2026-03-05 - The Rediscovery Of Man by Cordwainer Smith
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I read a recommendation for this book when i was reading about the
golden age of science fiction. My local library had a copy, so i
checked it out. This is an omnibus anthology of Cordwainer Smith's
short stories, mostly arranged in chronological order within his
"Instrumentality of Mankind" setting.
The first story began on an almost psychedelic note, and the
following stories proceeded to get even more so. I wondered "What,
am i reading Space Nazi Narnia?" I almost put the book down, but
chose to keep reading, and it got better.
I loved the grandiose scale of his imagined future depicted through
the rough continuity of the short stories following humanity through
cycles of growth and decay over millennia.
Many of the stories seemed to hold a dim attitude toward the role of
women. And yet he wrote multiple stories where the heroes were women
who stood up for justice and liberation of people whose humanity was
not legally recognized. *shrug*
> ... nothing is more unfair than to judge the [people] of the past
> by the ideas of the present. --Denys Arthur Wistanley
> Every one must be judged according to [their] own ideal, and not by
> that of any one else. ... So in judging of those ancient religions
> we must not take the standpoint to which we incline, but must put
> ourselves into the position of thought and life of those early
> times. --Swami Vivekananda
My favorite three stories in this book are available online, free of
charge:
The Game of Rat and Dragon
The Dead Lady of Clown Town
The Ballad of Lost C'mell
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author: Cordwainer Smith
detail:
tags: book,sci-fi
title: The Rediscovery of Man
Tags
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book
sci-fi