I found this collection outstanding. Not perfect, mind you, but quite wonderful. And it counts as 4 books in my bookreading count. (my count, my rules ;)

Favorite book would be The Shrinking Man (better than the movie, which is one of my favorites). Favorite writing would be Sturgeon's in More Than Human. I hadn't read any of his works before this. Which is also true about Frederick Pohl and Leigh Brackett. Really enjoyed their stories, too.

If you want to read some classic sf, that's not all rocket parts and physics and dry as dust, give this collection a spin. ( )

The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl & C.M. Kornbluth

So many aspects of this book felt like such familiar tropes that I was constantly wondering if this was the book that spawned them all, or if it was borrowing as well from what had already been established in the genre.

At times the book is pretty stiff, but really, it takes unrestrained capitalism and a rigid class system to an extreme end and offers up a pretty disturbing dystopia. But then often undermines itself as a commentary with a protagonist who for most of the book doesn't really believe the critique (and in the end, may only be pretending to get the girl), and by implying this is still a meritocracy by how easily and quickly he gains mobility and reputation after being flung to the bottom of the ladder, based on his education and ability to write.

Also a bit disjointed (but with two authors and multiple editors, it's easy to see why). But there are memorable scenes and interesting concepts. Overall I enjoyed it quite a lot.

More than Human by Theodore Sturgeon

This was my least favorite book of the four. At times startlingly original, wickedly funny, or deeply touching, there were long stretches in between where I felt alienated from all of the characters, confused about what was going on, or totally bored. Each of the characters has special abilities, and though they develop strong bonds with each other, they struggle to find a morality that fits being in a world where none are their equals. For much of the book, this results in no discernible morality at all, which was off-putting. Though I was relieved that the ending attempted to rescue the book from being some Randian fantasy.

The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett

In a post-apocalyptic world, who would survive? In Brackett's book, it's the Amish and Mennonites who are least bothered by the sudden absence of a power grid, amongst all the other amenities provided by industrialization, and so it is no surprise that the narrative of the Destruction becomes that God passed judgement against our wicked, lay ways, and both technologies and cities (any settlement over a certain size), are not just forbidden, but outlawed.

But what technologies would be left behind, possibly preserved in secret enclaves? And what becomes of the basic human inclination to learn and to discover, when being interested in such secrets can provoke a lynching? And even if you intellectually reject the prejudices of your childhood, might some be programmed too deep to be conquered?

Very interesting. And I'm not just saying that because it's the only novel in the collection written by a woman.

The Shrinking Man y Richard Matheson

Sometimes familiar, often bitter, generally an adept metaphor for male anxiety in an impersonal, often uncaring world, it is the story of a man who shrinks one-seventh of an inch a day. Progressively alienated from a world not designed for him, unable to take even himself seriously as a man, it seems sure to be a long slide to a desperate end. Yet the ending is shockingly hopeful! I probably never would have read this book had it not been included here, and I'm glad that I did. ( )

The Space Merchants
Welcome to the future. Everybody has been turned into happy consumers by sophisticated advertising techniques that have a touch of Huxley's Brave New World.
Earth is about to begin the exploration of Venus and Mitchell Courtenay has been selected to run the Venus project by Fowler Schocken the head of the biggest ad agency in the world Schocken Associates.
But Mitchell Courtenay gets hit on the head and wakes up William George Groby. Groby has a five year contract to work skimming algae in Costa Rica. He has gone from the top of the heap to the bottom and this book is the fascinating story of how he climbs back to the top and then changes the rules. Along the way he is introduced to a side of the world he didn't know existed. He is shown how advertising and big industry are destroying the world by inches while it keeps everybody happy.
He meets B.J. Taunton another big advertising head who stays drunk all the time and murders people to get ahead.
The book showed an interesting glimpse of a possible future while telling a fast paced story that was very entertaining. I give it a rarely awarded five stars.