Project Gutenberg 2016-02-23 Public domain in the USA. 9722 Shaara, Michael 1928 1988 Francis, Dick Francis, Richard D. Man of Distinction Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction October 1956 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "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.) Reading ease score: 73.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Businessmen -- Fiction Genealogy -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Browsing: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Browsing: Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 39532 2025-06-20T14:42:59.505208 text/html 15448 2024-10-23T00:05:53 text/html 198888 2025-06-20T14:43:01.391210 application/epub+zip 197720 2025-06-20T14:42:59.940190 application/epub+zip 82660 2025-06-20T14:42:59.698180 application/epub+zip 229070 2025-06-20T14:43:02.647196 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 222519 2025-06-20T14:43:01.168231 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 107686 2022-09-23T10:50:15.688697 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 32965 2023-09-22T08:56:30.539191 text/plain 13228 2024-10-23T00:05:53 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16785 2025-06-20T14:43:02.802179 application/rdf+xml 25915 2025-06-20T14:42:59.781214 image/jpeg 4385 2025-06-20T14:42:59.738233 image/jpeg 178375 2025-06-20T14:42:59.518206 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia