This issue was the end of an era. I remember when I received the December 1978 issue of Analog in the mail. At first, I did not notice that Ben Bova was not listed as editor. At that time, Stanley Schmidt was only known to me as a writer. I recalled his serial "Sins of the Father" that appeared in late 1973 and early 1974. I no longer have those magazines but I do have the paperback edition sitting on my shelf. Little did I know that Schmidt would have such a long tenure on the title. December 1978 through March of 2013. Whether or not you like his work on the title, Schmidt deserves credit for editing a major science fiction magazine for almost 35 years.
Schmidt's first issue contained a mix of classic and new (at that time) writers. Among the ones who appeared in that issue were Jack Williamson, Frank Herbert, F. M. Busby, Joan Vinge, and Orson Scott Card.
