I thoroughly enjoyed this idiosyncratic look at a genre which has long-needed a hard, critical eye from someone who knows what they're talking about. Disch, with Sladek, Spinrad, Ballard, Aldiss and Moorcock was one of those associated with the British sf 'new wave' of the sixties, which formed around New Worlds magazine and whose object was to bring the highest literary values to a form they called speculative fiction. Disch's own work is a fine example of their ambition and this book is probably the best so far on the subject. Highly recommended.