# Any essays or books that describe an "alien's" take on life on earth and/or human culture? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-essays-or-books-that-describe-an-aliens-take-on-life-on-earth-and-or-human-culture/721816 "2015-06-06T21:30:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-essays-or-books-that-describe-an-aliens-take-on-life-on-earth-and-or-human-culture/721816/21 "2015-06-07T21:57:46Z")
I own a humor book, called “[Humans](http://www.amazon.com/Humans-Pat-Welch/dp/0671602772/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433714210&sr=8-1&keywords=mike+dowdall)”, which was published in 1983. It’s a spoof of the then-popular book “[Gnomes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomes_%28book%29)”, which purported to be a scientific study of gnome biology and culture. “Humans” examines modern human culture, from the perspective of a pair of bewildered external scientists. It’s very silly, very insightful, and sadly, long out of print. ---
**Author:** ![Wallace\_The\_Lad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/43a26b/32.png) [@Wallace\_The\_Lad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallace_The_Lad)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-essays-or-books-that-describe-an-aliens-take-on-life-on-earth-and-or-human-culture/721816/22 "2015-06-07T23:46:25Z")
Clarke’s classic ,Childhood’s End" is about aliens becoming Earth’s overseers, or overlords. Cleansing the world of such all-ime history evils as political arrogance, single power-concentrated leaders, etc etc. And the difference in this novel is that the aliens are seen by average Earthlings as saviours. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-essays-or-books-that-describe-an-aliens-take-on-life-on-earth-and-or-human-culture/721816/23 "2015-06-07T23:56:39Z")
L. Ron Hubbard’s excrescence, the “Mission: Earth” series, uses this as a premise. Please note that this is NOT - repeat, NOT - a suggestion that one might wish to actually expose one’s brain to that foul odious crime against paper and all that is good and right in this world. Comparing this series of “books”, for want of a better word, to festering raw sewage is an affront to all sewage everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-essays-or-books-that-describe-an-aliens-take-on-life-on-earth-and-or-human-culture/721816/24 "2015-06-08T00:27:08Z")
There’s a story, I think by Asimov but it may be someone else, that takes place on a spaceship, told from the point of view of the ship’s boy, a plucky lad who gets into trouble repeatedly. There’s a space battle and everything. In the final paragraph of the story, it’s revealed that the “ship’s boy” point of view character is actually the spaceship itself, which is a giant sentient alien. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-essays-or-books-that-describe-an-aliens-take-on-life-on-earth-and-or-human-culture/721816/25 "2015-06-08T00:29:17Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > There’s a story, I think by Asimov but it may be someone else, that takes place on a spaceship, told from the point of view of the ship’s boy, a plucky lad who gets into trouble repeatedly. There’s a space battle and everything. In the final paragraph of the story, it’s revealed that the “ship’s boy” point of view character is actually the spaceship itself, which is a giant sentient alien. Damon Knight’s “Cabin Boy”? Hal Clement occasionally gives the alien’s point of view about humans - for example in “Proof” and “Iceworld” ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-essays-or-books-that-describe-an-aliens-take-on-life-on-earth-and-or-human-culture/721816/26 "2015-06-08T00:32:45Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Damon Knight’s “Cabin Boy”? That’s the one! I’d misremembered lots of details, clearly. Thanks for the title! ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-essays-or-books-that-describe-an-aliens-take-on-life-on-earth-and-or-human-culture/721816/27 "2015-06-08T18:14:26Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Not quite what you’re asking for, but [Body Ritual Among the Nacirema](http://www.sfu.ca/~palys/Miner-1956-BodyRitualAmongTheNacirema.pdf) (PDF) is a classic. On a related note - David Macaulay’s _**[Motel of the Mysteries](http://www.amazon.com/Motel-Mysteries-David-Macaulay/dp/0395284252)**_ is a fun read/look thru. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-essays-or-books-that-describe-an-aliens-take-on-life-on-earth-and-or-human-culture/721816/28 "2015-06-08T18:25:33Z")
It’s a space opera, but C.J. Cherryh is big into anthropological sf and her [Chanur novels](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chanur_novels) has the human(s) as semi-incomprehensible outsiders in a multi-species interstellar venue. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-essays-or-books-that-describe-an-aliens-take-on-life-on-earth-and-or-human-culture/721816/29 "2015-06-08T18:40:33Z")
David Brin’s Uplift series often displays humans from the point of view of other species. > [@Andy\_L](#): > > Damon Knight’s “Cabin Boy”? Chris Elliott’s _Cabin Boy_ is enjoyable too. “When I return, I shall be a cabin man!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-essays-or-books-that-describe-an-aliens-take-on-life-on-earth-and-or-human-culture/721816.md?page=1)