Essays and Miscellaneous Writings
updated March 2015
“Accidentally and By the Back Door” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2004. 17:3(195): p. 17-18.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.1. 2006, San Francisco CA: Night Shade Books.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.1. 2006, New York, NY: SFBC.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.1. 2009, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Afterword” Assignment in Eternity, by R. A. Heinlein. 2012, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Afterword” The Cold Equations & Other Stories, by T. Godwin. E. Flint, ed. 2003, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Alien Landscape with Figures” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2005. 17:11(203): p. 6.
——— Warriors of the Steppes, by H. Lamb. H. A. Jones, ed. 2006, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
——— Warriors of the Steppes, by H. Lamb. H. A. Jones, ed. 2006, Amazon Kindle eBook.
“Another Method of Plotting” Tor/Forge Newsletter (online), July 2011.
“Appendix” The Tank Lords. 1997, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Art, History, and Unplanned Side-Effects” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2013. 26:4(304): p. 9.
“At Seventeen” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 1996. 8:12(96): p. 1.
“A Background Note” Paying the Piper. 2002, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Becoming a Professional Writer by Way of Southeast Asia” The Butcher’s Bill. 1998, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.1. 2006, San Francisco CA: Night Shade Books.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.1. 2006, New York, NY: SFBC.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.1. 2009, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Before Nineteen Eighty-Four: Thoughts on Orwell” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2011. 23:5(269): p. 9.
“A Belated Thank-You (Introduction)” That is Not Dead: Black Magic and Occult Stories, v.3. 2009, Sauk City, WI: Battered Silicon Dispatch Box/Arkham House/August Derleth Society.
——— The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2009. 21:6(246): p. 21.
“A Brief Introduction to Karl Edward Wagner” Weird Tales, 1989. Fall 1989.
“Broken Things” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2008. 20:6(234): p. 11.
“But Why on Earth Belisarius? (Introduction)” Thunder at Dawn, 2009, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Casualties of War: Command Performance by Walter M. Miller” Command Performance, by Walter M. Miller (The Galaxy Project), 2011, RosettaBooks. (eBook)
——— 2011, Amazon.com Kindle eBook.
——— 2011, Barnesandnoble.com Nook Book.
“The Classical Background” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2011. 23:6(270): p. 22.
“The Classical Background: Letter of Comment” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2011. 23:8(272): p. 23.
“The Cold Equations, by Tom Godwin” (with Barry Malzberg) The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2002. 14:7(163): p. 1, 4-5.
“Combat” The American Warrior, C. Morris and J. Morris, eds. 1992, Stamford, CT: Longmeadow Press.
“Coming Home by the Long Way (Introduction)” Grimmer Than Hell. 2003, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
——— Grimmer Than Hell. 2004, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Costs and Benefits (Introduction)” Dogs of War. 2002, New York, N.Y.: Warner Aspect.
“The Creation of Rome (Introduction)” The Eternal City, D. Drake, M. H. Greenberg and C. G. Waugh, eds. 1990, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Cyberpunk and the New Wave: Ruptures and Continuities: Letter of Comment” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2007. 20:1(229): p. 23.
“Dark and Sinister Shades: The Twilight Tales of Marjorie Bowen: Letter of Comment” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2010. 23:2(266): p. 23.
“Dr. Syn Revisted” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2010. 23:2(266): p. 11.
“The Earlier Version (Afterword)” Assignment in Eternity, by R. Heinlein, 2012, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Excitement! Adventure! Science Fiction! My Personal Look at Space Opera and Military SF” Year’s Best Military Science Fiction and Space Opera, D. Afsharirad, ed. 2015, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
——— The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2015. xx:x(xxx): p. xx.
“Extraordinary Diplomats (Preface)” Retief! The Graphic Album, by D. Fujitake, J. Strnad and K. Laumer. 1990, Greencastle, PA: Apple Press.
