A collection of late 60s & early 70s science fiction stories by the author probably best known for "The Trouble with Tribbles."

I had read the title story before where it first appeared, in Harlan Ellison's second Dangerous Visions anthology. Filled with clever wordplay, it takes place in a world where not only does everyone interpret things literally, but reality itself seems to work on that level as well. It is simultaneously funny and sinister.

"How We Saved the Human Race" is an even more dangerous vision. A rogue scientist manages to solve the planet's greatest problem. It's something that most people don't like to think about.

HARLIE the computer is introduced in "Oracle for a White Rabbit." HARLIE's burgeoning self-awareness causes his handlers to ask questions about their own existence. (Gerrold would write more HARLIE stories which were then collected and expanded into a novel.)

In "Love Story in Three Acts," a married couple's sexual performance is electronically monitored for quality control. It is creepy, but has an uplifting conclusion.

"Yarst!" is a comic tale of a man who is constantly searching for Mrs. Right amongst many and varied alien races. The punchline at the end falls kind of flat, but it's a cute story.

A couple stories touch on theological issues (more dangerous visions!) In "This Crystal Castle," a man is exiled on a distant, unpopulated world, alone... until a visitor arrives. In "Battle Hum and the Boje," a jazz musician plays a final concert that makes him question society's notions of right and wrong.

The first and last stories in the volume are more ambiguous. In "All of Them Were Empty-" two travelers are in search of a new high. I have to admit I don't think I fully understood this one. "In the Deadlands" is a prose/poem of gradually increasing dread about soldiers on patrol in an empty wasteland. But what are they patrolling for?

Overall, a fine collection of speculative fiction which is just as relevant today as it was when it was first published. ( )