I had to skim to finish this book, that was just so I could confirm that what I thought would happen, did happen. It did. For the most part, this story was simply a vehicle for Cooper to vent his feelings and ideas about civilization. He puts forth his idea of a perfect "colony", then proceeds to tell what destroys it. Too much preaching for me, and I don't mean just about religion. The book which I have has two more stories in it, but I can't tackle them. Life is too short. This book does not meet my criteria for keeping. ( )