Even so. I can only be glad that I didn't remember the bad science!
[Update May 17, 2025 to correct a mis-typed word in first paragraph.] show less
This was very possibly the first science fiction book I ever read, probably around 1970. I found it in my elementary school library, and presumably thought that something about the ninth planet would be interesting. So I read it -- and remembered it enough to identify it half a century later and find a copy. Having read it again, I find myself wondering what made it so interesting.
The book is, of course, highly inaccurate about the solar system; it was written before show more any interplanetary probes had been launched. I can accept that; I have no problems, e.g., with Robert A. Heinlein's "Future History" books, which feature a human-habitable Mars, or James Blish's "Cities in Flight," which give us a tenth planet that isn't there. An author can't be expected to know what no one knows.
But an author can be expected to know what everyone knows. Proper science fiction obeys the laws of physics except where it justifies an exception. The justification may be hand-waving ("hyperspace"), but there is one, and the number of exceptions is kept as small as possible. Here, we have anti-gravity, "sun-tapping" (capturing solar energy at a distance and redirecting it), an energy weapon that produces a visible beam in a vacuum, mind control of aliens at a distance, and an orbital entanglement of Neptune and Pluto that was known to be impossible even in 1959. And life on Neptune. How? Life needs energy. Where does it come from? And how can a pressure suit that works in Venus conditions also work on Pluto? It's too many new laws and gadgets.
And there are logical flaws. Assume that "sun-tapping" is possible -- maybe, since anti-gravity is possible, you can generate special gravity to pull in the energy. Sure, the laws of thermodynamics would make this more costly, energy-wise, than it's worth, but assume it for the sake of the argument. What sort of idiot builds the "sun-tap" stations on planets, two of which have inhabitants and three of which have atmospheres and all of which have geology (earthquakes) which might interfere. Don't build them on planets; build them in a random orbit and keep them safe! The sun-tappers are simply too stupid to have developed their technology.
And what sane person shoots at aliens on sight? Sure, the sun-tappers had been tapping the sun, but for all we know, that's an attempt to communicate: "Here's our base; come visit us." Eventually it appears this is not so (though the sun-tappers still seem too socially primitive for their technology), but the earth people don't even try. Exactly who are the uncivilized brutes here?
The whole thing reads like the worst of 1930s "science fiction" -- gadget fantasy with no science and no sociology. It's pre-John Campbell (who revolutionized science fiction in 1938), and there was a reason why Campbell's coming was such a revolution: he swept away stuff like this.
Admittedly all that might be accepted if the story were good. But 80% of the book is spent traveling between worlds and blowing up alien artifacts, and the worlds are not only inaccurate but poorly realized. It's only in the last few chapters that we get some idea of what is going on, and watch Our Heroes win an improbable victory against enemies who are, yet again, too stupid to make any sense. It's not exciting, merely improbable.
Frankly, I feel ashamed that I liked this book enough to remember it. Yes, I was a pre-teen. Even so. I can only be glad that I didn't remember the bad science!
[Update May 17, 2025 to correct a mis-typed word in first paragraph.] show less
Here I just want to praise Fritz Leiber's 'Girl with the Hungry Eyes' (1949) as an unusual story of vampirism in which the vampire is able to feed, using advertising, on deep and subliminal male desires at the level of society as a whole.
Well written, it leaves the (male) reader with a sense of discomfort that is in danger of tipping over into misogyny. In a way that perhaps had more impact in the 1940s, it throws light on how male desire also makes the male vulnerable, capable of being show more manipulated by that which is desired.
There is a point where the narrator 'makes a pass' at the girl and is rejected with a firmness which mirrors the normal expectations of most men in most situations in a society in which gender roles were tightly defined. The game was to try it on and expect the 'good girl' to reject the advance.
And this is where it gets dark because the 'good girl' is very much an epitome of evil (a vampire) and when she decides to show her full colours, it is under conditions of a full-on total sexuality that is so absorptive that the male must run away in desperate fear.
This vampire emasculates men and the final contact between vampire and narrator is about that much older masculine fear of being overwhelmed and absorbed by the female when it finally decides to engage with the male - on its terms.
The power of the story is that it captures the fear and anxiety of men under mid-twentieth century social conditions (at least in America) perfectly. Only the narrator knows of this horror as the world becomes entranced by a 'monster' they can never see or touch except in death. show less
Well written, it leaves the (male) reader with a sense of discomfort that is in danger of tipping over into misogyny. In a way that perhaps had more impact in the 1940s, it throws light on how male desire also makes the male vulnerable, capable of being show more manipulated by that which is desired.
There is a point where the narrator 'makes a pass' at the girl and is rejected with a firmness which mirrors the normal expectations of most men in most situations in a society in which gender roles were tightly defined. The game was to try it on and expect the 'good girl' to reject the advance.
And this is where it gets dark because the 'good girl' is very much an epitome of evil (a vampire) and when she decides to show her full colours, it is under conditions of a full-on total sexuality that is so absorptive that the male must run away in desperate fear.
This vampire emasculates men and the final contact between vampire and narrator is about that much older masculine fear of being overwhelmed and absorbed by the female when it finally decides to engage with the male - on its terms.
The power of the story is that it captures the fear and anxiety of men under mid-twentieth century social conditions (at least in America) perfectly. Only the narrator knows of this horror as the world becomes entranced by a 'monster' they can never see or touch except in death. show less
Yes, the science is hopelessly naive (even for 1959) but the fiction is grand---a rip-roaring hybrid of The Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and Buck Rogers. This is pure pulp heaven featuring a balmy ocean on Venus, angry Martian bugs, and a secret on Pluto so monumental it will change human destiny...FOREVER! So put your brain in neutral, place your cynicism on hold, and just enjoy! LOL!
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Statistics
- Works
- 205
- Also by
- 62
- Members
- 8,141
- Popularity
- #2,971
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 114
- ISBNs
- 151
- Languages
- 10
- Favorited
- 1
