If you love science fiction anthologies and treasure the breadth and depth of story collections about the fantastic, then you owe a great debt to Martin H. Greenberg, who died over the weekend.
The longtime political science professor at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay was involved with an estimated 2,500 anthologies, and his collaborators included Isaac Asimov, who called him "the best judge in the world where science fiction is concerned." He was such a prolific science fiction editor that people called him "the Green Bay Packager." He received lifetime achievement awards in the science fiction, horror and mystery genres.
Among other accomplishments, Greenberg put out anthologies of political science fiction and science fiction on other topics, which could be taught in classrooms. He also co-edited the magnum opus 100 Great Science Fiction Short Short Stories. Then he branched out into other topics, including fanciful ones like Dangerous Vegetables. And anyone who loves superhero prose fiction should appreciate Greenberg's role in popularizing the form through numerous anthologies starring Batman, the Joker, and several other well-known superhero characters.
He died on Saturday after a long illness, aged 70. [Journal Sentinel Online]