Every great writer has to begin somewhere. Here, in one star-studded volume, are the debut stories from some of science fiction's best and brightest-with insightful new introductions by the authors themselves.

These are stories that launched the careers of Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, L. Sprague de Camp, George R.R. Martin, Murray Leinster, Hal Clement, and other stellar talents.

Contents:

• The Runaway Skyscraper by Murray Leinster, 1919
• The Isolinguals by L. Sprague de Camp, 1931
• Freedom of the Race by Anne McCaffrey, 1953
• Proof by Hal Clement, 1942
• Loophole by Arthur C. Clarke, 1946
• The Dead Man by Gene Wolfe, 1965
• We're Coming Through the Windows by Barry N. Malzberg, 1967
• The Hero by George R.R. Martin, 1971
• Lunchbox by Howard Waldrop, 1972
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, 1977
• The Emerson Effect by Jack McDevitt, 1981
• Much Ado About Nothing by Jerry Oltion, 1982
• Barter by Lois McMaster Bujold, 1985
• The Xeelee Flower by Stephen Baxter, 1987
• Dance in Blue by Catherine Asaro, 1993
• TeleAbsence by Michael A. Burstein, 1995
• First Contact, Inc. by Julie E. Czerneda, 1997