The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Amazon.com

Tom Clancy has said of Robert A. Heinlein, "We proceed down the path marked by his ideas. He shows us where the future is." Nowhere is this more true than in Heinlein's gripping tale of revolution on the moon in 2076, where "Loonies" are kept poor and oppressed by an Earth-based Authority that turns huge profits at their expense. A small band of dissidents, including a one-armed computer jock, a radical young woman, a past-his-prime academic and a nearly omnipotent computer named Mike, ignite the fires of revolution despite the near certainty of failure and death.

Book Description

Robert A. Heinlein was the most influential science fiction writer of his era, an influence so large that, as Samuel R. Delany notes, "modern critics attempting to wrestle with that influence find themselves dealing with an object rather like the sky or an ocean." He won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, a record that still stands. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was the last of these Hugo-winning novels, and it is widely considered his finest work.It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of the former Lunar penal colony against the Lunar Authority that controls it from Earth. It is the tale of the disparate people--a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic--who become the rebel movement's leaders. And it is the story of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to this inner circle, and who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success.The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of the high points of modern science fiction, a novel bursting with politics, humanity, passion, innovative technical speculation, and a firm belief in the pursuit of human freedom.

Customer Reviews:

A Sci-Fi that has it all, though a bit too much talk-talk.......2007-08-14

Warning - Spoiler ahead: I read this on recommendation of the National Review, who were celebrating Robert Heinlein's 100th birthday and his importance as a libertarian and patriot. Perhaps people of all political stripes will find something to like here, and this novel dives into political issues every bit as much as it does scientific and personal aspects of the story. "The Moon" is about a revolt by 3 million Moon dwellers, most former prisoners, against their commanders on or from Earth. It begins in the year 2075 and is divided into three books: Book One introduces the story and themes and setting for the revolution, Book Two contains extensive meetings and negotiation between the Moon (Luna) and the Earth (Terra), and Book Three has the dramatic, climactic conflict...this is where most of the action is, and it includes some physical theory that helps to keep it real. For example, Heinlein understands how attacks from Terra are greatly inhibited by earth's huge gravity, making a missile-laden ship more cost-effective than firing large missiles directly from Terra. The Loonies, on the other hand, have the advantage of raining destruction on Terra simply by overcoming Luna's weak gravity, and letting the bomb fall to its target. After all, Heinlein wasn't a fantasy writer; he used realistic situations to illustrate universal principles, just on a different plane - or planet!

IMHO Book Two goes a little overboard with plotting and dialogue about Luna's path for achieving revolutionary independence, and things drag in places. Much of this is between the main character and narrator, Mannie, and the "Professor," the revolutionary mastermind. The Professor is less scrupulous, always planning how to manipulate not just the Terran authorities, but also the "Loonies." I kept picturing the professor as Lenin, in spite of Heinlein's goals for a free, libertarian society. Mannie is also a fighter but he's more sympathetic, sort of an `everyman', and his triumphant survival is sweet but not too sentimental. One other criticism would be the stylistic jargon that Heinlein invents for Loonie society, words like the salutation Gospodin meaning Mr., or Choom meaning chum, and his unintelligible description of polygamous marriages (necessary with the skewed ratio of men to women). At times it gets just a little too thick and by the end I was relieved by the action that tied it all together. This was written in the mid-60's and I think Heinlein wanted to sound cool to get his message across, but it's a little anachronistic now. Regardless, the ending is a great payoff and justifies rating this as his most important work, even if like me you're not a big sci-fi reader.

Heinlein's single most important work.......2007-08-09

This book is clearly the single most important work of Heinlein's life.

A text of Revolution, Liberty, survival & the limits & inherit flaws of the institutions of government.
A fine science fiction novel, & a subtle condemnation of both "big government" & "caveman conservatism" alike.

A personal note--few novels get into my subconscious so deeply that I dream of them. This one did.

Is good book, scan?.......2007-08-07

Have been reading SF for 20 years, seen this one many times, some cobber recommened, no dice. Hear is dinkum, but not sure.

As new chum must say that book is fair, though may risk elimination to ctitique.

Typical Heinlein, what with phraseology. No big huhu.

Revolution How-To.......2007-08-07

At the suggestion of a colleague I placed this book on my summer reading list. Perusing the internet I found that it would be of greater interest to first pickup Heinlein's other masterpiece, Stranger in a Strange Land. Between the two I am now beginning to consider myself a Heinlein fan. The man's work is simply stellar compared to others in the genre.

This novel, although using character dialog which deemphasizes Heinlein's grammatical excellence, entails the idea of revolutionary tactics from the perspective of penal colony on the Moon. A great read for those who also have an affinity for historical references, as it plans out the requirements to strategically plan a revolution based off of many known occurances as well as some completely fictional.

