Rating: 
Summary: You won't find a better deal!
Review: In this book (and its sequel, "The Players of Null-A") you get twice the content for the price of one:Sure, the SF story is pretty interesting, and the mystery of Gosseyn's 'true' identity is engrossing, too. But in addition to that, you get a fun introduction to a discipline that could change your life: general semantics. Keep in mind how much Gosseyn had to study and train to even have a shot at scoring well in the Games. GS isn't easy. But you might find out that it's worth the effort. Check out Korzybski's "Science and Sanity," for a Complete change of pace. The original source for van Vogt's ideas about general semantics, a lot tougher to read, and an invaluable guide for how not to be Nuts.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: The first hard-cover science fiction novel published by a major publisher after World War 2 (Simon and Schuster, 1948). Null-A was listed by the New York area library association among the hundred best novels of 1948. It won the Manuscripters Club award. Translated into nine languages, it made its author the most popular writer in France in terms of copies sold; and all by itself, it created the French science fiction market. If you can't get this book here, get a used copy. It's a real page-turner, creating a unique and exciting future. The hero uses the Null-A discipline to out-think his rivals. It's the clash of minds that makes it so exciting. The Null-A discipline actually exists; and many people who read Null-A went on to study the discipline of Null-A, and found their lives enriched. If you read this book and are intrigued, then I suggest you go on to Science and Sanity, by Alfred Korzybski, a book that Russell Meyers, the noted neurologist, once described as "The most profound, insightful, and globally significant book I have ever read." But first read the World of Null-A, as it sets the stage, and makes the purpose and scope of the Null-A discipline (and Science and Sanity) truly understandable (as no other introduction can).
Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: The first hard-cover science fiction novel published by a major publisher after World War 2 (Simon and Schuster, 1948). Null-A was listed by the New York area library association among the hundred best novels of 1948. It won the Manuscripters Club award. Translated into nine languages, it made its author the most popular writer in France in terms of copies sold; and all by itself, it created the French science fiction market. If you can't get this book here, get a used copy. It's a real page-turner, creating a unique and exciting future. The hero uses the Null-A discipline to out-think his rivals. It's the clash of minds that makes it so exciting. The Null-A discipline actually exists; and many people who read Null-A went on to study the discipline of Null-A, and found their lives enriched. If you read this book and are intrigued, then I suggest you go on to Science and Sanity, by Alfred Korzybski, a book that Russell Meyers, the noted neurologist, once described as "The most profound, insightful, and globally significant book I have ever read." But first read the World of Null-A, as it sets the stage, and makes the purpose and scope of the Null-A discipline (and Science and Sanity) truly understandable (as no other introduction can).
Rating: 
Summary: An early SF classic
Review: The year is AD 2560. Earth is controlled by a gigantic computer, the "Games Machine", which each year determines who is eligible for emigration to Venus, home to an utopian society based on the precepts of "Null-A" philosophy, a discipline which allows an individual's intellectual and emotional processes to work in perfect harmony. Gilbert Gosseyn is a man seemingly without a past. He is drawn into a complex web of intrigue by Earth's leaders and soon discovers a plot by an alien Galactic League to conquer the Solar System. Whats more, he realises he is also being used as a pawn by an unknown power, the nature of which he must uncover to determine his true purpose and identity. As one of the earliest commercial SF novels, written in 1948, the "World of Null-A" is predictably anachronistic in its description of a world of the future. Yet the book is suitably action-packed and fast-paced to hold your interest. In fairness to it, in the late-1940s it would have been groundbreaking. The plot is only partially resolved at the end and its clear that the book was intended as the first in a series. Probably worth reading only for serious connoisseurs of sci-fi.
