"H. Beam Piper - Federation" - читать интересную книгу автора (Piper H Beam)

There remain questions. His extensive notes have never been found; yet
I know that he kept a well-organized set of looseleaf notebooks, with
entries color-coded; a star map of Federation and Empire; a history of the
Systems States War; and other materials including some of my own letters
which answered historical questions he had posed. Somewhere out there
is a gold mine.

It isn't all lost. I have his letters; and some of his notes can be deduced
from his writing. Beam firmly believed that history repeated itself; or at
least that one can use real history to construct a future history. The casual
reader will not easily deduce the historical models Beam employed. He
was familiar with forgotten details: as an example, one of the battle scenes
in Lord Kalvan is drawn directly from the obscure Battle of Barnet in the
Wars of the Roses. He knew the grand sweep of history, but he also knew
the small tales; the intrigues and petty jealousies, heroism and cowardice,
honor and betrayals.

This, I think, is why his stories have such a ring of truth. They seem real
because many were real. Such things as ix happen in Piper's statecraft
have happened time and again to real politicians.

And to real heroes and heroines: for all his knowledge, Beam was no dry
intellectual. He was a story teller; a man who could keep you up all night
with his books and tales. He had respect for the intellect and for
intellectuals, but he was never one of the breed.

He was a cavalier.

INTRODUCTION
 John Carr
Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Jerry Pournelle for allowing me to use some of
his personal reminiscences of H. Beam Piper and for allowing me to
study the Piper notes and letters in his possession. I would also like to
thank Charlie Brown for allowing me the use of his letters, Fred Pohl for
his reminiscences, and Piper researchers William J. DenholmIII, Richard
A. Moore, and Paul Dellinger, for their encouragement and support.

SCENE: The Beckman Auditorium, Pasadena, California; the California
Institute of TechnologyтАФa cement circus tent the size of a zepplin hanger.
In the first two rows of the balcony; A. E. Van Vogt, Theodore Sturgeon,
Jack Williamson, Larry Niven, Greg Bear and Astrid Anderson, Dr. Donald
Kingsbury, Harlan Ellison, Gregory Benford, and others of the SF clan,
including your intrepid reporter. All guests of NASA and Jerry Pournelle,
our gracious host for the weekend. On stage: Ray Bradbury, sf poet
laureate and Martian Chronicalist; Carl Sagan, Mr. Cosmos: Walter
Sullivan, Science Editor of the New York Times since 1966; Dr. Philip
Morrison, Institute Professor of Physics at M.I.T.тАФfirst scientist to call
upon the professional community to begin a serious search for