This colorful cover to a Groff Conklin 1960 anthology (one of his many anthologies) is a nice representation of Richard Powers’ work. The layout of his cover design was probably designed to allow for open space for the names of Simak, MacLean, Merril, Asimov, Knight, and Budrys.
On the cover? The figure of an astronaut, set against an alien sky in hues of blue, green, and violet, with a few busy red stars in the background, occupies the center of the page. Like many of the human figures featured in Powers’ science-fiction covers, on close inspection, the astronaut – carrying a long-something-or-other, actually resembles a medieval knight far more than a space explorer.
The remainder of the cover is simpler: There are three swirls of red, orange, and yellow (they look like they were done in water-color), while one of Powers’ trademark organic-looking metalloids floats in the upper left corner, perhaps examining the “DELL First Edition” logo.
Notably, Katherine MacLean’s “Incommunicado” in the June, 1950, Astounding Science Fiction, was the subject of spectacular cover art by Ron Miller.
Contents
Introduction, by Groff Conklin
“Galley Slave”, by Isaac Asimov, from Galaxy Science Fiction, December, 1957
“Project Nursemaid”, by Judith Merril, from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October, 1955
“Final Gentleman”, by Clifford D. Simak, from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January, 1960
“Chain Reaction”, by Algis Budrys, from Astounding Science Fiction, April, 1957
“Rule Golden”, by Damon Knight, from Science Fiction, Adventures, May, 1954
“Incommunicado”, by Katherine MacLean, from Astounding Science Fiction, June, 1950
Reference
Six Great Short Science Fiction Novels, at Internet Speculative Fiction Database