= Tom_Godwin =

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= Tom_Godwin =
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Introduction
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Tom Godwin (June 6, 1915 – August 31, 1980) was an American science
fiction author active throughout the 1950s into the 1970s. In his
career, Godwin published three novels and around thirty short stories.
He is best known for his short story, "The Cold Equations". Published
in 1954, the short story was Godwin’s fourth work to be published and
was one whose controversial dark ending helped redefine the genre.

Early life and education
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Godwin was born in Maryland in 1915. He had a rough childhood that was
marked by much loss and suffering. At the age of five, his younger
sister died as a result of an accidental shooting that occurred after
he had been "playing with the gun that killed her". After his mother's
death, he was raised by his father, with whom he did not have the best
relationship. He withdrew from school after the third grade, but he
went on to teach himself multiple other subjects to expand his
knowledge and be able to write better stories.

Personal life
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Godwin had a spinal disorder known as kyphosis, which results in a
curvature of the spine, making him appear hunchbacked. He spent a few
months in the Army before he was discharged due to his spinal
condition worsening.

In the early 1960s, Godwin was living in a remote area of northwestern
Arizona with his father while writing and making his own drywashers to
sell. It was in the summer of 1961 that he met his future wife,
Laureola Godwin, and his then twelve-year-old step-daughter, whom he
later adopted, Diane Godwin Sullivan, through the sale of one of his
drywashers. He went on to base two of the main characters in his
second novel, 'The Space Barbarians', after them.

He worked for the forest service in Washington state for a short
period of time. His wife died from a heart attack in the early 1970s.
This was something that had a heavy impact on him for the rest of his
life. After living with his adopted daughter and her family in Texas
for some time after his wife's death, he moved to Nevada.

Death
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Throughout his life, Godwin battled with alcohol abuse with varying
degrees of success in being able to control it. It was his wife's
death that eventually led him to be "consume[d]" by drinking which led
to many health problems. Godwin died in a Las Vegas hospital in the
summer of 1980. He did not have any identification on him so his body
was held at a funeral home until a friend of his who was a physician
assistant learned of his death and contacted his daughter, Diane.

Novels
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Ragnarok series:
*'The Survivors' (Gnome Press, 1958; also known as 'Space Prison',
Pyramid Books, 1960)
*'The Space Barbarians' (Pyramid Books, 1964)

Others:
*'Beyond Another Sun' (Curtis, 1971)

Short stories
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* "The Gulf Between" in 'Astounding', October 1953
* "Mother of Invention" in 'Astounding', December 1953
* "The Greater Thing" in 'Astounding', February 1954
* "The Cold Equations" in 'Astounding', August 1954
* "No Species Alone" in 'Universe', November 1954
* "You Created Us" in 'Fantastic Universe', October 1955
* "The Barbarians" in 'If', December 1955
* "Operation Opera" in 'Fantasy and Science Fiction', April 1956
* "Brain Teaser" in 'If', October 1956
* "Too Soon to Die" (basis for his novel 'The Survivors') in
'Venture', March 1957
* "The Harvest" in 'Venture', July 1957
* "The Last Victory" in 'If', August 1957
* "The Nothing Equation" in 'Amazing', December 1957
* "The Wild Ones" in 'Science Fiction Stories', January 1958
* "My Brother - The Ape" in 'Amazing', January 1958
* "Cry From a Far Planet" in 'Amazing', September 1958
* "A Place Beyond the Stars" in 'Super-Science Fiction', February 1959
* "Empathy" in 'Fantastic', October 1959
* "The Helpful Hand of God" in 'Analog', December 1961
* "...and Devious the Line of Duty" in 'Analog', December 1962
* "Desert Execution" in 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine', July 1967
* "The Gentle Captive" in the original story anthology 'Signs and
Wonders' (1972)
* "She Was a Child" in 'Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine', April 1973
* "We'll Walk Again in the Moonlight" in the anthology 'Crisis' (1974)
* "Backfire" in 'Ed McBain's 87th Precinct Mystery Magazine', April
1975
* "The Steel Guardian" in 'Antaeus', Spring/Summer 1977
* "Social Blunder" in 'Amazing', July 1977
* "Before Willows Ever Walked" in 'Fantasy and Science Fiction', March
1980

Collections
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The following stories are collected in the book,
[http://www.webscription.net/p-76-the-cold-equations.aspx 'The Cold
Equations & Other Stories'] ed. Eric Flint (Baen Books, 2004):
* "The Survivors" • novel
* "The Harvest" • short story
* "Brain Teaser" • short story
* "Mother of Invention" • novella
* "...and Devious the Line of Duty" • novelette
* "Empathy" • novelette
* "No Species Alone" • novelette
* "The Gulf Between" • novella
* "The Cold Equations" • novelette

License
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Godwin