SFF Author: Cordwainer Smith

(1913-1966)
Cordwainer Smith is the pen name of Paul Linebarger, an East Asia scholar, expert on psychological warfare for the US army, and later a government adviser on foreign policy. Born to a lawyer and political activist with close ties to the Chinese revolution of 1911, his godfather was Sun Yat-Sen and he lived in various countries such as China, France, and Germany. He received a PhD in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University at the age of 23 and became an expert on Far Eastern affairs. He then served with the US Army in the Office of War Information, established their psychological warfare section, and literally “wrote the book” on the subject. In 1943 he was sent to China to coordinate military intelligence operations, after which he became a close confidant of Chiang Kai-shek. He kept his real identity secret when publishing his science fiction stories in the pulp magazines. He avoided direct contact with the SF community despite his stories gaining many admirers. Sadly, just as he was starting to be more amenable to reaching out, he suffered a heart attack and passed away at the early age of 53. Since then, his stories have gained a reputation for their unique, whimsical, and mythical approach to a grand future history.
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