A Pail of Air
A collection of stories.
Fritz Leiber, author of the THE WANDERER, has a wickedly delightful sense of humor which finds science fiction a fertile field in which to flourish.
The stories in this first collection give vent, predominantly, to varying kinds of digs at the human establishment - wry, gentle, poignant and pointed. But as evidence that Mr. Leiber does not view the world through rose-coloured spectacles (and incidentally that he can turn his hand to any kind of writing), there are a couple of stories that bring one up with a startling lurch.
Indeed, this collection is a display of extraordinary ingenuity - and the happiest news is that it is the first of several to come...
Fritz Leiber
Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. (1910–1992) was an American author of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. The son of a pair of Shakespearian actors, Leiber was also an actor, expert chess player, and champion fencer. Born in Chicago in 1910, Leiber spent his youth touring with his parents' theater company. He graduated with honors in philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1932. Leiber married Jonquil Stephens in 1936. In 1938, their son Justin was born. After Jonquil's death in 1969, Fritz Leiber moved to San Francisco, where he died on September 5, 1992.