Synopsis: From the front flap of the Gregg Press edition: "In The Byworlder, Poul Anderson sings the praises of the byworlders, a counterculture people who try to do their own thing in a regimented, near-future society. One of the byworlders, Skip Wayburn (a sigaroon, or 21st-century version of a bohemian drifter, craftsman, musician, and artist) make an intuitive connection with the emissary aboard the first interstellar starship orbiting Earth, a breakthrough that has been eluding the best efforts of the scientific establishment for three years. Wayburn alone knows why the alien has come, but no one in the establishment will listen to the byworlder, despite his terrifying message. ... This first American hardcover edition includes a new introduction on The Byworlder by the author."