——— Retief!, by K. Laumer; E. Flint, ed. 2002, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Faith, Hope, and Charity” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2004. 16:11(191): p. 8-9.
“The Fifteen Years Afterword” At Any Price, 1985, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Five Firebases” Thunder Run, 2009. 24:3, p. 1, 4-5.
——— an edited version as “Foreword” Hammer’s Slammers. [Role-playing game] G. Hanrahan. 2009. Swindon, UK: Mongoose Publishing.
“Forever Afterword” Forever After, R. Zelazny, ed. 1995, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“The Forgotten Planet” for “MIND MELD: Books That Hold Special Places in Our Hearts and On Our Shelve,” SF Signal (online) August 2009
“Frank R. Paul’s GoH Speech: Letter of Comment” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2006. 19:2(218): p. 23.
“The Golden Age” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2009. 21:10(250): p. 14.
——— Nebula Awards Showcase, B. Fawcett, ed. 2010, New York: Roc.
“The Great Wizard, Cabbage (Afterword)” Onward Drake!, Mark Van Name, ed. 2015, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“The Hairless Ones Come: L. Sprague de Camp” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2005. 17:8(200): p. 18.
“A Hard Look Back” Bull Spec, a magazine of speculative fiction (online), September 26, 2012.
“Heroes (Introduction)” Space Infantry, D. Drake, C. G. Waugh and M. H. Greenberg, eds. 1989, New York: Ace.
“Hickmania” Science Fiction Age, 1993. November 1993.
“How They Got That Way: Afterword to Counting the Cost.” Counting the Cost. 1987, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.2. 2007, San Francisco CA: Night Shade Books.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.2. 2007, New York, NY: SFBC.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.2. 2010, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“The Human Side (Introduction)” Kull, by R. E. Howard. 1995, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“In a Glass Brightly: The Wind Between the Worlds by Lester del Rey” The Wind Between the Worlds, by Lester del Rey (The Galaxy Project), 2011, RosettaBooks. (eBook)
——— 2011, Amazon.com Kindle eBook.
——— 2011, Barnesandnoble.com Nook Book.
“An Interview with Tom Purdom: Letter of Comment” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2006. 18:7(211): p. 23.
“Intolerance” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 1995. 7:10(82): p. 21.
“Introduction” All the Way to the Gallows. 1996, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Introduction” Caught in the Crossfire. 1998, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Introduction” Cormac Mac Art, by R. E. Howard. 1995, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Introduction” Cthulhu: The Mythos and Kindred Horrors, D. Drake, ed. 1987, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Introduction” Dogs of War, 2002, New York: Warner Aspect.
“Introduction” Dorsai Spirit, by G. R. Dickson. 2002, New York: Tor.
“Introduction” Hammer’s Anvils: Handbook #2, by J. Treadaway. 2006, Bournemouth, UK: Pireme.
“Introduction” Hammer’s Slammer’s Handbook, by J. Lambshead and J. Treadaway. 2004, Bournemouth, UK: Pireme.
“Introduction” Heads to the Storm, D. Drake and S. Miesel, eds. 1989, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Introduction” The Mercenary, by J. Pournelle. 1988, New York: F. Watts
——— Reprinted as “Mercenaries [Introduction]” Caught in the Crossfire. 1998, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Introduction” Seas of Venus, 2002, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Introduction” A Separate Star: A Science Fiction Tribute to Rudyard Kipling, D. Drake and S. Miesel, eds. 1989, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“The Iron Chancellor: Professionalism at the Level of Genius” The Iron Chancellor, by Robert Silverberg (The Galaxy Project), 2011, RosettaBooks. (eBook)
——— 2011, Amazon.com Kindle eBook.
——— 2011, Barnesandnoble.com Nook Book.
“Isaac Asimov: Letter of Comment” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 1999. 11:5(125): p. 23.
