As an attempt to offer a survey of (mostly 20th century) short science fiction, The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction is quite successful.
Since with a book like this it’s almost impossible to make any significant assessment that doesn’t boil down to simply preference, I will simply list those stories I liked best out of the collection, followed by some choice quotations.
Stories I liked
Please do not take this list as an endorsement that only these stories should be read. All of the stories in this book are worth reading. These are just the ones that struck me in a particular way. They are listed in chronological order (the order they appear in the book).
- “Rappaccini’s Daughter” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
- “The Machine Stops” – E. M. Forster
- “Shambleau” – C. L. Moore
- “Reason” – Isaac Asimov
- “Desertion” – Clifford D. Simak
- “That Only a Mother” – Judith Merrill
- “There Will Come Soft Rains” – Ray Bradbury
- “Fondly Fahrenheit” – Alfred Bester
- “All You Zombies—” – Robert Heinlein
- “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” – Harlan Ellison
- “The Heat Death of the Universe” – Pamela Zoline
- “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” – Brian Aldiss (way better than the movie A.I. that was based on it)
- “Nine Lives” – Ursula K. Le Guin
- “Speech Sounds – Octavia Butler
- “Forever Yours, Anna” – Kate Wilhelm
- “Computer Friendly” – Eileen Gunn
- “Useful Phrases” – Gene Wolfe
- “Closer” – Greg Egan
- “Everywhere” – Geoff Ryman
- “Exhalation” – Ted Chiang
Quotations
(Taken out of context, not necessarily related to the list above, and presented in the order they appear.)
Why spend physical energy in combative strife for something we do not wish…? – “The Conquest of Gola,” Leslie F. Stone
No planet, no universe, is greater to a man than his own ego, his own observing self. – “Thunder and Roses,” Theodore Sturgeon
I finally realized that I was not speculating about masks in general, but about what lay behind one in particular. That’s the devil of the things; you’re never sure whether a girl is heightening loveliness or hiding ugliness. – “Coming Attraction,” Fritz Leiber
…but there are times when a scientist must not be afraid to make a fool of himself. – “The Sentinel,” Arthur C. Clarke
…the old are often insanely jealous of the young. – “The Sentinel,” Arthur C. Clarke
Live in the world around you. – “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman,” Harlan Ellison
…but face it, most of the things we call “sexy” are symbolic, you know, except perhaps an exhibitionist’s open fly. – “Day Million,” Frederik Pohl
It is people that make stories, not the circumstances they find themselves in. – “Day Million,” Frederik Pohl
There are times when you must walk by yourself because it hurts so much to be alone. – “Aye, and Gomorrah…,” Samuel R. Delany
“I want you because you can’t want me.” – “Aye, and Gomorrah…,” Samuel R. Delany
We can’t afford to tease and run. – “Passengers,” Robert Silverberg
An overcrowded world is the ideal place in which to be lonely. – “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long,” Brian Aldiss
Did repetition of the individual negate individuality? – “Nine Lives,” Ursula K. Le Guin
When one culture has the big guns and the other has none, there is a certain predictability about the outcome. – “When it Changed,” Joanna Russ
Nobody wants to spend eternity alone. – “Closer,” Greg Egan
You know, all the evil in the world, all the sadness comes from not having a good answer to that question: what do I do next? – “Everywhere,” Geoff Ryman
…through the act of reading my words, the patterns that form your thoughts become an imitation of the patterns that once formed mine. And in that way I live again, through you. – “Exhalation,” Ted Chiang
(Also posted to Goodreads.)