Alec Nevala-Lee - Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction

I knew more about Isaac Asimov than I knew about anyone else alive. What could there be left to add?

MARTIN AMIS, VISITING MRS. NABOKOV

Its becoming increasingly obvious that we need a long, objective look at John W. Campbell, Jr., the author and critic Algis Budrys once wrote. But were not likely to get one.... Obviously, no one who knew him well enough to work for him at any length could have retained an objective view of him; the most we can hope for from that quarter would be a series of memoirs which, taken all together and read by some ideally situated observer, might distill down into some single resultantwhich all its parents would disown. In writing this book, Ive done the best impersonation that I can of Budryss ideally situated observer, although I soon found that any history of science fiction requires countless compromises. No single volume can cover everything, and Im painfully aware of the perspectives that this one omits, even when it comes to Campbell himself. But to the extent that I managed it at all, it was due entirely to the help that I received along the way.

I am profoundly grateful to Leslyn Randazzo, John Hammond, Katea Hammond, Justin Robertson, and Doug Smith. For insight, advice, and encouragement, I thank John Joseph Adams, Charles Ardai, Jon Atack, Astrid Bear, Greg Bear, Chuck Beatty, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, Jennifer Brehl, Damien Broderick, Emanuelle Burton, Michael Cassutt, Hank Davis, Samuel R. Delany, David Drake, Richard Fidczuk, Alan Dean Foster, Jim Gilbert, Matthew Giles, James Gunn, Marie Guthrie, Gay Haldeman, Joe Haldeman, Bill Higgins, Michael Kurland, Rachel Loftspring, Shawna McCarthy, Barry N. Malzberg, George R. R. Martin, Jess Nevins, Annalee Newitz, Larry Niven, John ONeill, Tony Ortega, Chris Owen, Alexei Panshin, Jason Pontin, Mark Pontin, the late Jerry Pournelle, Manny Robalino, Samantha Rajaram, James Randi, Mike Resnick, Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Jamie Todd Rubin, Yashar Saghai, Robert Silverberg, Sam Smith, Harriet Teal, Gordon Van Gelder, Lydia van Vogt, Sheila Williams, Rex Weiner, Ted White, Ed Wysocki, and many others. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Trevor Quachri and Emily Hockaday of Analog .

In 1966, Campbell wrote in response to a request for his papers from Syracuse University, Any scholarly would-be biographers are going to have a tough time finding any useful documentation on me! I just didnt keep the records! Fortunately, this prediction turned out to be wildly off the mark. The efforts by the late Perry Chapdelaine to preserve Campbells correspondence were my indispensible starting point, and I received valuable aid from Pilar Baskett and Wendy Mackey at Texas A&M University; John Betancourt; Gene Bundy at Eastern New Mexico University; Alessia Cecchet, Julia Chambers, Nicolette A. Dobrowolski, Kelly Dwyer, and Jacklyn Hoyt at Syracuse University; Zayda Delgado and Jessica Geiser at UC Riverside; Katie Fortier, Jane A. Parr, and Laura Russo at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University; Colleen Garcia at UC San Diego; Jake Gardner at Brown University; Salom Gomez Upegui and Susan Halpert at Harvard University; Nathaniel Hagee at MIT; the Heinlein Prize Trust; Julianna Jenkins at UCLA; Madeline Keyser at Indiana University Bloomington; Katie Nash at Williams College; Carol Orloski at Advanced Data Solutions; Debbie Rafine at the Oak Park Public Library; Michael Ravnitzky; Robert C. Ray at San Diego State University; Jean Ross at Duke University; Geo Rule at the Heinlein Archives; John Seltzer; Arley Sorg at Locus; and Ann Williams at Blair Academy.

My greatest hope is that this book will inspire a larger conversation about the history of science fiction. Innumerable studies and biographies have yet to be written, and many will be about important figures who look nothing like John W. Campbell. What Ive attempted here reflects just one aspect of the story, but it seemed like a necessary step toward any comprehensive reckoning, and it owes its existence largely to three people. One is Stanley Schmidt, who bought my first submission to Analog more than fifteen years ago. Another is my agent, David Halpern, who encouraged me to tackle a nonfiction project and supported my work at every step of the way. The third is my editor, Julia Cheiffetz, who brilliantly recognized what it could be. My thanks as well to Kathy Robbins, Lisa Kessler, Janet Oshiro, and everyone else at the Robbins Office; Carrie Thornton, Lynn Grady, Sean Newcott, Eliza Rosenberry, Tom Pitoniak, Victor Hendrickson, Renata De Oliveira, Mary Brower, and the rest of the staff at Dey Street Books and HarperCollins; Jon Cassir at CAA; and Ploy Siripant and Tavis Coburn for their astounding cover. As always, Im thankful for my friends and family, especially my parents, my brother, and all the Wongs; Wailin, the best of wives and best of women; and my daughter, Beatrix, in whom I see the future.

ALEC NEVALA-LEE was born in Castro Valley, California, and graduated from Harvard College with a bachelors degree in classics. He is the author of three novels, including The Icon Thief, and his stories have been published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Lightspeed Magazine, and The Years Best Science Fiction . His nonfiction has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Daily Beast, Salon, Longreads, the Rumpus, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian . He lives with his wife and daughter in Oak Park, Illinois.

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