The Professor Was a Thief

Primed for promotion to the World-Journal city editor, grizzled senior reporter Pop is stunned when it's announced that young Leonard Caulborn, the publisher's son-in-law, will get the post. Worse, the lad wants him out. In protest, Pop demands to be given a beat again and gets his wish. . . only now he's got just two days to find the "real" story about a dead-end assignment— a month-old physics lecture— or be fired.

When Pop starts searching for the story's source, a professor named Pertwee, he lands in the middle of the story of a century after the Empire State Building, Grant's Tomb and Grand Central Station all disappear. Apparently, Pertwee's the mastermind behind it all. But Pop soon discovers that, instead of inventing a new way to blow things up, the professor may be doing quite the opposite.

Publishers Weekly

Seasoned reporter Pop has just been told his career will prematurely end within two days thanks to the new changes at World-Journal. Hoping to salvage his career, he takes the first lead he can get and finds himself at the doorstep of Professor Pertwee, a short man with big plans about making things smaller. Two other stories, “Battles of Wizards” and “The Dangerous Dimension,” round out this collection, reminding listeners that though Hubbard wrote science fiction, he often had a great sense of humor. The integration of sound effects, musical score and a full cast nostalgically harkens listeners back to the world of old-time radio. The main narrator carries the brunt of all three stories with a pitch and edge to his voice that is quite evocative of pulp fiction and while in other stories might feel overdramatic, fits perfectly well with Hubbard's tone. (July)

With 19 New York Times bestsellers and more than 230 million copies of his works in circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is among the most acclaimed and widely read authors of our time. As a leading light of American Pulp Fiction through the 1930s and ’40s, he is further among the most influential authors of the modern age. Indeed, from Ray Bradbury to Stephen King, there is scarcely a master of imaginative tales who has not paid tribute to L. Ron Hubbard.