🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Philip Wylie
Philip Gordon Wylie was a Massachusetts-based philosophy and science fiction author. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Philip was the son of Edmund Melville and Edna Edwards, a Presbyterian minister and novelist, respectively. His mother died when Philip was only five years old. Philips’s family relocated to Montclair, New Jersey, where he joined Princeton University in 1923, graduating in 1923. His first wife was Sally Ondek, with whom they had a daughter, Karen, who later became the inventor of animal clicker training. Philip divorced his first wife and then married Frederic Ballard. As a writer of both nonfiction and fiction, Philip’s work includes hundreds of articles, short stories, serials, novels, syndicated newspapers, newspaper columns, and works of social criticism.
All Book Series by Philip Wylie
When Worlds Collide
Series opener · book 1 of 3 · published 1932 Co-authored · Edwin Balmer
The Terrans of Beta
Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 2011 Anthology · R.L. Helms
The Shield of Silence
Book 12 of 31 · published 1936 Co-authored · Edwin Balmer
Ten Thousand Blunt Instruments and Other Tales of Mystery
Book 6 of 7 · published 2010
Crunch & Des: Classic Stories of Saltwater Fishing
Latest in the series · book 7 of 7 · published 2014
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Philip Wylie?
Philip Gordon Wylie was a Massachusetts-based philosophy and science fiction author. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Philip was the son of Edmund Melville and Edna Edwards, a Presbyterian minister and novelist, respectively. His mother died when Philip was only five years old.
Which Philip Wylie series should I start with?
The best place to start is the When Worlds Collide series, the earliest of Philip Wylie's multi-book series: it opens with When Worlds Collide (1932) and runs to 3 books across 1932–2011, ending with The Terrans of Beta (2011).
How many books has Philip Wylie written?
Philip Wylie has 47 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1928 and 2014. 3 of them belong to 1 named series — the largest being the When Worlds Collide series with 3 books — and 44 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Philip Wylie's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Philip Wylie's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are When Worlds Collide (1932–2011, 3 books).
How are Philip Wylie's books organised into series?
This guide splits Philip Wylie's 47 books into 1 named series and 44 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: When Worlds Collide (3 books, 1932–2011).