Order of Book Series
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James White Books in Order

James White has written 26 books, published between 1957 and 1999. The first book is The Secret Visitors (1957) and the newest is Double Contact (1999). Publication order is the reading order below. 14 of the 26 books listed here are in the Sector General series, which has its own page: Sector General books in order.

Books
26
Published
1957–1999
Pages on record
4,154 in 17 of 26 books
Reading time
69–104 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,154 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 17 of 26 titles with a page count on record.

See all 26 books in order Printable James White checklist

Northern Irish science fiction author James White (7 April 1928 – 23 August 1999) was born in Belfast and spent part of his childhood in Canada. White worked at the Belfast aircraft company Short Brothers Ltd. from 1965 until 1984, retiring early because of diabetes. Sector General is his best known series, and space medicine and human-alien encounters are recurring subjects. The catalogue holds 26 books from The Secret Visitors (1957) to Double Contact (1999), including Hospital Station and Star Surgeon. White was also a science fiction fan who co-wrote two fanzines.

How many James White books are there?

James White has 26 books, released between 1957 and 1999. 14 of them belong to the Sector General series.

James White Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 26 James White books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Hospital Station by James White, book 1 of the Sector General series (1962)
  2. Cover of Star Surgeon by James White, book 2 of the Sector General series (1963)
  3. Cover of All Judgment Fled by James White (1967)
  4. Cover of The Aliens Among Us by James White, book 3 of the Sector General series (1969)
  5. Cover of Major Operation by James White, book 4 of the Sector General series (1971)
  6. Cover of Tomorrow is Too Far by James White (1971)
  7. Cover of The Dream Millennium by James White (1976)
  8. Cover of Futures Past by James White, book 5 of the Sector General series (1977)
  9. Cover of Ambulance Ship by James White, book 6 of the Sector General series (1979)
  10. Cover of Sector General by James White, book 7 of the Sector General series (1983)
  11. Cover of Star Healer by James White, book 8 of the Sector General series (1984)
  12. Cover of Code Blue -Emergency by James White, book 9 of the Sector General series (1987)
  13. Cover of Federation World by James White (1988)
  14. Cover of The Genocidal Healer by James White, book 10 of the Sector General series (1991)
  15. Cover of The Silent Stars Go By by James White (1991)
  16. Cover of The Galactic Gourmet by James White, book 11 of the Sector General series (1996)
  17. Cover of Final Diagnosis by James White, book 12 of the Sector General series (1997)
  18. Cover of Mind Changer by James White, book 13 of the Sector General series (1998)
  19. Cover of Double Contact by James White, book 14 of the Sector General series (1999)
  1. 1
    The Secret Visitors1957 · 125 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1957125
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Second Ending1961 · confirmed 2/4
    1961–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Hospital StationSector General #11962 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1962192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Star SurgeonSector General #21963 · 160 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1963160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Deadly Litter1964 · confirmed 2/4
    1964–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Watch Below1966 · 189 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1966189
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    All Judgment Fled1967 · confirmed 2/4
    1967–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Aliens Among UsSector General #31969 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1969224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Major OperationSector General #41971 · confirmed 2/4
    1971–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Tomorrow is Too Far1971 · 183 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1971183
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Lifeboat / Dark Inferno1972 · confirmed 2/4
    1972–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Dream Millennium1976 · 217 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1976217
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Futures PastSector General #51977 · 228 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1977228
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Ambulance ShipSector General #61979 · 184 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1979184
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Sector GeneralSector General #71983 · confirmed 2/4
    1983–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Escape Orbit / Open Prison1983 · confirmed 2/4
    1983–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Star HealerSector General #81984 · confirmed 2/4
    1984–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Code Blue -EmergencySector General #91987 · 280 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987280
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Federation World1988 · 283 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1988283
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Genocidal HealerSector General #101991 · 219 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991219
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Silent Stars Go By1991 · 441 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991441
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Un-Birthday Boy (in Analog)1996 · confirmed 2/4
    1996–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Galactic GourmetSector General #111996 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Final DiagnosisSector General #121997 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1997320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Mind ChangerSector General #131998 · 301 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998301
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Double ContactSector General #141999 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

James White series in order

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.

James White books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Standalone books

12 books

12 James White titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read James White books in order?

You only need to read James White books in order within the Sector General series, which holds 14 of the 26 James White books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with James White

Start with Hospital Station (1962), the first Sector General book. The earliest catalogued title overall is The Secret Visitors (1957).

What is the newest James White book?

Double Contact (1999) is the newest James White book released so far.

Is there a new James White book coming?

No next James White book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Award nominations for James White

Wikidata records 11 nominations for James White. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Hugo Award for Best Short Story1997Shortlistedfor Un-Birthday Boy
  • Locus Award for Best Short Story1997Shortlistedfor Un-Birthday Boy
  • Locus Award for Best Novelette1989Shortlistedfor Sanctuary
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1988Shortlistedfor Code Blue – Emergency
  • Locus Award for Best Collection1984Shortlistedfor Sector General
  • Locus Award for Best Short Story1983Shortlistedfor The Scourge
  • Hugo Award for Best Short Story1977Shortlistedfor Custom Fitting
  • Locus Award for Best Short Story1977Shortlistedfor Custom Fitting
  • Locus Award for Best Novel1975Shortlistedfor The Dream Millennium
  • Nebula Award for Best Novel1966Shortlistedfor The Escape Orbit
  • Hugo Award for Best Novel1962Shortlistedfor Second Ending

James White at a glance

No recent titles
The newest James White title on record dates from 1999, 27 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
James White books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,154 pages across the 17 of 26 books with a recorded length, a median of 224 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most James White books, 7 of 26, were published in the 1990s.

What the James White books are about

21 of the 26 James White books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: science fiction is tagged on 10 of 21. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.