Others have got written science fiction for the theme of immortality, but in The Sail boat of a Million Years, Poul Anderson managed to get his own. Early in human history, certain individuals were blessed who live on-unaging, undying-through the centuries and millennia. This tale comes after them over two thousand years, up to our period and beyond-to the promise of utopia and to the challenge of the stars.

In the future, these unique individuals must figure out how to cope with-and hide-their accurate nature. Facing suspicion by the mortals around them, they become wanderers, disconnected also from their families. But hope lies ahead.

A milestone in modern science fiction and a New York Times Notable Book when initial published in 1989, this is one of a great writer’s finest functions.