Triplanetary — E.E. "Doc" Smith

War of the galaxies

Eddore and Arisia fought desperately to control the Universe. The ultimate battleground was a tiny, backward planet in a remote galaxy--Earth.

And only a few Earthmen knew of the titanic struggle--and of the strange, decisive role they were to play in the war of the super- races.

Here is the beginning of -Doc" Smith's famous Lensman series--the first of the celebrated novels that set a pattern for science fiction.