I usually read science fiction to feel optimistic about the future, but I thought it would be interesting to see if concerns of the 1950s & 1960s still held today. Overpopulation and the dumbing-down of society are both touched on here more than once and are, of course, more relevant than ever. Other topics and their projections seemed extreme. I know satire is often painted with broad strokes, but too many of the stories felt very unrealistic, even cartoonish in their execution. Overall, I didn't enjoy this collection too much. I only really liked the last piece, by Heinlein, an examination of social cycles as well as those of another kind (whether RAH made everything up, I do not know, but it was entertaining.) ( )

I love this short story collection so much that I now own two copies, because the cover on the first got so worn that I lost the last three pages of Year of the Jackpot. Contains some of the best of classic sci-fi, and the stories together form a chilling picture even today of the myriad ways we could go wrong. ( )