2 Thumbs Up.......2007-06-22

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of the best books that I have ever read. Robert Heinlein is an exceptional author with a well earned reputation as one of the sci-fi masters. I have read several of his works, but this is his best book by far. He spins a yarn about the "Loonies" - the moon people, their rebellion, and their struggles. He puts in a lot of dry humor throughout the book concerning a one armed man, a woman, a professor made politician, and a giant, joking computer. I highly recommend this book

Average customer rating:

Not great
A typical Heinlein book, a better than average Robinson offering
"Her eyes were hazel, stoned, rolling."
not even for liberals
A middling effort

Variable Star
Robert A. Heinlein , and Spider Robinson
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Off the Main Sequence: The Other Science Fiction Stories of Robert A. Heinlein

ASIN: 076531312X
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Book Description

A never-before-published masterpiece from science fiction's greatest writer, rediscovered after more than half a century.When Joel Johnston first met Jinny Hamilton, it seemed like a dream come true. And when she finally agreed to marry him, he felt like the luckiest man in the universe.nbsp;There was just one small problem. He was broke. His only goal in life was to become a composer, and he knew it would take years before he was earning enough to support a family.But Jinny wasn't willing to wait. And when Joel asked her what they were going to do for money, she gave him a most unexpected answer. She told him that her name wasn't really Jinny Hamilton---it was Jinny Conrad, and she was the granddaughter of Richard Conrad, the wealthiest man in the solar system. nbsp;And now that she was sure that Joel loved her for herself, not for her wealth, she revealed her family's plans for him---he would be groomed for a place in the vast Conrad empire and sire a dynasty to carry on the family business.Most men would have jumped at the opportunity. But Joel Johnston wasn't most men. To Jinny's surprise, and even his own, he turned down her generous offer and then set off on the mother of all benders. And woke up on a colony ship heading out into space, torn between regret over his rash decision and his determination to forget Jinny and make a life for himself among the stars.He was on his way to succeeding when his plans--and the plans of billions of others--were shattered by a cosmic cataclysm so devastating it would take all of humanity's strength and ingenuity just to survive.

Customer Reviews:

Not great.......2007-09-14

I didn't think this was that good. This book represents the decline of science fiction. I don't need the author's perspectives on the war in Iraq in an SF novel about a space journey at the speed of light. I read SF to expand my mind and stimulate my imagination, not dwell on stuff going on in the real world. Oh and Spider, if you're going to go on about new age concepts, get your chakras straight.

A typical Heinlein book, a better than average Robinson offering.......2007-09-10

Let's get something straight: only Nixon could go to China, and only Spider Robinson could write this novel. The reviewers that say "this isn't Heinlein" are exactly right, but only in the same way they'd be right if they said "The Mote In God's Eye" isn't Niven or "Time's Eye" isn't Clarke. Two authors are going to produce a different product than one of them alone would. Robinson may not be the new Heinlein -- I'd have to say Allen Steele fits that bill a lot better -- but no one is better-qualified as a Heinlein collaborator than Spider. It's dangerous to put words in the mouths of the dead, but I daresay the Old Man himself would have chosen Spider for the job. [...].

That said, a lot of the complaints about "Variable Star" as a novel are spot on. While I disagree that Robinson is somehow more political than Heinlein (Huh? Never mind "Starship Troopers", "Stranger In A Strange Land", and "Time Enough for Love" for a moment; just re-read the first chapter of "Glory Road"!), the idea that the specific events of the last four or five years are going to be significant or even known to characters in this book is a stretch and their insertion seems pretty clunky. And while I love a good pun, these seemed like too much of a *wink* *wink* to Robinson's core fans -- next time he should leave it at Callahan's.

Finally, true enough, the ending was a disappointment. On the other hand, I thought the same thing about "The Number of the Beast" and "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls" -- at least this is a different disappointing ending.

"Her eyes were hazel, stoned, rolling.".......2007-07-19

I picked up this book with some trepidation, for two reasons: A novel begun (or, in this case, heavily outlined) by one author and completed by another "as" (in the style of) the first author is almost always a bad idea. And, while I have nothing against him, I've never been especially drawn to Spider Robinson's work, no matter how many awards he's won. My tastes just don't run that way. However, I'm a longtime Heinlein fan, so I had to find out if this book was worth the reading. And, well, it is -- if you don't expect too much. It's several centuries in the future and Joel Johnston, college student, talented sax-man, and son of a Nobel-winning physicist, is involved with a girl with a mysterious past, to whom he proposes. And then finds out she's the granddaughter of one of the wealthiest men in the Solar System. Granddad assumes he'll give up all his own plans to train to take over the family empire, and Joel responds by getting drunk and then shipping out on a colony ship, the voyage of which will take twenty years. I.e., there ain't no going back. Most of the story is about his experiences and personal development within the ship's microcosm and it's interesting enough, but it's really not very Heinlein-ian. However, just when you've settled in for the ride, the real story rises up and smacks you in the face. Robinson has set this thing a couple of generations after the end of the Prophets' reign, and Coventry is still in use, so it's one version of RAH's "Future History," though the author has the sense to move it sufficiently far in the future that readers a few years from now won't have passed it by. (Heinlein set most of the events in his own stories in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.) The dialogue is good and Spider throws in plenty of his patented puns and cultural side-glances, but the result is still not great Heinlein, nor (I think) great Robinson.

