title: The Best of John Brunner
text: # The Best of John Brunner
  
  The Best of John Brunner is a collection of science fiction short stories by British author John Brunner. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine/Del Rey in November 1988 as a volume in its Classic Library of Science Fiction.
  
  ## Summary
  
  The book contains seventeen short works of fiction by the author, together with an introduction by Joe Haldeman.
  
  ## Contents
  
  * "Introduction: The Brunner Mosaic" (Joe Haldeman)
  * "The Totally Rich" (from Worlds of Tomorrow, Jun. 1963)
  * "The Last Lonely Man" (from New Worlds SF no. 142, May/Jun. 1964)
  * "Galactic Consumer Report No. 1: Inexpensive Time Machines" (from Galaxy Magazine, Dec. 1965)
  * "Fair" (from New Worlds Science Fiction no. 45, Mar. 1956)
  * "Such Stuff" (from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Jun. 1962)
  * "Galactic Consumer Report No. 2: Automatic Twin-Tube Wishing Machines" (from Galaxy Magazine, Jun. 1966)
  * "Tracking with Close-ups (21) and (23)" (excerpts from Stand on Zanzibar, 1968)
  * "X-Hero" (from Omni, Mar. 1980)
  * "No Future in It" (from Science Fantasy, Sep. 1955)
  * "Galactic Consumer Report No. 3: A Survey of the Membership" (from Galaxy Magazine, Dec. 1967)
  * "What Friends Are For" (from Fellowship of the Stars, 1974)
  * "The Taste of the Dish and the Savor of the Day" (from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Aug. 1977)
  * "Galactic Consumer Report No. 4: Thing-of-the-Month Clubs" (from Galaxy Magazine, Jan. 1969)
  * "The Man Who Saw the Thousand-Year Reich" (from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nov. 1981)
  * "An Elixir for the Emperor" (from Fantastic Stories of Imagination, Nov. 1964)
  * "The Suicide of Man" (from Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Jul./Aug. 1978)
  * "The Vitanuls" (from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Jul. 1967)
  
  ## Reception
  
  The book was reviewed by Tom Whitmore in Locus no. 334, November 1988.
  
  ## Awards
  
  The book placed thirteenth in the 1989 Locus Poll Award for Best Collection.
  
  