Rating:
Summary: Prepare to permanently alter the way you think
Review: This book changed my brain. The story centers on the 'life' of Gilbert Gosseyn (Go-Sane), a man with a very special brain. As a contestant in the Game, a challenging test of one's ability to master Null-A (non-Aristotelian logic), Gilbert hopes to achieve one of the better prizes, citizenship on Venus or even the Presidency. But a conspiracy of shadowy players and public figures have other plans for Gilbert and his special brain. Gilbert is a surprisingly resilient challenge to their power. And a great surprise to himself, as well. As he discovers more about himself, he also learns more about a larger game being played by hidden masters who control whole galaxies.At first a humble and unwitting pawn, Gilbert is quickly promoted as he progresses through the ranks in unorthodox and interesting ways. In addition to the great pulp-style sci-fi story, A.E. Van Vogt adds a lot of interesting semantic theory by beginning each chapter with a quote for Alfred Korzybski's work SCIENCE AND SANITY. "The Map is not the territory it represents" is one of the shorter, and most easily understood. They get progressively more challenging, mirroring Gilbert's story. The Korzybski excepts are worth the price of the book alone. If you're interested in a good old sci-fi tale with conspiracies, space battle and other planets, as well as some thing which actually challenges your own mental processes, check it out.
Rating:
Summary: when emotional intelligence was still science fiction!
Review: This book is more than "just another science fiction novel". It comes with a message: to get further in life, you have to get yourself to thinking sane. As a solution, consider "non-aristotelian thinking". Several chapters of this book start with "quotes" of this "null-A" thinking, sometimes referring to Korzybski's book "Science and Sanity" (yes, it's available from Amazon)! Actually several SF fans I encountered, including Denis Bridoux, my co-author for the English version of "7 Steps to Emotional Intelligence", got intrigued in this "general semantics" thing. In fact, if it weren't for this book, I would never have met Denis. As such, we should have mentioned Van Vogt in the Acknowledgements of our book. Given the age of this book, it is still refreshing reading: a real SF classic that kept its quality despite its age. Indeed, the whole idea of nul-A thinking is still ahead of our times, despite that the principles were stated more than 68 years ago! Of course, for those wanting to learn to think in a null-A manner, there are now more accessible books, such as "Drive Yourself Sane, Using the Uncommon Sense of General Semantics" by Susan Presby & Bruce Kodish. And our own book also includes the principles that Van Voght refers to, given that it helps to increase your emotional intelligence. Patrick E.C. Merlevede, MSc -- co-author of "7 Steps to Emotional Intelligence"
Rating:
Summary: when emotional intelligence was still science fiction!
Review: This book is more than "just another science fiction novel". It comes with a message: to get further in life, you have to get yourself to thinking sane. As a solution, consider "non-aristotelian thinking". Several chapters of this book start with "quotes" of this "null-A" thinking, sometimes referring to Korzybski's book "Science and Sanity" (yes, it's available from Amazon)! Actually several SF fans I encountered, including Denis Bridoux, my co-author for the English version of "7 Steps to Emotional Intelligence", got intrigued in this "general semantics" thing. In fact, if it weren't for this book, I would never have met Denis. As such, we should have mentioned Van Vogt in the Acknowledgements of our book. Given the age of this book, it is still refreshing reading: a real SF classic that kept its quality despite its age. Indeed, the whole idea of nul-A thinking is still ahead of our times, despite that the principles were stated more than 68 years ago! Of course, for those wanting to learn to think in a null-A manner, there are now more accessible books, such as "Drive Yourself Sane, Using the Uncommon Sense of General Semantics" by Susan Presby & Bruce Kodish. And our own book also includes the principles that Van Voght refers to, given that it helps to increase your emotional intelligence. Patrick E.C. Merlevede, MSc -- co-author of "7 Steps to Emotional Intelligence"
Rating:
Summary: Omniscient machine oversees utopia
Review: Van Vogt wrote this suspenseful account of a computer controlled utopia in 1945. Classic, edge-of-the-seat Van Vogt! This, along with Slan (1940), and The Voyage of the Space Beagle (1939) are his best works. IMHB.
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