640 jokes, anecdotes, and limericks, complete with notes on how to tell them, from America's leading renaissance man.

Compares what writers over the centuries have written about an imaginary future with the reality revealed by time.

Here are more than 700 of Isaac Asimov's favorite jokes, cleverest limericks and funniest stories.

Bestselling author and editor of the popular A Lover’s Treasury of the Fantastic returns with an anthology of classic quest stories, as only she can assemble them. As far back as Homer’s Odyssey, “the quest” has been a compelling and popular storytelling vehicle used in many enduring works of Western literature, including Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Pilgrim’s Progress, and the contemporary fantasy favorite, The Lord of the Rings. Now, in homage to these timeless favorites, Margaret Weis has assembled a sparkling reprint collection of quest-driven gems by such notable fantasy authors as Neil Gaiman, C. J. Cherryh, Michael Moorcock, and Mercedes Lackey.

H. Beam Piper is one of science fiction's most enigmatic writers. In 1946 Piper appeared seemingly from out of nowhere, already at the top of his form. He published a number of memorable short stories in the premier science fiction magazine of the time, Astounding Science Fiction, under legendary editor John W. Campbell. Piper quickly became friends with many of the top writers of the day, including Lester Del Rey, Fletcher Pratt, Robert Heinlein and L. Sprague de Camp. Piper also successfully made the turn from promising short story writer to major novelist, authoring Four-Day Planet, Cosmic Computer, Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen and Little Fuzzy, which was nominated for a Hugo award. Even those who counted Piper among their friends knew very little about the man or his life as a railroad yard bull in Altoona, Pennsylvania. This biography illuminates H. Beam Piper, both the writer and the man, and answers lingering questions about his death. Appendices include a number of Piper's personal papers, a complete bibliography of Piper's works, and an essay on Piper's Terro-Human Future History series.