The People Maker

By Damon Knight

Book Overview

What would happen if someone invented a machine that could create an exact duplicate of anything? That is the simple but remarkable premise of Damon Knight's classic 1959 novel, A for Anything. "The Gismo," as the machine is known, seems like it will end poverty and need forever. But of course, things are not that simple. Like any truly great work of science fiction, Knight's novel boldly pursues the ramifications of his premise. What will people do if there is no longer any need to work for anything? What happens if this device is spread carelessly throughout the world (it can even duplicate itself ). Finally, there is the supreme and most chilling of questions: what happens if you try to duplicate a human being?

A for Anything is a classic work of science fiction, but it considers questions that are as relevant and compelling today as they were fifty years ago, perhaps more so. Like most of us, Knight watches the mind-boggling technological advancements of our time with a mixture of awe and alarm, and wonders whether we are really in control of the things we are creating. Knight has put his finger on the pulse of our modern sensibility and, mixed with his truly remarkable imagination, created a novel that is gripping, thought-provoking and impossible to put down.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B08PJK78QL
• ISBN13: 9798576241637
• Release Date: December 2020
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

From Back Cover

A FOR ANYTHING GET A GIZMO AND GET THE WORLD The discovery of the Gizmo was seen by its inventor as the final solution to all of Man's ills: a device that would duplicate... anything. What it did produce was the total breakdown of the democratic structure. Within two generations, American society degenerated into two groups: Masters who controlled the Gizmo's power, and slaves. Dick Jones is the youthful heir to Buckhill, one of the oldest compounds to rise from the ashes of society's ruins. His rite of passage sends him to Eagles, the secret mountain fortress that is the last bastion of power on the continent. It is here that Jones will complete his training, but he soon discovers that the line between Master and slave is a fine one. If he cannot distinguish between honor and his heart, he will be doomed to a horrible death.

Particularly relevant for the present day

This book explores the societal implications of free, pervasive, lossless duplication of matter. In short, author Knight proposes that human nature cannot handle such a technology in a responsible manner; instead the world plunges into anarchy, from which emerges a feudal society based around the slavery of expendible, replicated humans.Today legislatures, corporations, and consumers alike are faced with the decision of how to deal with the issue of free, pervasive, lossless duplication of "intellectual property". The analogy is not perfect, but "A for Anything" provides a very useful viewpoint to help you make a decision about the issue.

Particularly relevant for the present day

This book explores the societal implications of free, pervasive, lossless duplication of matter. In short, author Knight proposes that human nature cannot handle such a technology in a responsible manner; instead the world plunges into anarchy, from which emerges a feudal society based around the slavery of expendible, replicated humans.Today legislatures, corporations, and consumers alike are faced with the issue of free, pervasive, lossless duplication of intellectual property. The analogy is not perfect, but "A for Anything" provides a very useful viewpoint to help you make a decision about the issue. It's not half bad as a novel either.