Jerry Pournelle was an American author, engineer, essayist, and journalist, best known for his military science fiction novels and non-fiction books. He was a New York Times bestselling author, with his novels featuring the infantry force known as Falkenberg's Legion, which are similar to the works of Gordon R. Dickson and Robert Heinlein. Pournelle wrote a column for Byte Magazine from 1980 to 2008 and was a regular contributor to various computer magazines in the 1970s, 80s, and early 90s.
Dr. Pournelle had a distinguished career in the aerospace industry, working at Boeing on projects related to heat tolerance for astronauts and their spacesuits. He also contributed to projections related to military tactics and probabilities. One report he worked on became a basis for the Strategic Defense Initiative, the missile defense system proposed by President Ronald Reagan. Pournelle was also a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1973.
Pournelle was a tireless ambassador for the future, with his predictions and persuasive essays potentially changing the course of American history. He was known for his paleo-conservative political views, which were sometimes expressed in his fiction. Pournelle was one of the founders of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy, which developed some of the Reagan Administration's space initiatives.
As an author, Pournelle wrote for over 50 years, with his work including the NY Times bestsellers Lucifer’s Hammer, Oath of Fealty and Footfall (with Larry Niven). He worked well with co-authors Larry Niven and Steve Barnes, combining mystery, science, well-paced drama, and outlandish predictions of the future. Pournelle's writing is known for its strong military themes, fast-paced and rollicking stories, and often features funny and scary aliens as antagonists and protagonists.
Pournelle was a full-time writer of technology, science fact, and fiction, with his essays on future prediction and adventurous tales of fiction appearing in various magazines. He was also active in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Pournelle's column in BYTE was the longest-running column in the computer industry, beginning in 1980 and continuing past the turn of the Century on one of the world’s first blogs, ChaosManor™.
Pournelle's work often centered around strong military themes, with several books describing the fictional mercenary infantry force known as Falkenberg's Legion. He was also a prolific writer of non-fiction, with his work including studies on military tactics and probabilities, as well as essays on future prediction. Pournelle was always generous with his advice to would-be writers, telling them that the key to becoming an author was to write - a lot, and to finish what they write.
CoDominium Universe Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
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1
King David's Spaceship
1973
2
West Of Honor
1976
3
The Mercenary
1977
The Endless Frontier Books (with John F. Carr)
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Endless Frontier Vol. II (With: John F. Carr)
1982
2
Cities In Space (With: John F. Carr)
1991
3
Life Among Asteroids (With: John F. Carr)
1992
The Endless Frontier Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Endless Frontier Vol. II
1982
2
Cities In Space
1991
3
Life Among Asteroids
1992
Falkenberg's Legion Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Prince of Mercenaries
1989
2
Falkenberg's Legion
1990
3
Prince of Sparta
1993
4
Prince of Sparta (With: S.M. Stirling)
1993
5
Go Tell the Spartans
1993
Far Frontiers Books (with Jim Baen)
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Far Frontiers
1985
2
Far Frontiers 2
1985
3
Far Frontiers 3
1985
4
Far Frontiers 4
1986
5
Far Frontiers 5
1986
6
Far Frontiers 6
1986
7
Far Frontiers 7
1986
Golden Road Books (with Larry Niven)
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Burning City
2000
2
Burning Tower
2005
Heorot Books (with Larry Niven, with Steven Barnes)
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Legacy of Heorot
1987
2
Beowulf's Children / The Dragons of Heorot
1995
3
The Secret of Black Ship Island
2012
4
Starborn and Godsons
2020
Heorot Books in Chronological Order
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Legacy of Heorot
1987
2
The Secret of Black Ship Island
2012
3
Beowulf's Children / The Dragons of Heorot
1995
4
Starborn and Godsons
2020
