Clifford D. Simak was one of the leading science fiction writers of his generation - and one of the giants of the genre. He was born in Wisconsin and worked as a journalist on various newspapers in the Midwest, only becoming a full-time writer on his retirement. He was a regular contributor to Astounding Stories during the 1940s and 1950s.

His writing career spans a remarkable period of time, from the days of the earliest pulp publishing to his last novel in the 1980s. He is often called a “pastoralist” because of his use of peaceful rural settings and small-town characters. His output was large and varied, although he is now best-known for a few of his works such as CITY and WAY STATION.