During the War for the American Dream in the near future, a group of hospitalized veterans exhibit a novel way to escape from their traumatic reality.
There were two stories called "Disappearing Act" published in 1953. One by Alfred Bester and the other by Richard Matheson. Unfortunately, this created considerable confusion and many sources report this as a single story written by both authors.
| Date | Publication | Publisher | Type | Page | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1953 |
|
Star Science Fiction Stories No. 2 | Ballantine Books | Anthology | 1|2 |
| December 1953 |
|
Star Science Fiction Stories No. 2 | Ballantine Books | Anthology | 1|1.1 |
| November 1954 |
|
New Worlds Science Fiction, November 1954 | Nova Publications Ltd. | MAGAZINE | 56 |
| May 1958 |
|
Starburst | Signet / New American Library | Collection | 7 |
| October 1960 |
|
Star of Stars | Doubleday | Anthology | 45 |
| January 1961 |
|
Star of Stars | Doubleday / SFBC | Anthology | 45 |
| 1962 |
|
Star Science Fiction Stories No. 2 | Ballantine Books | Anthology | 1 |
| 1964 |
|
Connoisseur's Science Fiction | Penguin Books | Anthology | 13 |
| 1964 |
|
Star of Stars | Ballantine Books | Anthology | 45 |
| 1964 |
|
Star of Stars | Ballantine Books | Anthology | 45 |
| April 1965 |
|
Starburst | Signet / New American Library | Collection | 7 |
| April 1965 |
|
Starburst | Signet / New American Library of Canada | Collection | 7 |
| 1966 |
|
Star Fourteen | Whiting & Wheaton | Anthology | 45 |
| 1966 |
|
Connoisseur's Science Fiction | Penguin Books (US) | Anthology | 13 |
| 1966 |
|
Connoisseur's Science Fiction | Penguin Books | Anthology | 13 |
| 1967 |
|
The Starlit Corridor | Pergamon Press Ltd. | Anthology | 25 |
| 1967 |
|
The Starlit Corridor | Pergamon Press Ltd. | Anthology | 25 |
| 1967 | The Starlit Corridor | Pergamon Press Ltd. | Anthology | 25 | |
| 1967 |
|
The Starlit Corridor | Pergamon Press Ltd. | Anthology | 25 |
| 1968 |
|
Star Fourteen | Pan Books | Anthology | 45 |
| October 1968 |
|
Starburst | Sphere Books | Collection | 7 |
| December 1970 |
|
Starburst | Signet / New American Library of Canada | Collection | 7 |
| November 1972 |
|
Star Science Fiction Stories No. 2 | Ballantine Books | Anthology | 1 |
| November 1972 |
|
Star Science Fiction Stories No. 2 | Ballantine Books | Anthology | 1 |
| 1973 |
|
Other Dimensions: Ten Stories of Science Fiction | Hawthorn Books | Anthology | 156 |
| March 1973 |
|
Starburst | Sphere Books | Collection | 7 |
| 1974 |
|
Political Science Fiction: An Introductory Reader | Prentice-Hall | Anthology | 44 |
| 1974 |
|
Science Fact/Fiction | Scott, Foresman and Company | Anthology | 322 |
| January 1974 |
|
Political Science Fiction: An Introductory Reader | Prentice-Hall | Anthology | 44 |
| September 1974 |
|
Other Dimensions | Pinnacle Books | Anthology | 156 |
| February 1976 |
|
Connoisseur's Science Fiction | Penguin Books | Anthology | 13 |
| April 1976 |
|
The Light Fantastic: The Great Short Fiction of Alfred Bester Volume I | Berkley/Putnam | Collection | 130 |
| December 1976 |
|
Starlight: The Great Short Fiction of Alfred Bester | Nelson Doubleday / SFBC | Omnibus | 102 |
| May 1977 |
|
The Light Fantastic | Gollancz | Collection | |
| June 1977 |
|
Starburst | Pan Books | Collection | 5 |
| July 1977 |
|
Starlight: The Great Short Fiction of Alfred Bester | Berkley Medallion | Omnibus | 111 |
| June 1979 |
|
The End of Summer: Science Fiction of the Fifties | Ace Books | Anthology | 119 |
| July 1979 |
|
The Light Fantastic: The Great Short Fiction of Alfred Bester Volume 1 | Fontana | Collection | 114 |
| December 1979 |
|
The Fifties: The End of Summer | Baronet Publishing Co. | Anthology | 119 |
| March 1980 |
|
Starburst | Signet / New American Library | Collection | 7 |
| March 1980 |
|
Starburst | Signet / New American Library of Canada | Collection | 7 |
| November 1997 |
|
Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester | Vintage Books | Collection | 3 |
| November 1997 |
|
Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester | Topeka Bindery | Collection | |
| August 1998 | Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester | Vintage Books / SFBC | Collection | ||
| April 2000 |
|
The SFWA Grand Masters: Volume Two | Tor | Anthology | 315 |
| April 2001 |
|
The SFWA Grand Masters, Volume 2 | Tor | Anthology | |
| May 2013 |
|
Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester | Byron Preiss Visual Publications | Collection | |2 |