I'll be the first to admit it: Eric Frank Russell does far better with short stories than with novels, even very short novels. But The Great Explosion is still a good story, much better than many of his other novels. It reads more like three short stories rather than one novel, which helps.

With the sudden advent of cheap space travel, the human race exploded into the galaxy and settled many worlds. But now Earth's government is determined to unite them under its rule, whether the locals like it or not, just in case a hostile race, so far never encountered, should appear on the scene.

Obviously, many planets don't think too well of that plan. The first planet the men from Earth visit is populated by men descended from a penal colony. Their culture is quite hostile to the Earthmen, and they view working for others as for fools, enslaving one another is common, and they figure their ancestors were just too smart for the rest of Earth, which is why they got sent away.

The second planet is populated by nudists who only respect healthy living. The pale skin of the spacemen repulses them, even those who are relatively fit, and they are greatly concerned with the diseases that might be carried. However, this planet is still friendlier than the first, if they can put up with the humiliation.

The third and last planet is founded by people whose philosophy is described by "I won't!" They are great at passive resistance. If they don't want to do something... "I won't!" Their entire economy is based on obligations and trust. Really fun crowd. They also have a firm belief in minding one's own business, and have no central govenment.

This one is quite funny, as is most of Russell's work. He enjoys poking fun at those who too strictly obey the rules, refuse to think. His books reflect a great deal of a combined libertarian and anarchistic thinking, yet he finds ways to make it all work.