Part of Series
Arthur Clarke said it first: If mankind is to survive, then for all but a very brief part of our history the word "ship" will mean "space ship." We will spread through space. We will build a colony on the moon: if we had a government of courage and imagination we would have that in time to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyages of discovery. As it is, it will take a bit longer; but we will go back to the Moon. We will settle other moons, and asteroids, and the planets; and we will go to the stars. Where mankind goes, government goes. It is no idle thing, then, to think about what forms of government we will take to the stars. We in this enlightened age think we know; but do we? We are, after all, no smarter than our ancestors. We know more, but that's quite a different thing - and we have forgotten much that we had best relearn before we pay dearly for what they knew and we don't. Contents: Introduction: Empire by J.E. Pournelle In Clouds of Glory by Algis Budrys The Star Plunderer by Poul Anderson Two Editorials & Postscripts by John W. Campbell Hymn of Breaking Strain by Rudyard Kipling The Miracle of Government by James Burnham To A Different Drum by Reginald Bretnor The Whirligig of Time by Vernor Vinge Nightmare with Angels by Stephen Vincent Benet The Aristocrat by Chan Davis The Sons of Martha by Rudyard Kipling Mail Supremacy by Hayford Pierce Herbig-Haro by Harry Turtledove The Fighting Philosopher by E.B. Cole The Voodoo Sciences by J.E. Pournelle Pax Galactica by Ralph Williams The Proper Study of Mankind by J.E. Pournelle Finger Trouble by Edward P. Hughes Yellow Rain and Space Wars by Adrian Berry That Share of Glory by C.M. Kornbluth The Stars at War by J.E. Pournelle
Author
Dr Jerry Eugene Pournelle was an American science fiction writer, engineer, essayist, and journalist, who contributed for many years to the computer magazine Byte, and from 1998 until his death maintained his own website and blog. From the beginning, Pournelle's work centered around strong military themes. Several books describe the fictional mercenary infantry force known as Falkenberg's Legion. There are strong parallels between these stories and the Childe Cycle mercenary stories by Gordon R. Dickson, as well as Heinlein's Starship Troopers, although Pournelle's work takes far fewer technological leaps than either of these. Pournelle spent years working in the aerospace industry, including at Boeing, on projects including studying heat tolerance for astronauts and their spacesuits. This side of his career also found him working on projections related to military tactics and probabilities. One report in which he had a hand became a basis for the Strategic Defense Initiative, the missile defense system proposed by President Ronald Reagan. A study he edited in 1964 involved projecting Air Force missile technology needs for 1975. Dr. Pournelle would always tell would-be writers seeking advice that the key to becoming an author was to write—a lot. “And finish what you write,” he added in a 2003 interview. “Don’t join a writers’ club and sit around having coffee reading pieces of your manuscript to people. Write it. Finish it.” Pournelle served as President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1973.
