[philspar]

Great article Stephen.  I have had a few thoughts on the book titles myself over the years.  When I first read “Fire In The Mind” there was a passage on page 281 that has always stuck with me.  It details a conversation between a young Campbell and Henry Morton Robinson:

After reading some of Campbell’s early essagys, Robinson said, “You know, you write like an academic.  You build your points one after the other – very nicely – and then finally come to the climax of your discussion.  What you really need to do – especailly for the trade reader – is the other way around.  Start with the climax, and then show the reader how you got there.”

I’ve always imagined that some of Campbell’s titles were chosen to advertise a book’s climactic argument.

PS: Any chance we can get a 3D/VR photo of Campbell’s desk? 🙂