dying civilization
A Martian Odyssey by Stanley G. Weinbaum
A Martian Odyssey – Jarvis, on a scouting mission for the first expedition to explore Mars, finds himself shipwrecked and must walk back to his base. On his journey he meets a variety of new lifeforms. Much like a modern Odysseus, Jarvis must survive the unknown, the harsh climate, and the monsters that would devour him, on his quest to return to his base.
The Treasure of Atlantis by J. Allan Dunn
The Treasure of Atlantis – A dying man, a hunter of rare orchids, returns from an expedition to Brazil and tells Stanley Morse of visions of a lost city deep in the jungles near the headwaters of the Amazon. Could it be the fabled city of Atlantis?
City of the Living Dead & The Long View by Fletcher Pratt & Laurence Manning
The City of the Living Dead – Civilizations are messy things. Everyone has their own ideas on how to run them. How do you go about building a Utopia? Who should run them? Politicians? Scientists? Psychologists? Artists? And what do you do with a civilization when you are running it?
The Woman From Altair and Other Stories by Leigh Brackett
Two classic novelettes of interstellar love and betrayal, and one story about simple betrayal by Leigh Brackett (1915-1978).