THE REDISCOVERY OF MAN (SF MASTERWORKS)

Cordwainer Smith; pseudonym of Dr Paul Linebarger, was raised in China, godson to Sun Yat Sen, founder of the Chinese Republic, to whom his father served as legal advisor.As such, it is easy to speculate that it afforded him a unique perspective of the world, and of events, comparable, perhaps, to that of Alice Sheldon, aka James Tiptree Jr, who wrote SF whilst employed as an analyst for the CIA. Both wrote speculative and fantastically rich stories of unequalled imagination of a type that has rarely been seen, and both were afforded views of world changing events unimaginable to most. It is not too much of a leap to link this creative dynamic to the 'behind the scenes ' view which both were afforded.The first story, 'Scanners are in Vain' is told from the perspective of 'Martel', an almost 'Borg-like' human, who has been stripped of all tactile senses, while the other four have been reduced or altered, in order for him and his ilk (scanners) to be able to endure the 'void' and act as pilots in humanity's space-bound concerns, due to 'life's' inability to be 'exposed' to the space beyond earth's protective magnetosphere where 'normal', un - 'augmented' (or more precisely non 'denuded') humans having to be placed in deathlike states in order to 'cheat' this restriction to space travel.The story follows the attempt by the 'Scanners' to hold on to their monopoly when their utility is threatened by obsolescence through a closely guarded secret/'technology', that would open up space to everyone.The story has more ideas and concepts, both technological AND sociological, than most SF/Fantasy Trilogies have in 4000 pages (which does NOT remove from the fact that it is an amazing piece of storytelling), and it has remained a firm favourite in the SF world for the last SEVENTY YEARS, yet STILL presents as groundbreaking to this day.The last story in the collection, told almost Ten Thousand years after the events in 'Scanners....', is the latter day (Dante's) Inferno, "A Planet Named Shayol", probably named after the Hebrew/Judean underworld Shaol/Sheol. It follows OUR OWN 'Virgil'; who goes by the name of 'Mercer' and who has been sentenced to the punishment/hell planet 'Shayol' for an unspoken crime, and destined to be subjected to the mysterious ministrations of the planets native lifeforms, 'Dromazoa', which through an alien kind of 'benevolence', try to help keep humans alive on the surface. This is a process that subjects them to a Promethean existence; an eternity of painful intervention from these lifeforms, keeping them alive and catering to every biological function, and which results in the growing of new and superfluous body parts, which are encouraged to grow, only to be harvested for medical use.The book also contains a short biography of the author, whose life alone is enough to warrant the buying of this book.Fans of Alistair Reynolds' 'Revelation Space' universe, especially fans of 'Chasm City' and the events around and upon the planet 'Yellowstone' will find a lot to love in this book. It's hard to draw comparisons through which to try and recommend this book to you, that's just how unique Smith's vision is, and Reynolds is as close as I can get without taking a 'Dash of Asimov whisked through a mixture of Philip K. Dick, Greg Egan and Adam Roberts, then baked in an oven of......', so, it will just have to be enough.I loved this book, and I loved some stories A LOT more than others. If you have suffered a shortage of 'sense of wonder' in your reading lately, then a course of Cordwainer Smith is just what you need to relight those fires. I can promise you that you won't ever have read anything quite like it.

3/5 • I have to say that I’m not quite as enthralled as some by the writing of Cordwainer Smith. Perhaps this is due, in part, to the fact that I’ve read hundreds of SF novels and short stories over the years and have therefore familiarized myself with all the greats. Smith’s prose did not strike me as “extraordinarily attentive to the sound and rhythm of words, …” as noted in the introduction to my edition. At least not in a good way. For me his writing style is often arch and sometimes downright meretricious (Golden the ship was – oh! oh! oh!). There are some interesting ideas here but overall the concept of the Instrumentality failed to convince me in quite the same way as have other civilizations created by other notable authors. Smith’s offerings do improve over time and I enjoyed the later stories far more than the earlier ones. Also, given the period during which many of these stories were written, I suppose some latitude should be given regarding Smith’s mannerisms. Having said that, I’ve read lots of SF from the 50s and 60s and much of it is superior to what’s on offer here. Disappointing.

First read these 50 or 60 years ago in the original magazine publications. It's great to read them again, and they've stood the test of time as far as I am concerned, and though they sometimes get a bit "preachy" they still have a message for today's generation.Before you read his work it might pay to look up " Cordwainer Smith" and his remarkable life and experiences, and see how he came to write as he did. This includes some of his earlier work and it's not quite up to his later stuff, but persevere and you will be rewarded.

The stories were good, but the book did not contain all the short stories contained in other books titled "The Rediscovery of man" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rediscovery_of_Man). It only contained:* Scanners live in vain* The Lady who sailed the soul* The game of rat and dragon* The burning of the Brain* The crime and the glory of Commander Suzdal* Golden the Ship was - Oh! Oh! Oh!* The Dead Lady of Clown Town* Under Old Earth* Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons* Alpha Ralpha Boulevard* The Ballad of Lost C'mell* A Planet named ShayolSo, only 12 stories out of the 27 listed in the Wiki article. Strange, as the stories in this book seem lifted out of the other book, with forwards by James A. Mann and a timeline in the back showing how all the stories should have fitted together.

Great Book, although is the same as the Best Of Cordwainer Smith by Del Rey. An exact copy, but bigger, Great Stories.