Talk:The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

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TOC[edit]

the table of contents listed the authors of the "deep probe" essays. how is that not relevant? with the section gone, no one will know it was added. why not move the TOC here, and let someone else remove the chapter info and just list the essay authors.Mercurywoodrose (talk) 20:10, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

heres the TOC, i think just listing the authors would be relevant:

Table of contents[edit]

01. Program (chronology)
02. Thematics (authors of introductions in parentheses)
02.01 Spacecraft and Star Drives (Poul Anderson)
02.02 Exploration and Colonies (Jack Williamson)
02.03 Biologies and Environments (James White)
02.04 Warfare and Weaponry (Harry Harrison)
02.05 Galactic Empires (Lester del Rey)
02.06 Future and Alternative Histories (Brian Aldiss)
02.07 Utopias and Nightmares (John Brunner)
02.08 Cataclysms and Dooms (J.G. Ballard)
02.09 Lost and Parallel Worlds (Robert Sheckley)
02.10 Time and Nth Dimensions (Fritz Leiber)
02.11 Technologies and Artefacts (Kenneth Bulmer)
02.12 Cities and Cultures (Frederik Pohl)
02.13 Robots and Androids (Isaac Asimov)
02.14 Computers and Cybernetics (Arthur C. Clarke)
02.15 Mutants and Symbiotes (Josephine Saxton)
02.16 Telepathy, Psionics and ESP (Larry Niven)
02.17 Sex and Taboos (Keith Roberts)
02.18 Religion and Myths (Philip José Farmer)
02.19 Inner Space (A.E. van Vogt)
03. Deep Probes
03.01 Interface, by Edmund Cooper
03.02 Science Fiction as Literature, by George Turner
03.03 Recurrent Concepts
03.03.1 The Value of Science Fiction, by Damon Knight
03.03.2 The Barbarian As Hero, by L. Sprague de Camp
03.03.3 Software: the Psychological View, by Brian Ash
04. Fandom and Media
04.01 Fandom
04.02 Science Fiction Art
04.03 Science Fiction in the Cinema
04.04 Science Fiction on Television
04.05 Science Fiction Magazines
04.06 Books and Anthologies
04.07 Juveniles, Comics and Strips
04.08 Commentators and Courses
04.09 Fringe Cults

In 99.9 cases out of a hundred, tables of contents are completely useless, and it improves book articles to remove them. There are really very few cases indeed - dealing with books of great historical importance, where the individual chapters have received detailed commentary - where one could justify making an exception. The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is not one of those books. I agree that mentioning the authors represented in the book would be helpful. FreeKnowledgeCreator (talk) 21:54, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]