Three Ways Into The Technic History; Three Layers Of Futurity

There are three great ways into Poul Anderson's Technic History.

Trader To The Stars, which was the first Technic History collection, begins as someone unidentified except as "Le Matelot" writes:

"'The world's great age begins anew...'
"As it has before, and will again."
-Poul Anderson, Trader To The Stars (Panther Books Ltd, Frogmore, St Albans, 1975), p. 7.

The Earth Book Of Stormgate, which "spans, illuminates and completes the magnificent future history of the Polesotechnic League," begins:

"To those who read, good flight.
"It is Hloch of the Stormgate Choth who writes, on the peak of Mount Anrovil in the Weathermother."
-Poul Anderson, The Earth Book Of Stormgate (New York, 1979), p. 1.

The Van Rijn Method (Riverdale, NY, 2009), which is Volume I of The Technic Civilization Saga, compiled by Hank Davis, begins with Davis' infectiously enthusiastic introduction:

"PLANETS AND PROFITS:
"INTRODUCING NICHOLAS VAN RIJN AND THE POLESOTECHNIC LEAGUE...

"...and also introducing one of the grandest sagas in science fiction: the Technic Civilization series." (p. ix)

Even better, Davis' compilation reproduces Hloch's introduction on p. 75 and Le Matelot's on p. 555 so everything is preserved and nothing is lost.