Man of Distinction by Michael Shaara

Read now or download (free!)

Choose how to read this book Url Size
Read online (web) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51288.html.images 38 kB
EPUB3 (E-readers incl. Send-to-Kindle) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51288.epub3.images 194 kB
EPUB (older E-readers) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51288.epub.images 193 kB
EPUB (no images, older E-readers) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51288.epub.noimages 81 kB
Kindle https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51288.kf8.images 224 kB
older Kindles https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51288.kindle.images 217 kB
Plain Text UTF-8 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51288.txt.utf-8 32 kB
Download HTML (zip) https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/51288/pg51288-h.zip 174 kB
There may be more files related to this item.

About this eBook

Author Shaara, Michael, 1929?-1988
Illustrator Francis, Dick
Title Man of Distinction
Credits Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Summary "Man of Distinction" by Michael Shaara is a science fiction novella written during the mid-20th century. The narrative explores themes of identity and notoriety through the life of Thatcher Blitt, who, despite being a successful businessman in the year 2180, questions the notion of personal significance derived from lineage and ancestry. The story critiques societal values placed on heritage and fame, highlighting the irony of being a wealthy figure without any notable ancestors to speak of. The plot follows Thatcher Blitt, the founder of Genealogy, Inc., a company that utilizes a time scanner to uncover family histories. As he amasses wealth and status, he becomes increasingly obsessed with discovering a prestigious lineage to validate his success. However, Blitt's relentless pursuit exposes a humbling truth: his ancestry is unremarkable, consisting of ordinary individuals. After a profound search that traces his lineage back 40,000 years, Blitt discovers that his bloodline has never produced anyone exceptional, culminating in the ironic realization that he is historically unique for his complete lack of distinguished ancestors. This twist serves as a poignant commentary on the human condition, raising questions about the worth of identity and self-importance in a world where everyone shares common ancestry. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Language English
LoC Class PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
Subject Science fiction
Subject Short stories
Subject Businessmen -- Fiction
Subject Genealogy -- Fiction
Category Text
EBook-No. 51288
Release Date
Copyright Status Public domain in the USA.
Downloads 128 downloads in the last 30 days.
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!