The Great Explosion
by Eric Frank Russell · first published 1962
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2011–2020first – last mentioned
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A cheap faster-than-light drive has permitted populating the galaxy. Each planet has become home for different social groups. 400 years post-diaspora, a Earth spaceship visits three — a 1st step to galactic unification. Things don't go as hoped, as the ship's incompetent military authoritarians encounter three very different societies. Once a penal colony, the 1st planet is a kleptocratic despotism. The 2nd, Hygeia, is populated by health & fitness fanatic nudists. The 3rd, Kassim, was colonized by a religious group. As the ship arrives they can't find anyone, only overgrown villages. They
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I highly recommend the science fiction of Eric Frank Russell. Especially Wasp (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0575070951/) Russell is a great writer. And funny. The Great Explosion (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/088184991X/) is another good one.
on “The Best Science Fiction Books (According to Reddit)” ↗…system, then authority comes under pressure to respond (hopefully positively) or it will eventually will collapse. A similar point is made in the chapter on the "Ghands" in the 1962 sci-fi novel the The Great Explosion" by Eric Frank Russell who live by the adage "Freedom can say "I won't"". The same has been true throughout human history as explained in Daniel Quinn's "Beyond Civilization: Humanity's Next Great Adventure"…
on “The FBI is secretly using Sabre as a global travel surveillance tool” ↗