No one who has read the famous "Skylark" stories or the other epic space adventures written by Edward E. Smith is ever likely to forget the name of the father of the modern interplanetary story. Twenty-five years ago Dr. Smith set the pattern for other writers to follow--and they're still following! "First Lensman", Smith's latest story, reestablishes his position as leader in his chosen field. His science novels continue to thrill his thousands of readers with their tremendous imaginative scope, their sure grasp of vast interstellar distances, their skillful creation of alien intelligences, their breath-taking adventures.In "First Lensman" you are transported to the day in the not-too-distant future when fleets of commercial space ships travel constantly between the planets of numerous solar systems. With interstellar commerce come interstellar headaches. The forces of law and order lag far behind those of organized crime. Civilization seems to be heading for chaos. A small group of men, headed by Virgil Samms, Chief of the Triplanetary Service, and Councillor "Rocky" Rod Kinnison, face the issue--and bring into the open a secret conflict that has been going on for uncounted ages.Strange and exciting events follow. Strange worlds and stranger peoples enter the picture. In this gripping narrative you will visit Arisia with Virgil Samms when he becomes First Lensman; you will engage in adventures on other delightfully wackly worlds, such as Rigel Four, where people look like animated oil drums, or Palain Seven whose frigid-blooded race has an extension into the fourth dimension. You will see the forming of the Galactic Patrol.Above all, you will be entranced by a story that will lift you out of the present into a world to come; a novel which is part of an epic without parallel in science fiction--the Lensman Series.