[Instrumentality Of Mankind 01] • Norstrilia - Illustrated

Expansion of "The Planet Buyer" and "The Underpeople". This is the first publication of the complete novel as Smith wrote it. The publishers in the 60's felt that it was too long to publish as a single novel, so Smith broke it in two, adding a small amount of material at the end of "The Planet Buyer" and at the beginning of "The Underpeople" so they could stand separately. The 1994 NESFA Press edition includes this added material in an appendix.

This is the only novel Cordwainer Smith ever wrote during his distinguished career. It tells the story of a boy form the planet Old North Australia (where rich, simple farmers grow the immortality drug Stroon), how he bought Old Earth, and how his visit to Earth changed both him and Earth itself.