First published in 1957 by James L Quinn and Eve Wulff, the editors of Worlds Of If. This is their first Anthology, containing twenty short stories first published in If.
Works collected in The First World of If:
- "The Battle", by Robert Sheckley (1954)
- "Captive Market", by Philip K. Dick (1955)
- "A Cold Night For Crying", by Milton Lesser (1954)
- "The Cyber And Justice Holmes", by Frank Riley (1955)
- "Disqualified", by Charles L Fontenay (1954)
- "The Drivers", by Edward W Ludwig (1956)
- "First Stage Moon", by Dick Hetschel (1954)
- "Franchise", by Isaac Asimov (1955)
- "Journey Work", by Dave Dryfoos (1955)
- "Laboratory", by Jerome Bixby (1955)
- "The Last Crusade", by George H Smith (1955)
- "Last Rites", by Charles Beaumont (1955)
- "Let There Be Light", by Horace B Fyfe (1952)
- "The Margenes", by Miriam Allen De Ford (1956)
- "A Pattern For Penelope", by Robert F Young (1954)
- "The Rotifers", by Robert Abernathy (1953)
- "Shock Troop", by Richard Bolton (1956)
- "The Small World Of M75", by Ed M Clinton Jr (1954)
- "The Twilight Years", by Garen Drussai and Kirk Drussai (1955)
- "Watershed", by James Blish (1955)
Tropes appearing in this anthology:
- Absolute Xenophobe: In "The Rotifers", a Short Story by Robert Abernathy, the microscopic creatures were unaware of humans until Harry Chatham started investigating them with his microscope. Now that they know about us, they started developing diseases to kill off humanity, using Harry as their first victim.
- After the End: In "Captive Market", by Philip K. Dick, survivors of a nuclear war were trying to build an escape rocket, buying supplies from a modern day general store owner.
- Artistic License – Biology: "The Rotifers", by Robert Abernathy, has the titular microscopic creatures given hearts, digestive systems, even subcellular eyes.
- Antagonist Title: "The Rotifers", by Robert Abernathy, has the titular creatures who meet Harry Chatham. They learn to communicate with each other, and the Rotifers decide to eliminate all humans, starting with Harry.
- Genetic Memory: In "The Rotifers", by Robert Abernathy, the titular Rotifers can pass on their information to the next generation even without being alive to raise them."[T]he eggs remember what the old ones knew." — Harry Chatham.
- Grey Goo: In "Let There Be Light", by Horace B Fyfe, several non-apocalyptic ideas on self-replicating machines are suggested.
- Instant A.I.: Just Add Water!: In "The Small World Of M 75", by Ed M Clinton Jr, the robot M-75 has been running long enough to gain sentience. The first time we see from M-75's perspective, it doesn’t even have a concept of self, but it grows more intelligent during the story.
- The Legions of Hell: In "The Battle", by Robert Sheckley, Armageddon has begun; Earth is overrun by demons and devils of all types. combat robots are used to defend humanity. When the robots defeat them, they're rewarded by being taken to Heaven.
- Mouse World: In "The Rotifers", by Robert Abernathy, Harry Chatham has a brand-new microscope and his father helps him collect samples from the nearby pond. While examining the microscopic life, Harry discovers that the single-celled Rotifers are sentient, and learns to communicate with them, despite their short life spans. Until Harry started watching them, they didn't realize that humans existed, and they don't like it.
- Literary Allusion Title: Horace B Fyfe's "Let There Be Light" (short story) (Genesis 1:3)
- Parental Obliviousness: In "The Rotifers", by Robert Abernathy, Harry's parents believe his ramblings about the Rotifers preparing for war are just a fever or illness from playing too much with his microscope.
- Proportional Aging: "The Rotifers", by Robert Abernathy, has the microscopic creatures living microscopically short lives. Harry, a human boy, is nearly overwhelmed by trying to keep up with them.
- One-Word Title:
- "Disqualified", by Charles L Fontenay (1954)
- "Franchise", by Isaac Asimov (1955)
- "Laboratory", by Jerome Bixby (1955)
- "Watershed", by James Blish (1955)
- Robot War: In "The Battle", by Robert Sheckley, Armageddon has begun; the Last Battle between humanity and The Legions of Hell. Ignoring much protest from religious leaders who said man must fight this battle himself, the military leaders deployed robotic armies against the legions of Hell. When the robots win, they're subsequently taken to Heaven while humanity is left on Earth.
- This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: In "The Battle", by Robert Sheckley, Armageddon has begun; the Last Battle between humanity and The Legions of Hell. Religious leaders claim that this battle must be fought by humans, but robots are used instead. Because they ignored the warning, the robots are taken to Heaven instead of the humans.
- Time Travel for Fun and Profit: In "Captive Market", by Philip K. Dick, an old lady discovers her ability to travel into a variety of branching timelines. She uses this power to sell supplies to future survivors of a nuclear holocaust at huge mark-ups.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: In "The Small World Of M 75", by Ed M Clinton Jr, Bert Sokolski and Joe Gaines mock each other and exchange insults as they go about their job.
- You Are Number 6: In "The Small World Of M 75", by Ed M Clinton Jr, the three robots assigned to work the atomic reactor pile are all given serial numbers instead of names. They're M-11, M-19, and M-75. M-75 is the oldest, and has become sentient.