The White Papers celebrates James White, long-time writer and one of the founders of Irish Fandom. White was the Guest of Honor at the 1996 World Science Fiction Convention in Los Angeles.
This book includes four stories ("Medic," "Countercharm," "Accident," and "Visitor at Large") set in Sector General, the multi-species intergalactic hospital which is his most famous creation. It also includes a never before-published ghost story, "House Sitter," his Hugo-nominated story "Custom Fitting," and three others. Also included is an expanded version of his "Secret History of Sector General."
White's fannish writing is also legendary. Included in The White Papers are nine classic articles ranging from the hilarious account of White stalking the "harris monster" to the poignant "Exorcists of IF." These articles range from the '50s to the '90s, and in them you will meet many fannish and professional greats.
Finally, this volume includes Gary Louie's Sector General timeline and a compendium of the Sector General system for the classification of alien beings.
Table of Contents
- Introduction by Mike Resnick
- James White by Walt Willis
- Fiction
- Custom Fitting
- Commuter
- House Sitter (original)
- Sanctuary
- Christmas Treason
- The Secret History of Sector General (article)
- Accident
- Medic
- Countercharm
- Visitor at Large
- Fan Writing
- An Introduction to Real Virtuality by Bruce Pelz .
- The Last Time I Saw Harris
- The Beacon or Through Darkest Ireland Carrying a Torch for Bea Mahaffey
- The Not-So-Hot Gospeller or The New Luke in Irish Fandom
- The Long Afternoon of Harrogate
- The History of Irish Fandom—Chapter 3
- The Quinze-y Report
- Fester on the Fringe
- The Exorcists of IF
- The Unreal George Affair
- More about Sector General
- Sector General Timeline by Gary Louie
- Notes on the Classification System
- The Classification System by Gary Louie
![[James White photo]](images/White-200.JPG)
James White
James White is the creator of the famed Sector General stories about a huge intergalactic, multi-species hospital. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1928 and has lived there his entire life. White's writing is particularly noteworthy for endlessly inventive aliens and alien environments. He has been writing science fiction since 1953. Besides the Sector General stories and novels, perhaps his most famous works are the novel The Watch Below, and the Hugo nominated story "Custom Fitting." In addition to his professional work, James White has been a mainstay of Irish Fandom for more than forty years, contributing distinguished and creative essays to fanzines like Slant and Hyphen.
James White's Friends Speak
"Pak Protector table at Sector General cafeteria--they told me what to eat and made me eat it. Please advise!" — Larry Niven
"I first learned to appreciate James White when I realized that we both write in the English language, and both use the same 26 letters to write our best stories." — Wilson Tucker
"Beware the tales of this fabulous hospital in space, because once they grab hold of your sense of wonder you will be hopelessly hooked for life. ... I publicly promise that if James White ever stops writing is Sector General books, I will personally break one of his knees each day until he relents." — Mike Resnick
"James White's Sector General stories have cured me! Hallelujah!" — Harlan Ellison
Printing History
Trade hardcover state, 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", 397pp., ISBN: 0-915368-71-4, 800 copies, $22.00 (including tax) at the convention, $25.00 thereafter, September 1996
Boxed hardcover state, 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", 397pp., ISBN: 0-915368-72-2, 200 numbered and signed copies, $32.50 (including tax) sold out at the convention, September 1996. out of print!
LC 96-069493