Wasp
by Eric Frank Russell · first published 1957
100% recommend
You could summarize this story as action/adventure and still do it a disservice. This is about an agent dropped on an enemy planet with one goal: to disrupt, distract, and generally raise hell with the planetary administration in a textbook example of unconventional psychological warfare. Russell had a theory that one man can, with minimal support, completely discombobulate a planet to the point where its military effectiveness would be severely diminished. This book is his theory expressed as a novel.
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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)” ↗…Space Merchants), Bradbury's commentary on censorship and offence (Fahrenheit 451) are both ones that spring to mind. But these are not isolated examples - there are lots of others. (Erik Frank Russell's Wasp is a perennial favourite and works as well today as ever.)
on “Saying goodbye to my parents’ library” ↗There's also the related observation, demonstrated in Eric Frank Russell's Wasp [1], that merely leaving behind the signs of tampering is enough to cause fear and panic. In the novel, which is written as a deliciously dark satire in the vein of Kurt Vonnegut Jr., a single agent…
on “Drone Sighting Halts Departures at Heathrow Airport” ↗…...forever it seems. It is - certainly - nothing new. The medium has merely changed and that's what important to the staging of the front[s], as it were. You should pick up a copy of Eric Frank Russell's WASP[0], if you haven't read it before. It's a very good read in this area. [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasp_(novel)
on “U.S. military to analyze 350B social media posts to understand popular movements” ↗Ah, I suspect you refer to Henlein? His digressions into mid-century philosophy can become tedious. On the other hand the Gateway series (Frederik Poul) is still one of my favorites. And Wasp by Eric Frank Russell is in my top 3.
on “Ask HN: Science Fiction Starter List” ↗