Heorot Series in Chronological Order
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Legacy of Heorot
1987
2
The Secret of Black Ship Island
2012
3
Beowulf's Children / The Dragons of Heorot
1995
4
Starborn and Godsons
2020
Imperial Stars Books (with John F. Carr)
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Stars at War
1986
2
Republic and Empire
1987
3
The Crash of Empire
1989
Inferno Books (with Larry Niven)
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Inferno
1975
2
Escape from Hell
2009
Janissaries Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Janissaries
1979
2
Clan and Crown (With: Roland J. Green)
1982
3
Clan and Crown
1982
4
Storms of Victory
1987
5
Storms of Victory (With: Roland J. Green)
1987
6
Mamelukes
2020
7
Mamelukes (With: David Weber, Phillip Pournelle)
2020
Jupiter Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Higher Education
1996
2
Higher Education (With: Charles Sheffield)
1996
3
The Billion Dollar Boy
1997
4
The Billion Dollar Boy (By: Charles Sheffield)
1997
5
Putting Up Roots (By: Charles Sheffield)
1997
6
Putting Up Roots
1997
7
The Cyborg From Earth (By: Charles Sheffield)
1998
8
The Cyborg From Earth
1998
9
Starswarm
1998
10
Outward Bound ( By: James P. Hogan)
1999
11
Outward Bound
1999
Laurie Jo Hansen Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
High Justice
1977
2
Exiles to Glory
1978
3
Exile- and Glory
2008
Man-Kzin Wars Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Man-Kzin Wars
1988
2
The Man-Kzin Wars ( By: Larry Niven)
1988
3
Man-Kzin Wars II (With: Larry Niven, S.M. Stirling)
1989
4
Man-Kzin Wars II
1989
5
Man-Kzin Wars III ( By: Larry Niven)
1990
6
Man-Kzin Wars III
1990
7
Man-Kzin Wars IV
1991
8
Man-Kzin Wars IV ( By: S.M. Stirling)
1991
9
The Children's Hour
1991
10
The Children's Hour (With: S.M. Stirling)
1991
11
Man-Kzin Wars V
1992
12
Man-Kzin Wars VI
1994
13
Man-Kzin Wars VI (By: Gregory Benford, Mark O. Martin)
1994
14
Man-Kzin Wars VII
1995
15
Man-Kzin Wars VII (By: Larry Niven, Gregory Benford, Paul Chafe)
1995
16
A Darker Geometry ( By: Gregory Benford)
1996
17
A Darker Geometry
1996
18
The Best of All Possible Wars (By: S.M. Stirling, Robert Sheckley)
1998
19
The Best of All Possible Wars
1998
20
Man-Kzin Wars VIII: Choosing Names
1998
21
Man-Kzin Wars VIII: Choosing Names (By: Larry Niven)
1998
22
Man-Kzin Wars IX ( By: Jim Baen)
2001
23
Man-Kzin Wars IX
2001
24
The House of the Kzinti
2002
25
Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War ( By: Larry Niven)
2003
26
Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War
2003
27
Man-Kzin Wars XI
2005
28
Man-Kzin Wars XI ( By: Matthew Harrington)
2005
29
Destiny's Forge ( By: Paul Chafe)
2006
30
Destiny's Forge
2006
31
Man-Kzin Wars XII
2009
32
Man-Kzin Wars XII ( By: Larry Niven)
2009
33
Man-Kzin Wars XIII
2012
34
Man-Kzin Wars XIII ( By: Larry Niven)
2012
35
Man-Kzin Wars XIV ( By: Larry Niven)
2013
36
Man-Kzin Wars XIV
2013
37
Treasure Planet (By: Larry Niven, Hal Colebatch, Jessica Q. Fox)
2014
38
Treasure Planet
2014
39
Man-Kzin Wars XV
2019
40
Man-Kzin Wars XV ( By: Larry Niven)
2019
Moties Books (with Larry Niven, with Jennifer R. Pournelle)
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Mote in God's Eye
1974
2
The Gripping Hand / The Moat Around Murcheson's Eye
1993
3
Outies
2010
4
Outies ( By: Jennifer R. Pournelle)
2010
Paul Crane Books (as Wade Curtis)
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Red Heroin
1980
2
Red Dragon
2012
Planet of the Apes Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Planet of the Apes
1963
2
Planet of the Apes (By: Pierre Boulle, Xan Fielding)
1963
3
Beneath The Planet of The Apes ( By: Michael Avallone)
1970
4
Beneath The Planet of The Apes
1970
5
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
1973
6
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
1974
7
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes ( By: John Jakes)
1974
8
Planet of the Apes Movie Novelization (By: William T. Quick)
2001
9
Planet of the Apes Movie Novelization
2001
There Will Be War Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
There Will Be War
1983
2
Men of War
1984
3
Blood and Iron (With: John F. Carr)
1984
4
Blood and Iron
1984
5
Day of the Tyrant
1985
6
Day of the Tyrant (With: John F. Carr)
1985
7
Warrior
1986
8
Guns of Darkness
1987
9
Call To Battle!
1988
10
Call To Battle! (With: John F. Carr)
1988
11
Armageddon! (With: John F. Carr)
1989
12
Armageddon!
