The Shipshape Miracle: And Other Stories

by Clifford D. Simak

  DAVID W. WIXON was a close friend of Clifford D. Simak’s. As Simak’s health declined, Wixon, already familiar with science fiction publishing, began more and more to handle such things as his friend’s business correspondence and contract matters. Named literary executor of the estate after Simak’s death, Wixon began a long-term project to secure the rights to all of Simak’s stories and find a way to make them available to readers who, given the fifty-five-year span of Simak’s writing career, might never have gotten the chance to enjoy all of his short fiction. Along the way, Wixon also read the author’s surviving journals and rejected manuscripts, which made him uniquely able to provide Simak’s readers with interesting and thought-provoking commentary that sheds new light on the work and thought of a great writer.

  All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  These are works of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 the Estate of Clifford D. Simak

  All stories reprinted by permission of the Estate of Clifford D. Simak.

  “The Money Tree” © 1958 by Mercury Press, Inc. © 1986 by Clifford D. Simak. Originally published in Venture Science Fiction, v. 2, no. 4, July, 1958. Reprinted by permission of the Estate of Clifford D. Simak.

  “Shotgun Cure” © 1960 by Mercury Press, Inc. © 1988 by the Estate of Clifford D. Simak. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, v. 20, no. 1, Jan., 1961. Reprinted by permission of the Estate of Clifford D. Simak.

  “Paradise” © 1946 by Street & Smith Publications, Inc. © 1974 by Clifford D. Simak. Originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, v. 37, no. 4, June, 1946. Reprinted by permission of the Estate of Clifford D. Simak.

  “The Gravestone Rebels Ride by Night!” © 1944 by Popular Publications, Inc. © 1972 by Clifford D. Simak. Originally published in Big-Book Western Magazine, v. 14, no. 3, Oct., 1944. Reprinted by permission of the Estate of Clifford D. Simak.

  “How-2” © 1954 by Galaxy Publishing Corporation. © 1982 by Clifford D. Simak. Originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction, v. 9, no. 2, November, 1954. Reprinted by permission of the Estate of Clifford D. Simak.

  “The Shipshape Miracle” © 1962 by Digest Productions Corporation. © 1990 by the Estate of Clifford D. Simak. Originally published in If, v. 12, no. 6, January, 1963. Reprinted by permission of the Estate of Clifford D. Simak.

  “Rim of the Deep” © 1940 by Street & Smith Publications, Inc. © 1968 by Clifford D. Simak. Originally published in Astounding Science-Fiction, v. 25, no. 3, May, 1940. Reprinted by permission of the Estate of Clifford D. Simak.

  “Eternity Lost” © 1949 by Street & Smith Publications, Inc. © 1977 by Clifford D. Simak. Originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, v. 43, no. 5, July, 1949. Reprinted by permission of the Estate of Clifford D. Simak.

  “Immigrant” © 1954 by Street & Smith Publications, Inc. © 1982 by Clifford D. Simak. Originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, v. 53, no. 1, March, 1954. Reprinted by permission of the Estate of Clifford D. Simak.

  Introduction © 2017 by David W. Wixon

  Cover design by Jason Gabbert

  978-1-5040-4519-3

  Published in 2017 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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  New York, NY 10038

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  THE COMPLETE SHORT FICTION OF CLIFFORD D. SIMAK

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