Zeckler was a con-man, a human con-man. But he had no idea what he was up against when he decided to try to outwit the Altairians, an alien race that believes telling the truth is a weakness. Really he never had a chance.
It was nearly winter when the ship arrived. Pete Farnam never knew if the timing had been planned that way or not. It might have been coincidence that it came just when the colony was predicting its first real bumper crop of all time. When it was all over, Pete, Mario and the rest tried to figure it out, but none of them ever knew for sure just what had happened back on Earth, or when it had actually happened. There was too little information to go on, and practically none that they could trust. All Pete Farnam really knew, that day, was that this was the wrong year for a ship from Earth to land on Baron IV.
It was a proud day when Dr. Chauncey Patrick Coffin announced that he had discovered a cure for the common cold. But in the end, would the cure be worse than the affliction?
(Note: The following excerpts from Amy BAlantine's journal have never actually been written down at any time before. Her account of impressions and events has been kept in organized fashion in her mind for at least nine years (even she is not certain when she started), but it must be understood that certain inaccuracies in transcription could not possibly have been avoided in the excerpting attempted here. The Editor.)
In the jungle the vicious man-killer is king, but what chance would a tiger have in the Times Square traffic? Alan E. Nourse was a prolific golden age science fiction author.
Four men set out to prove their mettle by crossing the bright side of Mercury when it is closest to the sun. A feat which no one has ever done and survived. The odds are against them and they will need all of their expertise and courage if they are to succeed. Even that might not be enough.
The Secretary of State has died and Tom Shandor discovers that the Secretary requested that he put together his official biography for national consumption. Shandor has no idea why he's been chosen for the project, nor what shocking secrets he'll find once he starts the project. There's more riding on the choices he will make than he could possibly have imagined.
Alan E. Norse was a leading science fiction author during the tail end of the Golden Age. His stories have stood the test of time and continue to entertain and enthrall generation after generation of readers. His thought provoking stories are just as pertinent today as they were in the Golden Age when he wrote them. Collected here in this omnibus edition are over 700 pages of wonderful fiction, including twenty three classics such as: 'Star Surgeon;' 'An Ounce of Cure;' 'Circus;' 'My Friend Bobby;' 'Consignment;' 'Second Sight;' 'Marley's Chain;' 'The Coffin Cure;' 'Letter of the Law;' 'Contamination Crew;' 'The Link;' 'Meeting of the Board;' 'Image of the Gods;' 'Peacemaker;' 'Derelict;' 'The Native Soil;' 'Brightside Crossing;' 'The Dark Door;' 'Infinite Intruder;' 'Bear Trap;' 'Martyr;' 'A Man Obsessed;' and 'Gold in the Sky.'