Orphans of the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein

Somewhere, drifting in deep space, a human civilization exists- self sufficient and completely alone. For these unknowing travelers, Earth is a myth, and their world- known only as \'The Ship" -is everything they\'ve ever known. They are a law and a culture unto themselves and believe that theirs is the only possible world- until one of them discovers the secret of The Ship- and their world- threatening to change everything this society has ever known. Robert Heinlein- one of the great masters of Science Fiction- is brought back to us in this gripping novel -out of print for over 40 years. In the true Heinlein form, we are brought into a world where the colonists exist on a drifting shift, religiously worshipping a set of beliefs and half truths spun out of control generations before when the crew mutinied and 90% of the population of the ship died. The society that is reborn is superstitious and fracture, held under control by the \'scientists\'- the new priests of the society, and fighting against the \'muties\'- a race of freaks and cannibals that wander the low gravity levels of the ship. One man discovers the truth about the ships origins and tries to bring that truth to the rest of the society, but societies often go to great lengths to suppress the truth. Really a great book! One of his earlier works that show the clear style and thoughtful ideas that made Heinlein the master of Sci Fi that he remains. It has been out of print for almost 15 years, now back and available through www.stealthpress.com .