Book description
It's the early 21st century. Ed Stone says he's been in suspended
animation since the 1930s. He says he was kidnapped by aliens. He says
they sent him forth on a mission: to convince the nations of the world
to build massive vault, a mile on each side, in which humanity's
billions will lie in suspension and survive the impending destruction of
the Earth. Ed Stone says all these things, and the strangest part is
that people believe him - ordinary people and powerful people alike. So
begins Why Do Birds, a classically science-fictional novel of ideas and
quite possibly Damon Knight's most haunting work, a terrifying tale of
deceit and human folly. Damon Knight (1922 - 2002) Damon Francis
Knight was born in Oregon in 1922. He is regarded as one of the most
important figures in modern science fiction, having made significant
contributions to the field as an author, editor and critic. Knight
co-founded the Milford Writers' Conference, the influential Clarion
Workshop and the Science Fiction Writers of America, serving as its
first president from 1965-67. Around this time he also made his
reputation as one of the field's foremost anthologists. Beginning with
reprint collections, in 1966 he launched the influential Orbit series of
original anthologies. Starting with Orbit 1, the series would continue
for over a decade, concluding in 1980 with Orbit 21. Orbit was the
longest running and most influential anthology series in SF up to that
point, showcasing such important authors as Gene Wolfe, R. A. Lafferty
and Knight's third wife, Kate Wilhelm. A master of short fiction, Damon
Knight is best known in wider circles as the author of 'To Serve
Mankind', which was adapted for The Twilight Zone and later spoofed in a
Hallowe'en episode of The Simpsons. He was granted the SFWA's Grand
Master Award in 1995, and in 2002, SFWA renamed it the Damon Knight
Grand Master Award in his honour. He died in 2002.
