There aren't too many people who can write humorous Science Fiction, but Keith Laumer does it in these classic stories. This book starts off the series, and the stories follow a formula, but an enjoyable one. Jame Retief is a lower-level staff member of the diplomatic service Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne, and is the only one who can see clearly the problems they face. His superiors (always including Magnan) are bureaucratic ass-coverers who always follow the procedures, but Retief manages, by ignoring all of that, to save the day in the end. This is the kind of book you don't need to sit down and read cover-to-cover. Just pick it up and read a story when you want a lift.