The Gold at the Starbow's End

the long version

From the back cover: DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT... ... the eight young astronauts, men and women, who were sent off to colonize a non-existent planet near Alpha Centauri while Washington disintegrated with revolution? Or the one about the struggling scenarist on whose character and behaviour the fate of Earth was judged? How about the man who ate people's *minds*? Here are five superb stories in this new collection by one of the world's greatest SF authors, described by the SUNDAY TIMES as 'one of the most original writers in the field'.