Poul Anderson

The bestselling author of such classic novels as Brain Wave and The Boat of a Million Years, Poul Anderson is one of the more prolific and well known of the hard science fiction writers, though he explored the fantasy genre and dabbled in non-fiction as well. Educated as a physcist (University of Minnesota, 1948) and of Scandanavian orgin, Anderson's work is suffused with these important influences. For the former this is evidenced in his many space/time travel novels and in the latter in such works as Tao Zero and "Sorrows of Odin the Goth". His work is replete with his evolving political views ranging from liberal to conservative and eventually resting in a libertarian outlook. The great events of his time, i.e., the Cold War, Vietnam and the student protest movement are heavily present in his work. Though his fiction is usually devoid of deeeper psychological insights, Anderson tends to focus on larger political and social conflicts emerging from time-travel, terra-forming and the temptations of power contained in those endeavors. Anderson has earned a variety of awards including seven Hugos (noms and wins), three Nebulas, the John W. Campbell Memorial award, a Pegasus award and four Prometheus awards. In addition he was the President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1972 and a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. He also received the SFWA Grandmaster Award for Lifetime Achievement. He married Karen Kruse in 1953, has a daughter who is currently married to Greg Bear and has resided in the San Fransciso area most of his long and productive life. He died of Cancer in 2001.