Rating: 
Summary: A Roaring satire of Military S.F.
Review: This is one of the unacknowleged treasures of Science-Fiction. It's funny, biting, and to the point .It's crisp satire who dared touch sacred icons of Science Fiction like Asimov's Foundations (The planet in the central episode is clearly Trantor)and Heinlein's Starship Troopers. A little gem.
Rating:
Summary: Bitingly funny Sci-Fi Classic grows more relevant each year.
Review: You don't have to be a science fiction fan to like this book. There are no long, technical discussions of imaginary future technologies nor does the human race become different than it is now. What this book does as well or better than any other book is provide hilarious commentary on war and government as it follows the adventures of an everyman named Bill as he is drafted, sent to war, lied to, cheated and abused by every institution and bureacrat he comes in contact with. (Kind of reminds you of modern-day civilization, doesn't it?)The simple plot follows a farm laborer named Bill as he is tricked into joining the army in a future inter-galactic war. I first read this book as a teen-ager and loved it though of course the military and the government were really our friends and not run by nut-cases concerned only with their own advancement as in the book. Well, re-reading this 30 years later after 4 years active duty and 5 in the reserves (They don't tell you that you can never leave the military if your specialty is needed when you try to resign) I find that this "satire" is a lot closer to the real military than almost any sincere book you can think of. Almost every ridiculously improbable military event in the book reminded me of similar real-life occurrences I participated in or heard about. All in all, this book is entertaining and forces you to laugh even as identical monstrously wrong things happen in your own life. And, in case you're wondering, Bill does not triumph over the system, but ends up one more victim of bureaucracy and civilization.
Rating:
Summary: Bitingly funny Sci-Fi Classic grows more relevant each year.
Review: You don't have to be a science fiction fan to like this book. There are no long, technical discussions of imaginary future technologies nor does the human race become different than it is now. What this book does as well or better than any other book is provide hilarious commentary on war and government as it follows the adventures of an everyman named Bill as he is drafted, sent to war, lied to, cheated and abused by every institution and bureacrat he comes in contact with. (Kind of reminds you of modern-day civilization, doesn't it?) The simple plot follows a farm laborer named Bill as he is tricked into joining the army in a future inter-galactic war. I first read this book as a teen-ager and loved it though of course the military and the government were really our friends and not run by nut-cases concerned only with their own advancement as in the book. Well, re-reading this 30 years later after 4 years active duty and 5 in the reserves (They don't tell you that you can never leave the military if your specialty is needed when you try to resign) I find that this "satire" is a lot closer to the real military than almost any sincere book you can think of. Almost every ridiculously improbable military event in the book reminded me of similar real-life occurrences I participated in or heard about. All in all, this book is entertaining and forces you to laugh even as identical monstrously wrong things happen in your own life. And, in case you're wondering, Bill does not triumph over the system, but ends up one more victim of bureaucracy and civilization.
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