Short Synopsis
Poul Anderson presents Book 1 in the Technic Civilization series. Contains mature themes.

Full Synopsis
The Buck Starts Here!

Think there's an unbridgeable gulf between human and alien thought? Not so! There's a common tongue, all right—and Nicholas Van Rijn speaks it fluently: trade. For behind the buffoonish blarney and bawdy bonhomie of the Falstaffian Van Rijn is a man who gets things done. A born wheeler-dealer who usually leaves both sides better off in the bargain. (While pocketing a hefty cut of the profits himself, of course!)

With "The Man Who Counts" and a passel of other tales included, this is the first of three volumes set to contain the complete cycle of Polesotechnic League books and stories by transcendently gifted science fiction master (how does seven Hugos and three Nebula Awards strike you?) Poul Anderson—and starring Nicholas Van Rijn, his most famous character of all!

Contains mature themes.