“It’s a Lot Like War (Introduction)” Men Hunting Things, D. Drake, ed. 1988, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Jim Baen October 22, 1943 – June 28, 2006” [Jim Baen Obituary] Jim Baen’s Universe (online), 2006.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.3. 2007, San Francisco CA: Night Shade Books.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.3. 2010, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“John Norman: Letter of Comment” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 1996. 9:4(100): p. 22.
“John W. Campbell: Letter of Comment” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 1998. 10:9(117): p. 23.
“A Kind of Humor” Military Science Fiction on Tor.com (online), January 2012.
“L. Sprague de Camp: An Appreciation” Locus, 2000. 45:6(No.479).
“Let the Games Begin (Introduction)” Space Gladiators, D. Drake, C. G. Waugh and M. H. Greenberg, eds. 1989, New York: Ace Books.
“A Look Into the Past (Introduction)”Dinosaurs & a Dirigible, 2014, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Manly in the Mountains (Foreword)” John the Balladeer, by Manly Wade Wellman. 1988, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
——— The Tome #6, 1990.
“Manly Wade Wellman and Alfred Bester” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 1996. 9:1(97): p. 9.
“Manly Wade Wellman and the Stone Age: The Hok Stories” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2010. 22:10(262): p. 14.
——— “Manly and the Stone Age (Introduction)” Battle in the Dawn: The Complete Hok the Mighty, by Manly Wade Wellman. 2011, Redmond, WA: Paizo Publishing.
“Manly’s Stories” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2002. 14:10(166): p. 15-16.
——— Sin’s Doorway and Other Ominous Entrances, by M. W. Wellman. 2003, San Francisco: Night Shade Books.
“Mercenaries: An Introduction” Caught in the Crossfire. 1998, Riverdale, NY: Baen. (First published as “Introduction” in The Mercenary, by J. Pournelle. 1988, New York: F. Watts.)
“The Motorcycle Way of Complex Plotting” Tor/Forge Newsletter (online), May 2010.
“Musings on the Discovery of Pluto” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2008. 20:5(233): p. 13.
“My Discovery of William B. Seabrook: Letter of Comment” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2003. 16:3(183).
“My Friend Barry” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2007. 19:6(222): p. 17.
“The New King (Shiel’s Final Novel): An Appreciation” Shiel in Diverse Hands, A. R. Morse, ed. 1983, Cleveland OH: The Reynolds Morse Foundation.
“No Limit on Hippogrifs” (Poem), The Arkham Collector, Winter 1968.
——— The Arkham Collector, vol. 1, 1971, Sauk City, WI: Arkham House.
“Non-Legal Writing” The Senior Lawyer, 1996. v.6 no. 2.
“A Note on Harry Bates” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2007. 20:2(230): p.21.
“A Note on King Kong” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2010. 22:8(260): p.15.
“A Note on Solomon Kane” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 1998. 11:2(122): p. 11.
“A Note on the Text” Cormac Mac Art, by R. E. Howard. 1995, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Notes on Neither Brute Nor Human: Karl Edward Wagner” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2004. 16:12(192): p. 20.
“On Cover Art” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2008. 20:8(236): p. 20.
“The One That Got Away (Introduction)” The Reaches. 2004, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“One War Later (Afterword)” The Military Dimension: Mark II. 1995, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Personal Commitment” The American Warrior, C. Morris and J. Morris, eds. 1992, Stamford, CT: Longmeadow Press.
“A Personal Note on Kurt Vonnegut” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2007. 19:10(226): p.21.
“Pig Picking” Serve It Forth — Cooking With Anne McCaffrey A. McCaffrey and J. G. Betancourt, eds. 1996: Warner Aspect.
“Poul Anderson’s The High Crusade: An Appreciation by David Drake” Tor.com (Online), September 2010.
“Preface” The Complete Compleat Enchanter, by L. S. de Camp and F. Pratt. 1989, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“A Quick Look at Battle Fleets (Introduction)” Space Dreadnoughts, D. Drake, M. H. Greenberg and C. G. Waugh, eds. 1990, New York: Ace.
