I found this book in a thrift shop for a dime when I was nine years old and read it to pieces. It's a story of survival, ingenuity and revenge that takes place over several generations. I've since collected a number of other copies, including the Gnome Press hardcover first edition and a half dozen foreign translations.
You can read the entire book here.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2254...-h/22549-h.htm
Tom Godwin is best known to science fiction fans as the author of the groundbreaking and controversial short story 'The Cold Equations'.
https://photos.state.gov/libraries/h...0Equations.pdf
His first published short story, 'The Gulf Between', inspired artist Frank Kelly Freas to paint the well-known image of a dying spaceman held by a giant robot, which graced the cover of the March 1954 issue of 'Astounding Science Fiction'.
The image was reworked many years later, at the request of science fiction fan and band member Roger Taylor for Queen's 'News of the World' album.
Godwin lived a short and unhappy life, but he left some good writing behind. 'Space Prison' is an underrated classic of the genre.