Looking for this short story:

[Thirdfain]

I remember reading this great short story when I was younger, and I can't remember it's title, or the author's name.

The story is based on the premise that the secret to interstellar travel is REALLY REALLY simple, so simple that it is common for species with 14th century level technology to discover it. The only reason humans aren't in space is due to extreme bad luck- no scientist ever looked at the problem in the right way.

So, throughout the Galaxy, aliens in wooden spacecraft calked with tar are leaping from gravity well to gravity well. One of these species has rifles, and is uding this advantage to qonquer the galaxy. Their mode of operation is to arrive at a planet, check for interstellar spacecraft, and the land, wait for a bunch of natives to walk up, and then shoot them. The natives, awed, allow the alien invaders to rule their world. This method works OK, until a few of these spacecraft arrive around Earth. A few of them land outside San Francisco, and are greeted by a crowd of onlookers, the mayor of San Francisco, and a few national guardsmen. The Aliens take out thier muskets, blow away a dozen onlookers with their muskets, and then get their asses kicked by the National guardsmen with their automatic rifles. Scientists go into the spacecraft, look at the hyperdrive, smack their heads and say "OOOOHHHH! No, DUH!" and madcap hijinks result.

Anyone know about thsi story, or it's author?

[EmperorChrostas the Cruel]

The story, is called "the road not taken," written by Harry Turtledove.

The reason we are so tech advanced, (relative to other races)yet lack AG/hyper, is AG/hyper screws up the observations needed to develoup Newtonian physics, the backbone of most modern science.
Egyptians had electricity, (batteries)and winding metal wire into magnets is low tech. Once you have the right shaped set of magnets, presto, AG/hyper. All R&D is then prioritised towards ag/hyper tech, (because flying archers/muskett men beat cavelry/infantry.

The story is the FIRST of a series, the last being about a race called the Rof Golani, the ultimate genderbenders.

Humans swarm the galaxy, with our new hyperdrive/antigrav.
We dominate all within the commo range.(Ships are the fastest message traffic possible)
Having no enemies to enslave/subjegate, we have a civil war.We never fully recover.

There are 2 other races that take the road not taken.
A reptilian race, with 50s tech + hyper/AG.
And of course, the Rof Galani, who's collapsed empire was much more technologicly advanced than humans ever were.
The cause of the Rof Galani's civil war was, same sex whole lifers, (like humans)vs the "second half of your life is male, and you are ALL born female" bisexers.
The mono sexers consider the bisexers perverts!
Civil war, chaos, obscurity.

[Thirdfain]

Thanks a ton! I've been looking for this story for a long long time.

Wow, is it one of his older works?

[EmperorChrostas the Cruel]

It is one of his oldest works. I read this short story in a book called, "There will be war (1)", in 86. Edited by jerry Pournelle, copywrite 83!