“A Range of Treatments (Introduction)” Other Times Than Peace, 2006, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Read This (Or Something Like It)” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2002. 16:11(167): p. 7.
“The Real Jungle: Belize 2001″ Seas of Venus. 2002, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“The Road to Science Fiction: Letter of Comment” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 1999. 14:9(129): p. 23.
“The Roads to the RCN Series” The Road of Danger, 2012, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Sea Stories (Introduction)” Seas of Venus. 2002, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“A Short Appreciation of Jim Rigney (Robert Jordan)” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2008. 20:9(237): p.18.
“The Sixty-Five Million Years Afterword (Afterword)” Time Safari. 1982, New York, NY: Tor.
“Skeletons at the Feast (Introduction)” Phantom Regiments, R. Adams, P. C. Adams and M. H. Greenberg, eds. 1990, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“The Slammers and Me (Afterword)” Onward Drake!, Mark Van Name, ed. 2015, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Slaughtering Early Humans for Fun and (a Slight) Profit (Introduction)” The Hunter Returns, 2015, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Soldiers’ Stories (Introduction)” A Separate Star: A Science Fiction Tribute to Rudyard Kipling, D. Drake and S. Miesel, eds. 1989, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Source Materials, By Way of Introduction” Vettius and His Friends. 1989, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Starting a Long Way From Here” Voyage Across the Stars. 2012, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Stolen Thunder” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 1998. 10:3(113): p. 16.
“Storytellers: A Guided Ramble into Sword and Sorcery Fiction” The Sword & Sorcery Anthology, D. G. Hartwell and J. Weisman, eds. 2012, San Francisco, CA: Tachyon.
“The Story Behind Monsters of the Earth” Upcoming4.Me (online), October 30, 2013
“Surreal Splendor: Three Novels by Mark S. Geston” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2009. 21:5(245): p. 11.
——— The Books of the Wars, M. Geston. 2009, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Thomas Lanier Williams, Protofan” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 1995. 7, no.8(80): p. 21.
“Three or Six Passages to India (Introduction)” Storm at Noontide, E. Flint and D. Drake. 2009, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Tom Godwin: The Cold Equations: Letter of Comment” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 1995. 7:6(78): p. 23.
“Trout in the Milk: A Cautionary Tale” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 1999. 11:8(128): p. 13.
“The Truth Insofar as I Know It” Exorcisms and Ecstasies, 1997, Minneapolis: Fedogan & Bremer.
——— Karl Edward Wagner, ed. by Stephen Jones, 2011, Lakewood CO: Centipede Press.
“An Uncharacteristic Polemic in Difficult Times: Letter of Comment” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2009. 22:2(254): p. 22
“We Happy Few (Afterword)” The Tank Lords. 1997, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.2. 2007, San Francisco, CA: Night Shade Books.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.2. 2007, New York, NY: SFBC.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.2. 2010, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Welcome to the War Zone (Introduction)” The Military Dimension. 1991, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
——— The Military Dimension: Mark II. 1995, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Well It Happened This Way (Introduction)” Foreign Legions, D. Drake, ed. 2001, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“What’s for Sale” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2006. 18:11(215): p. 10-11.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.2. 2007, San Francisco, CA: Night Shade Books.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.2. 2007, New York, NY: SFBC.
——— The Complete Hammer’s Slammers v.2. 2010, Riverdale, NY: Baen.
“Where I Get My Ideas (Afterword)” Cross the Stars, 1984, New York, NY: Tor.
“Why I’m Here” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2007. 19:6(222): p. 20.
“Writer’s Pay in the Pulps: An Exchange” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2006. 19:1(217): p. 15.
“Writer’s Pay in the Pulps: The Conversation Continues” The New York Review of Science Fiction, 2006. 19:4(220): p. 12.
“The Year of the Sex Olympics by Nigel Kneale” Horror: Another 100 Best Books, S. Jones, K. Newman and P. Straub, eds. 2005, New York, NY: Carroll & Graf.