ISBN 0-9655901-9-4 (US hbk)

Foreword by John Kessel

"Think Like a Dinosaur" by James Patrick Kelly
(novelette, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction , June 1995... Winner of the 1995 Asimov Award for Best Novelette, winner of the 1996 Hugo Award for Best Novelette... reissued in the anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirteenth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois, June 1996)

"Heroics" by James Patrick Kelly
(short story, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine , November 1987)

"Pogrom" by James Patrick Kelly
(short story, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine , January 1991)

"Faith" by James Patrick Kelly
(short story, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine , June 1989)

"Big Guy" by James Patrick Kelly
(short story, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine , June 1994)

"Dancing With the Chairs" by James Patrick Kelly
(short story, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine , March 1989)

"Rat" by James Patrick Kelly
(short story, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction , June 1986)

"The First Law of Thermodynamics" by James Patrick Kelly
(novelette, originally published in Intersections: The Sycamore Hill Anthology edited by John Kessel, Mark L. Van Name, and Richard Butner, 1996)

"Breakaway, Backdown" by James Patrick Kelly
(short story, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction , June 1996)

"Standing in Line with Mister Jimmy" by James Patrick Kelly
(short story, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction , June 1991)

"Crow" by James Patrick Kelly
(short story, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction , September 1984)

"Monsters" by James Patrick Kelly
(short story, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction , June 1992)

"Itsy Bitsy Spider" by James Patrick Kelly
(short story, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction , June 1997)

"Mr. Boy" by James Patrick Kelly
(novella, originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction , June 1990... expanded into the novel Wildlife , February 1994)

"'James Patrick Kelly has been a wellkept secret in the SF field for too long,' wrote a book critic recently, but with publication of Think like a Dinosaur and Other Stories , the secret is out. This first major retrospective collects Kelly's finest short fiction from a twenty-year career and includes a dazzling array of work from hard science fiction to Twilight Zone-ish fantasies to stark futuristic horror.

"Thus the grim fable 'Pogrom' presents a near-futuristic scenario in which internecine warfare has broken out between the aging boomer generation and a youthful dispossessed proletariat who must support them. The landmark novella 'Mr. Boy' -- already considered a contemporary classic in the genre -- is the wildly inventive tale of a genetically stunted twelve-year-old who literally lives inside his mother, who has turned herself into a three-quarter-scale model of the Statue of Liberty. 'The First Law of Thermodynamics' is a remarkable evocation of the psychedelic sixties -- the time of Vietnam and Kent State and acid rock -- in which, like the era itself, nothing is what it appears to be. And 'Breakaway, Backdown' portrays the shocking price one must pay for those mustering the 'right stuff' to venture into outer space.

"The now-famous title story -- winner of science fiction's highest honor, the Hugo Award -- encapsulates the entire book. This tale of a transporter beam, maintained by aliens and through which humanity can visit the stars -- combines high-tech extravaganza with the author's ever-present humanistic concerns. Throughout these stories, in one form or another, James Patrick Kelly shows us the frightening power of science to transform our lives while asking deep and searching questions about the future of humanity." [jacket blurb, US hbk, 1997).

"The stories look simple, but reveal depths. They surprise me. They show me things I haven't seen before, and remind me of things I have seen but passed over." --John Kessel (in the Foreword, US hbk, 1997).

"An extremely powerful, and extremely diverse, short story collection. Given the wide range of work on display here, reading them all in one sitting makes Kelly's skill even more apparent, and impressive....

"Golden Gryphon is the publishing house started by Jim Turner, former editor at Arkham House, and confirms his reputation for publishing some of the most important SF collections of the last decade. If you haven't been following Kelly's work before, this collection provides the perfect opportunity to correct that oversight." --Lawrence Person (in Nova Express , Volume 4, Number 4, Winter/Spring 1998).

"I've got to hand it to James Patrick Kelly for his deft handling of the written word. And give a respectful nod to Golden Gryphon Press for producing such a lovely book. Both content and design are truly first class.

"This is a gem of a collection. Every story is thoroughly enjoyable and surprisingly poignant. Congratulations are definitely in order. An absolutely brilliant read. One not to miss. [Collecters would be wise to grab a first edition.]" --Henry W.Targowski (in Mark/Space , August 1997).

Highly Recommended.