Contents: 7 • Introduction (The Best of A. E. van Vogt (UK)) • (1974) • essay by A. E. van Vogt 12 • Vault of the Beast • (1940) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt 44 • The Weapon Shop • [Weapon Shops of Isher] • (1942) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt 92 • The Storm • [Mixed Men] • (1943) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt 130 • Juggernaut • (1944) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt 142 • Hand of the Gods • [Clane] • (1946) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt 177 • The Cataaaaa • (1947) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt 195 • The Monster • (1948) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt (aka Resurrection) 215 • Bibliography (The Best of A. E. van Vogt) • (1974) • essay by Gerald Bishop
Author
Alfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born science fiction author regarded by some as one of the most popular and complex science fiction writers of the mid-twentieth century—the "Golden Age" of the genre. van Vogt was born to Russian Mennonite family. Until he was four years old, van Vogt and his family spoke only a dialect of Low German in the home. He began his writing career with 'true story' romances, but then moved to writing science fiction, a field he identified with. His first story was Black Destroyer, that appeared as the front cover story for the July 1939 edtion of the popular "Astounding Science Fiction" magazine.
