Blish appears to have written most of his works in the cold war era. Some of his stories are fixed around cold war issues such as post nuclear war conditions and combat of the west and the Soviets. Other stories are concerned with ethics of planetary expansion. The Works of Art includes some odd short stories such as that of putting the mind of Strauss in someone elses brain and that of starting a race of microscipic humanoids in a different planet (Surface Tension). The author was talented but his meaning in some stories is somewhat obscure. I did like his story about the werewolves but this seemed an obstraction from his main themes. I mildly recommend the book since some of the short stories are creative. ( )