W3000 Years of Fantasy and Science Fiction is an anthology of fantasy and science fiction short stories, edited by L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp. It was first published in both hardcover and paperback by Lothrop Lee & Shepard in 1972. It was the first such anthology assembled by the de Camps, preceding their later Tales Beyond Time (1973).
WL'abbaye truquée, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twenty-second album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's third, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin. The story was initially serialised in Spirou magazine, before its release as a hardcover album in 1972.
WAlbum of Dinosaurs is a 1972 dinosaur book written by Tom McGowen and illustrated by Rod Ruth.
WThe Book of Folly is a 1972 collection of poetry by American writer Anne Sexton.
WThe Breast of National Lampoon: A Collection of Sexual Humor, is an American humor book that was first published in 1972. The book was a special issue of National Lampoon magazine, so it was sold on newsstands; however, it was put out in addition to the regular issues of the magazine. The book is a "best-of", a compilation of pieces that had already been published in the magazine, pieces that had been created by the National Lampoon's regular contributors.
WThe Conan Grimoire is a 1972 collection of essays, poetry and fiction edited by L. Sprague de Camp and George H. Scithers, published in hardcover by Mirage Press. The essays were originally published as articles in Scithers' fanzine Amra. The book is a companion to Mirage’s previous two volumes of material from Amra, The Conan Reader (1968) and The Conan Swordbook (1969). Most of the material in the three volumes, together with some additional material, was later reprinted in two de Camp-edited paperback anthologies from Ace Books; The Blade of Conan (1979) and The Spell of Conan (1980).
WEpistle to a Godson and other poems is a book of poems by W. H. Auden, published in 1972.
WThe Firesign Theatre's Big Book Of Plays is a collection of transcriptions written by The Firesign Theatre for the title tracks of each of their first four albums. The book also contains some introductory material that is serious as well a few pieces that parody introductory material. Photos of the group—childhood photos, casual snapshots, and full-costume publicity shots vaguely related to the written material—are included. The book concludes with "Lt. Bradshaw's Secret Indentity [sic] Roster" which indicates which member of the group performs each major role. Some of the material from the group's first four albums that was not included in this collection can be found in the 1974 book, The Firesign Theatre's Big Mystery Joke Book. A later printing of the "Big Book of Plays" has a bright yellow cover, with different cover illustrations than the original shown here.
WThe Giant Jam Sandwich is a children's picture book, with story and pictures by John Vernon Lord and verses by Janet Burroway. The rhyming story tells how the fictional town of Itching Down was invaded by four million wasps. The villagers decide to build a gigantic jam sandwich to trap the pesky insects.
WThe Godfather Papers and Other Confessions is a 1972 collective autobiography written by Mario Puzo, on his journey through writing his 1969 novel The Godfather. "I was forty-five years old and tired of being an artist. Besides, I owed $20,000 to relatives, finance companies, banks and assorted bookmakers and shylocks. It was really time to grow up and sell out as Lenny Bruce once advised. So I told my editors, OK, I'll write a book about the Mafia..."
WHistoria de los Partidos Políticos Puertorriqueños (1898-1956) is Bolívar Pagán's 1959 flagship two-volume set on Puerto Rico's political parties. It covers political parties in the years since the American invasion of 1898 through the year 1956.
WThe Left Hand of the Electron is a collection of seventeen nonfiction science essays by American writer and scientist Isaac Asimov, first published by Doubleday & Company in 1972. It was the ninth of a series of books collecting essays from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The title comes from the topic of the first section which deals with chirality of electroweak interactions and chirality of organic compounds and the possible connection between the two. Other essays in this book concern the effect of electron-spin direction on molecular structure e.g. the "Inverse Sugar" in honey with philosophical reflections on the minority of left handedness in general.
WLittle Prayers and Finite Experience is a book of prose and poetry by Paul Goodman.
WThe Lost Worlds of 2001 is a 1972 book by English writer Arthur C. Clarke, published as an accompaniment to the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey.
WThe Magic Monastery is a collection of teaching stories from the Sufi mystical tradition, by the writer Idries Shah, together with some stories by the author himself.
WMyths to Live By is a 1972 book, a collection of essays, originally given as lectures at the Cooper Union Forum, by mythologist Joseph Campbell between 1958 and 1971. The work has an introduction by Johnson E. Fairchild.
WNational Lampoon The Best of #4 was an American humor book that was first published in 1972. The book was a "special issue" of National Lampoon magazine, so it was sold on newsstands, however it was put out in addition to the regular issues of the magazine.
WNational Lampoon The Best of #5, subtitled "Sloppy Seconds", was an American humor book that was published in 1974. The book was a "special issue" of National Lampoon magazine, so it was sold on newsstands; however, it was put out in addition to the regular issues of the magazine.
WNew Writings in SF 20 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by John Carnell, the twentieth volume in a series of thirty, of which he edited the first twenty-one. It was first published in hardcover by Dennis Dobson in 1972, followed by a paperback edition issued by Corgi under the slightly variant title New Writings in SF -- 20 the same year.
WThe Pit: A Group Encounter Defiled is a work of narrative nonfiction concerning book on Mind Dynamics, written by Gene Church and Conrad D. Carnes. The book was published Outerbridge & Lazard, Inc., in 1972, and was republished in a paperback edition in 1973, by Pocket Books. The book was later the basis for the 1983 film, Circle of Power. The title refers to the encounter group movement that was prevalent at the time, which evolved into what psychologists began to term Large Group Awareness Training.
WFrom the Observatory is the title of the English-language translation of Prosa del observatorio, a book of text and photographs by Julio Cortázar originally published in Spanish in 1972. The photographs depict the observatories of Maharajah Jai Singh; the text, largely in prose but with sections in verse, ranges meditatively over a number of matters, including eels.
WRome Done Lightly is George Adamson's 1972 "light-hearted romp" in words and drawings through the Eternal City.
WSteps to an Ecology of Mind is a collection of Gregory Bateson's short works over his long and varied career. Subject matter includes essays on anthropology, cybernetics, psychiatry, and epistemology. It was originally published by Chandler Publishing Company in 1972.
WSwordsmen and Supermen is an anonymously edited anthology of fantasy stories by Robert E. Howard and others, with a cover by Virgil Finlay. It was first published in paperback by Centaur Press in February 1972. The anonymous editor has been identified by bibliographers Jack L. Chalker and Mark Owings and by critic Roger C. Schlobin as the publisher, Donald M. Grant.
WWays of Seeing is a 1972 television series of 30-minute films created chiefly by writer John Berger and producer Mike Dibb. It was broadcast on BBC Two in January 1972 and adapted into a book of the same name.
WThe Wonderful Ice Cream Suit and Other Plays (1972) is a collection of three plays by Ray Bradbury: The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, The Veldt, and To the Chicago Abyss. All are adaptations of his short stories by the same names. The play The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit was adapted into a 1998 film by Touchstone Pictures.