The Instrumentality of Mankind (Instrumentality of Mankind) Mass Market Paperback | Pages: 238 pages

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Original Title:	The Instrumentality of Mankind
ISBN:	0345277163 (ISBN13: 9780345277169)
Edition Language:	English
Series:	Instrumentality of Mankind, L'Instrumentalité #1

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14 short stories set in a universe of scanners, planoforming ships and animal-derived Underpeople. 1 No, No, Not Rogov! (1959) 2 War No. 81-Q (1928) 3 Mark Elf (1957) 4 The Queen of the Afternoon (1978) 5 When the People Fell (1959) 6 Think Blue, Count Two (1963) 7 The Colonel Came Back from the Nothing-at-All (1979) 8 From Gustible's Planet (1962) 9 Drunkboat (1963) 10 Western Science Is So Wonderful (1958) 11 Nancy (1959) 12 The Fife of Bodidharma (1959) 13 Angerhelm (1959) 14 The Good Friends (1963) "First Edition: May 1979" stated on the copyright page.

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Title	:	The Instrumentality of Mankind (Instrumentality of Mankind)
Author	:	Cordwainer Smith
Book Format	:	Mass Market Paperback
Book Edition	:	#27716
Pages	:	Pages: 238 pages
Published	:	May 1979 by Del Rey / Ballantine (first published 1979)
Categories	:	Science Fiction. Fiction. Short Stories. Anthologies

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Ratings: 4.12 From 1442 Users | 37 Reviews

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What to add to the already glowing praise of Smith? He brought a unique voice to SF, partly because of his Chinese background, partly because I think he had such an amazing mind, almost anything he wrote would have been surprisingly good. If you are an SF Fan and haven't read Smith, I envy you - you have a whole world of surprises awaiting you.

Originally published on my blog here in September 2001.The oligarchy which rules mankind in the background to most of Smith's science fiction is known as the Instrumentality. This may make it seem an ideal title for a collection of his short stories, but of these fourteen there are at least six - and I would say seven - which are not part of his ambitious future history. The short stories not in The Instrumentality of Mankind are collected in The Rediscovery of Man, and there the stories are set

Usually I don't read too much sci-fi literature, as I tend to prefer contemporary novels and poetry. I had a period during high-school when I was reading almost exclusively sci-fi. It was a period when I also wanted to become and astronaut. I ended up being an economist working more in IT systems for a Procurement center, so you have to imagine that the books I have read shifted a lot since high-school.But I still can appreciate a good sci-fi novel, that for me means one that manages to create a

This is a great collection of stories. I love the interconnections of most of the stories. Although, the period in which they were written is apparent in a lot of the stories. Politics. There are a lot of German and Russian references. Also, there is an included timeline at the introduction. Some of the stories seem to not fit into that timeline, but are still great. Pohl writes an excellent introduction.

The blurb on the back cover reads:THE INSTRUMENTALITY OF MANKINDCOMPLETES THE PUBLICATION OF THE SCIENCE FICTION OFCORDWAINER SMITHby Del Rey Bookswith fourteen stories set in his star-spanning futureuniverse of scanners, planoforming shipsthat whisper among the stars, the animal-derivedUnderpeople... perhaps the mostoutstanding and haunting feat of creative imaginationthe field has ever known.Here is the accountof the strange origin of the Vomact family and its rolein founding the

Excellent group of eccentric stories set in the early years of space travel. Smith does an exceptional job at world building in limited space. Nowhere else will you find ceramic laminated mouse brains, two dimensional men, or German speaking bears. Really great collection of short stories covering areas from ancient India to alien planets, including extra-dimensional planes, life after death, and psychic phenomenon. Also, man killing Nazi robots. A classic collection.

Some of it is a bit old hat (published 1979) but well written and a new, interesting view of a possible future of mankind.