Pohl, Frederick

(US, 1919– )

Pohl was born in New York. He began editing science fiction magazines in 1940 and became a full-time writer in 1953 following the success of The Space Merchants (1953), which was written in collaboration with C. M. Kornbluth. Like much of Pohl's best work, the story, which tells of space exploration dominated by commercial interests, functions as a futuristic satire on American values. Gateway (1977) begins a series of novels concerning mankind's exploration of the galaxy by making use of installations abandoned by aliens known as the Heechee. Succeeding stories include Heechee Rendezvous (1984) and The Annals of the Heechee (1987). Among Pohl's many other books is The Cool War (1980), envisioning a world in which conventional warfare is obsolete and hostility between ostensibly peaceable nations is conducted by means of drugs and disease.

Ian Watson, Bob Shaw  DH