As detailed in the afterword, these are the author's choice from among more than 200 stories. Many are focused in the hard science fiction realm; Benford was also an astrophysicist, and the protagonist in many stories is a scientist.

Of the collection, my favorites were related to time travel. "In the Dark Backward" and "Mercies" were among them. I also really liked "A Desperate Calculus", showing problems with climate change back in 1995. Ironically, the only novel of Benford's I have read was [b:Timescape|778990|Timescape|Gregory Benford|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392985886l/778990.SY75.jpg|2611291]. It has both those themes, and didn't work for me, despite winning awards. Might be worth a re-read.