1989
13
After Armageddon
1990
War World Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
War World: The Lidless Eye
0
2
The Burning Eye (With: John F. Carr)
1988
3
Death's Head Rebellion (With: John F. Carr)
1990
4
The Burning Eye
1988
5
Sauron Dominion (With: John F. Carr)
1991
6
Death's Head Rebellion
1990
7
Codominium (With: John F. Carr)
1992
8
Sauron Dominion
1991
9
Codominium
1992
10
Blood Feuds ( By: Harry Turtledove)
1992
11
Blood Feuds
1992
12
Invasion
1994
13
Blood Vengeance (With: Harry Turtledove, S.M. Stirling, Judith Tarr, Susan Shwartz)
1994
14
Discovery (With: William Wu, Leslie Fish, Charles E. Gannon, E.R. Stewart, Don Hawthorne, John F. Carr)
2010
15
Blood Vengeance
1994
16
Takeover (With: Don Hawthorne, John F. Carr)
2011
17
Discovery
2010
18
Takeover
2011
19
The Lidless Eye (By: Don Hawthorne, John F. Carr)
2013
20
The Battle of Sauron (With: Don Hawthorne, John F. Carr)
2013
21
The Lidless Eye
2013
22
Cyborg Revolt (By: John F. Carr)
2013
23
Jihad! (By: John F. Carr)
2013
24
The Patriotic Wars (By: John F. Carr)
2017
25
The Battle of Sauron
2013
26
Falkenberg's Regiment (By: John F. Carr)
2018
27
War World: Cyborg Revolt
2013
28
The Fall of the CoDominium (By: John F. Carr)
2020
29
Andromeda Flight (By: John F. Carr, Doug McElwain)
2021
30
War World Concordance (By: John F. Carr, Doug McElwain)
2022
31
Road Warrior ( By: John F. Carr)
2022
32
The Falkenberg Protectorate ( By: John F. Carr)
2023
Standalone Novels
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Birth of Fire
1976
2
Lucifer's Hammer (With: Larry Niven)
1977
3
Lucifer's Hammer
1977
4
Future History
1980
5
Oath of Fealty (With: Larry Niven)
1981
6
Oath of Fealty
1981
7
Footfall
1985
8
Footfall (With: Larry Niven)
1985
9
Fallen Angels
1991
10
Fallen Angels (With: Larry Niven, Michael Flynn)
1991
Short Story Collections
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Best of Jerry Pournelle
2019
Non-Fiction Books
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
That Buck Rogers Stuff
1977
2
A Step Farther Out
1981
3
The Users' Guide to Small Computers
1984
4
Mutual Assured Survival
1984
5
Mutual Assured Survival (With: Dean Ing)
1984
6
The Essential Users Guide to the IBM PC, XT, and PCjr ( By: Dian Girard)
1984
7
The Essential Users Guide to the IBM PC, XT, and PCjr
1984
8
Adventures in Microland
1985
9
Guide to Disc Operating System and Easy Computing
1989
10
PC Communications Bible
1992
11
Windows with an Attitude
1995
12
PC Hardware
2003
13
1001 Computer Words You Need to Know
2004
14
Step Further Out: Jerry Pournelle's Essays on Taking the Stars
2020
Pournelle Users Guide Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The User Guide to CP/M Systems
1984
2
The User Guide to CP/M Systems (By: Tony Bove, Cheryl Rhodes)
1984
3
Free Software: How to Get It, How to Use It (By: Tony Bove, Cheryl Rhodes, Kelly Smith, Dan Dugan, Bob Wolff)
1985
4
Free Software: How to Get It, How to Use It
1985
5
The Guidebook for Winning Adventures
1985
6
The Guidebook for Winning Adventures (By: Sandy Small)
1985
L. Ron Hubbard Presents: Writers of the Future Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 1
1985
2
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 2
1986
3
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 3
1987
4
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 4
1988
5
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 5
1989
6
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 6
1990
7
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 7
1991
8
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 8
1992
9
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 9
1993
10
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 10
1994
11
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 11
1995
12
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 12
1996
13
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 13
1997
14
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 14
1998
15
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 15
1999
16
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 16
2000
17
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 17
2001
18
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 18
2002
19
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 19
2002
20
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 20
2004
21
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 21
2005
22
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 22
2006
23
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 23
2007
24
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 24
2008
25
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 25
2009
26
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 26
2010
27
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 27
2011
28
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 28
2012
29
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 29
2013
30
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 30
2014
31
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 31
2015
32
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 32
2016
33
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 33
2017
34
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 34
2018
35
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 35
2019
36
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 36
2020
37
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 37
2021
38
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 38
2022
39
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 39
2023
40
L. Ron Hubbard Presents: Writers of the Future 40
2024
41
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 41
2025
Jerry Pournelle Anthologies
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Analog Science Fiction And Fact, May 1971
1971
2
2020 Vision
1974
3
The Best From Galaxy, Volume IV
1976
4
Black Holes
1978
5
Destinies: The Paperback Magazine of Science Fiction and Speculative Fact