We Who Are About To...

Cover of the 1978 Magnum Books edition by Geoff Taylor

Cover of the 2005 Wesleyan University Press edition by Mark Lupo

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Cover of the 1987 Women's Press edition

We Who Are About To... is a 1977 science fiction Robinsonade novel by Joanna Russ. It was one of the winners of the Retrospective Tiptree Award in 1996.

Plot with spoilers

Russ crash-lands a group of tourists on a deserted planet and turns the Robinson Crusoe plot on its head. The female protagonist refuses the futile survivalism of her companions, especially when she is threatened with forced breeding. The novel is concerned with human responses to imminent death, but also examines how those responses are informed by gender.

Editions

• January 1976, United States, Galaxy Science Fiction, Jan 1976, ed. James Baen, publ. UPD Publishing Corporation, magazine
• February 1976, United States, Galaxy Science Fiction, Feb 1976, ed. James Baen, publ. UPD Publishing Corporation, magazine
• July 1977, United States, published by Dell Publishing, ISBN 0-440-19428-8, paperback
• May 1978, United States, published by Dell Publishing, ISBN 0-440-19428-8, paperback
• November 1978, Great Britain, published by Magnum Books, ISBN 0-417-03220-X, paperback
• December 1978, United States, published by Gregg Press, ISBN 0-8398-2495-5, hardcover
• August 1987, Great Britain, published by The Women's Press, ISBN 0-7043-4085-2, paperback
• March 2005, United States, published by Wesleyan University Press, ISBN 0-8195-6759-0, trade paperback with introduction by Samuel R. Delany

Further reading

• L. Timmel Duchamp, "Joanna Russ's We Who Are About To..." (2005 July)