Men and Machines

by Robert Silverberg (Editor)

Other authors: Brian W. Aldiss (Contributor), James Blish (Contributor), Lester del Rey (Contributor), Randall Garrett (Contributor), Fritz Leiber (Contributor) — 4 more, Lewis Padgett (Contributor), Fred Saberhagen (Contributor), George O. Smith (Contributor), Jack Williamson (Contributor)

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Included: "Counter Foil," by George O. Smith; "A Bad Day for Sales," by Fritz Leiber; "Without a Thought," by Fred Saberhagan; "Solar Plexus," by James Blish; "The Macauley Circuit," by Robert Silverberg; "But Who Can Replace a Man?," by Brian W. Aldiss; "Instinct," by Lester del Rey; "The Twonky," by Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner); "Hunting Lodge," by Randall Garrett; and "With Folded Hands," by Jack Williamson.… (more)

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This is a collection of ten stories that were originally published between 1941 and 1964. To be honest, just about all of them felt quite dated. If you are looking a sampling of takes on robots and AI and machines from this era, this could well be a good place to start. It is not particularly a book to pick-up if you are looking for compelling characterization or engaging story-telling.

Eight of these ten stories were new to me. My favorites were "A Bad Day for Sales" by Fritz Leiber, "The Twonky" by the Lewis Padgett amalgam of Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore, and "Who Can Replace a Man?" by Brian Aldiss. (

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clong | Mar 21, 2020 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Silverberg, Robert	Editor	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Aldiss, Brian W.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Blish, James	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
del Rey, Lester	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Garrett, Randall	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Leiber, Fritz	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Padgett, Lewis	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Saberhagen, Fred	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Smith, George O.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Williamson, Jack	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed

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Included: "Counter Foil," by George O. Smith; "A Bad Day for Sales," by Fritz Leiber; "Without a Thought," by Fred Saberhagan; "Solar Plexus," by James Blish; "The Macauley Circuit," by Robert Silverberg; "But Who Can Replace a Man?," by Brian W. Aldiss; "Instinct," by Lester del Rey; "The Twonky," by Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner); "Hunting Lodge," by Randall Garrett; and "With Folded Hands," by Jack Williamson.

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Men and Machines is an anthology of science fiction stories involving robots:

Counter Foil by George O. Smith (1964)

A Bad Day for Sales by Fritz Leiber (1953)

Without a Thought by Fred Saberhagen (1963)

Solar Plexus by James Blish (1941)

The Macauley Circuit by Robert Silverberg (1956)

But Who Can Replace a Man? by Brian W. Aldiss (1958)

Instinct by Lester del Rey (1952)

The Twonky by Lewis Padgett (1942)

The Hunting Lodge by Randall Garrett (1954)

With Folded Hands... by Jack Williamson (1947)

(I'm not too sure of the copyright dates - anybody want to check?)

The German translation by Birgit Reß-Bohusch, Menschen und Maschinen, leaves out The Twonky.

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