Other than it's sheer bulk (1000+ pages in trade paperback!), I'm not sure why I put this down halfway through, only to pick it up nearly a year later. I'm glad I went back to it. Ellison is a fantastic writer: even while he adapts punctuational practice to his own purposes, he manages to create wonderfully detailed descriptions and often compelling stories. His work is varied in quality, and this collection covers the spectrum from his childhood scratchings to his masterpieces. I highly recommend this collection as a good starting point for the interested reader.