Project Gutenberg 2020-01-19 Public domain in the USA. 125 Scott, Robert A Bad Town for Spacemen Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, July 1962 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "A Bad Town for Spacemen" by Robert Scott is a science fiction short story originally published in the early 1960s. The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of a dystopian future where returning space pioneers face hostility and resentment from the inhabitants of Earth. This work explores themes of alienation and racial tension stemming from societal changes in response to the advancements in space travel and the implications for those who venture beyond. The protagonist, a spaceman who has returned from a successful mission, finds himself confronting a new and hostile environment in New York. Once a place of admiration for space travelers, the city is now marked by disdain and violence as locals express their anger and frustration towards those who have ventured out to other planets. The plot centers on an encounter between the protagonist and a hostile patron in a bar, where the former's pride in his accomplishments is met with bitterness rooted in racial and societal prejudices. This encounter serves as a catalyst for the protagonist to reflect on the changing dynamics of Earth and to recognize that the real exiles are those who cannot adapt to the new world brought about by space exploration. Ultimately, the story highlights the complexities of progress and the human emotions that accompany societal evolution. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 84.6 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction Race relations -- Fiction Space travelers -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: American Literature 33090 2025-09-24T09:07:36.685832 text/html 9035 2024-10-17T15:54:08 text/html 89314 2025-09-24T09:07:38.180840 application/epub+zip 88153 2025-09-24T09:07:37.011827 application/epub+zip 74781 2025-09-24T09:07:36.826833 application/epub+zip 119832 2025-09-24T09:07:39.238854 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 113082 2025-09-24T09:07:37.996895 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 99872 2022-09-27T16:24:29.575383 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 26928 2025-09-24T09:07:36.426827 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 7184 2024-10-17T15:54:08 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17118 2025-09-24T09:07:39.359817 application/rdf+xml 28380 2025-09-24T09:07:36.900848 image/jpeg 4839 2025-09-24T09:07:36.863840 image/jpeg 254647 2025-09-24T09:07:36.692861 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