Frederik Pohl (1919 – )

Frederik Pohl (born November 26, 1919) is an American science fiction writer and editor.

In early adulthood, he lived in New York, and was a member of the Futurians fan group.

He was a friend and collaborator with C.M. Kornbluth, co-authoring a number of short stories and several novels, including a dystopian satire of a world ruled by the advertising agencies, The Space Merchants. In addition to The Space Merchants, a number of his short stories were notable for a satirical look at consumerism and advertising in the 1950s and 1960s: The Wizard of Pung's Corner, where flashy, overcomplex military hardware proves useless against farmers with shotguns, and The Tunnel Under the World, where an entire community is held captive by advertising researchers (this one-line summary omits several plot twists).

In the 1970s, he made a comeback as a writer with novels like Heechee series and Jem (1980).

From about 1959 until 1969, Pohl edited Galaxy science fiction magazine and its sister magazine If, winning the Hugo for If three years running.

Books by Frederik Pohl