George Scithers published AMRA, a leading sword and sorcery fanzine, beginning in 1959. The term «swords and sorcery» first appeared there, and AMRA became a leading proponent of the subgenre. Several of the articles originally published in AMRA were later re-printed as part of two volumes about Conan the Barbarian, which Scithers co-edited with L. Sprague de Camp. Contributors to the magazine included all the leading fantasists of the day: Poul Anderson, L. Sprague de Camp, Fritz Leiber, and many more. This volume includes work by: John M. Ford, John Boardman, L. Sprague de Camp, Darrell Schweitzer, and more.
