Harry Harrison. Bill - Hero of the Galaxy

Who knows how the life of an ordinary guy named Bill would have turned out if not for a cruel twist of fate that led him into the ranks of the Imperial Space Marines. It was here that he plunged headlong into a world of incredible adventures. Circumstances force the space fleet command to send this inexperienced, poorly trained recruit, along with other green recruits, to fight the intelligent inhabitants of distant planets. Bill faces death more than once, but his natural resourcefulness, ingenuity, and a little luck allow him not only to survive but also to become the man known throughout inhabited space as Bill—the Hero of the Galaxy.