Alfred Bester

227 Pages·2016·1.89 MB·English

by  Jad Smith

MODERN MASTERS
OF SCIENCE FICTION
ALFRED BESTER
Jad Smith
Alfred Bester

Modern Masters of Science Fiction
Edited by Gary K. Wolfe
Science fiction often anticipates the consequences of scientific discoveries.
The immense strides made by science since World War II have been matched
step by step by writers who gave equal attention to scientific principles,
human imagination, and the craft of fiction. The respect for science fiction won
by Jules Verne and H. G. Wells was further increased by Isaac Asimov, Arthur
C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Ursula K. Le Guin, Joanna Russ, and Ray Bradbury.
Modern Masters of Science Fiction is devoted to books that survey the work
of individual authors who continue to inspire and advance science fiction.
A list of books in the series appears at the end of this book.

Alfred Bester
Jad Smith
© 2016 by the Board of Trustees
of the University of Illinois
All rights reserved
1 2 3 4 5 C P 5 4 3 2 1
∞ This book is printed on acid- free paper.
Frontispiece: Alfred Bester circa 1968. First published in SF Symposium/FC Simpósio,
edited by José Sanz for the Instituto Nacional Do Cinema, Brazil, 1969.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Smith, Jad, author.
Title: Alfred Bester / Jad Smith.
Description: Urbana : University of Illinois Press, 2016. | Series: Modern masters of science
fiction | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016021556 | ISBN 9780252040634 (hardback) | ISBN 9780252082139
(paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: Bester, Alfred—Criticism and interpretation. | Science fiction, American—
History and criticism. | Bester, Alfred. | Authors, American—20th century—Biography. |
BISAC: LITERARY CRITICISM / Science Fiction & Fantasy. | BIOGRAPHY &
AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary.
Classification: LCC PS3552.E796 Z85 2016 | DDC 813/.54 [B]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016021556
For Staci and Staz
and
In memory of
Cuyler W. “Ned” Brooks Jr.
(1938–2015)

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Alfred Bester: The Insider’s Outsider 1
Chapter 1 Beginnings: Early Life and First Stories 17
Chapter 2 Of Things to Come: The Astounding
and Unknown Stories 31
Chapter 3 Comics, Radio, and the Return to SF 68
Chapter 4 The Eureka Years 86
Chapter 5 Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright 135
Chapter 6 Hiatus and Search for a New Style 164
Conclusion 179
An Alfred Bester Bibliography 183
Notes 187
Bibliography of Secondary Sources 197
Index 203