Pierce published the
science fiction fanzine Renaissance from 1968 through 1974, and was an outspoken critic of the
New Wave. In the 1970s he edited
The Best of Murray Leinster,
The Best of Cordwainer Smith and
The Best of Raymond Z. Gallun for
Del Rey Books. In 1977–78, he was named editor of
Galaxy at a time when the magazine was in financial trouble, an experience he later recounted in
Thirteen Months of Torment. After leaving
Galaxy, Pierce focused on a four-volume (1987–1994) critical history of science fiction under the general title, "A Study in Imagination and Evolution", adopting a conceptual framework, as opposed to a strictly chronological approach, and using parallels with biological evolution and dialectics to characterize the evolution of the genre as a whole. As of 2012, he was working on a revised and updated version. He has written critical essays and book introductions on
Cordwainer Smith, and essays on
Twin Peaks and
The X-Files for the fanzines
Wrapped in Plastic and
Spectrum and has had other articles published in
The New York Review of Science Fiction and Science Fiction Studies. Besides works related to science fiction and popular culture, he is the author of a family history,
The Children of Levi Peacock (2002). ==Personal life==