not even for liberals.......2007-07-10

spider robinson is not Heinlein. The book should be a wet dream for us liberals, a young man running to the stars to avoid being icky icky rich. the book has the the good Buddhists, the evil christian nation, the evil capitalist, alternative life styles (including multiple married partners), entertainment sex (including a gal who wants to have sex with everyman on the ship), the near deification of musicians, touchy feely psychobabble healers, and much more that should make us liberals stand up and cheer but its like the author took all the tasty pieces of the liberal point of view stirred them into a stew and what we ended up with tasted like pooh. this book just plain sucks. the only way to get through it is to speed read it, if it wasnt for the fact that i paid so much for the hard cover addition i would have thrown it away. the folks who gave it high ratings must be liberals who care more about assuring that the future is perceived as being a liberal utopia then being entertained. and whats up with that ending? spider your contrived and very boring ending was pathetic, are you not very bright? couldn't you have at least used nuclear winter or global warming catastrophic events? a sure fire gainer of four stars for the al Gore fans amongst us.

A middling effort.......2007-06-24

This book is a strange one, with a strange history. Way back in 1955 (before my father was born), Robert Heinlein wrote a partial outline for a juvenile novel and, for whatever reason, opted not to write it. Fast forward a half-century, and Spider Robinson (whose Callahan's Bar stories are a must-read, by the way), was commissioned to write a novel from said outline. The results are mixed.

Don't get me wrong-I enjoyed myself through and through. It's a good, fun, brisk read. But it does have a few annoyances. 1) It chooses to, for no reason I can see, use not Heinlein's Future History, but rather an offshoot of Heinlein's Future History. Why? Those who don't know Heinlein well won't get it, and those who do know the History will be annoyed by the off-shooting continuity. I know I was. 2) It pulls one of my big pet peeves in science fiction-namely, pop culture references. As though people will be quoting The Simpsons in the 23rd Century. Right. 3) The deus ex machina at the end. I won't spoil it, but it's not foreshadowed or possible to pre-conceive at all. It's a cheat, and it bugged me. Personally, I thought that it was building to an entirely different ending (and my ending rocked, by the way), and so I was annoyed when the rug was pulled out.

However, let me repeat that the above represent mostly annoyances. I think that both Heinlein and Robinson fans will enjoy this one. It's a fun read. But not much more than a fun read, I'm afraid.

Average customer rating:

An look at ourselves from mars
CLASSIC Science Fiction
Boring, dated, juvenile
Super Reader
Mandatory reading

Stranger in a Strange Land
Robert A. Heinlein
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0786188480

Amazon.com

Stranger in a Strange Land, winner of the 1962 Hugo Award, is the story of Valentine Michael Smith, born during, and the only survivor of, the first manned mission to Mars. Michael is raised by Martians, and he arrives on Earth as a true innocent: he has never seen a woman and has no knowledge of Earth's cultures or religions. But he brings turmoil with him, as he is the legal heir to an enormous financial empire, not to mention de facto owner of the planet Mars. With the irascible popular author Jubal Harshaw to protect him, Michael explores human morality and the meanings of love. He founds his own church, preaching free love and disseminating the psychic talents taught him by the Martians. Ultimately, he confronts the fate reserved for all messiahs.

The impact of Stranger in a Strange Land was considerable, leading many children of the 60's to set up households based on Michael's water-brother nests. Heinlein loved to pontificate through the mouths of his characters, so modern readers must be willing to overlook the occasional sour note ("Nine times out of ten, if a girl gets raped, it's partly her fault."). That aside, Stranger in a Strange Land is one of the master's best entertainments, provocative as he always loved to be. Can you grok it? --Brooks Peck

Book Description

This is the epic saga of an earthling, Valentine Michael Smith, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet with many psi powers, including the ability to take control of the minds of others—and complete innocence regarding the mores of man.

Customer Reviews:

An look at ourselves from mars.......2007-10-03

If you like sci fi you will love Stranger, hard to put down once you get started due to great dialogue and interesting observations of the human race. Almost wish there was a sequel.

CLASSIC Science Fiction.......2007-09-15

In the wide-ranging genre of science fiction, there are plenty of classics, but only a few true CLASSICS. In this elite group are such works as the Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov, Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. It may be one of the revered science fiction books ever, but does it really deserve that reputation? Maybe, maybe not: personally, I like the book, but I don't think of it as one of the best sci-fi novels ever.

The Stranger in a Strange Land of the title is Valentine Michael Smith, the son of two of the initial colonists of Mars. The original colonists all died soon after landing, but the infant Michael survived and was raised by the native Martians. Around twenty-five years later, more colonists come to Mars and bring Michael "home" to Earth.

Michael is completely naïve to the ways of humans, which makes him the target of all sorts of people. Legally, he has incredible wealth including "ownership" of Mars itself. The government wants to keep him locked away, but the nurse Jill Boardman breaks him free and brings him to attorney/doctor Jubal Harshaw. Harshaw extricates Michael from the worst of his legal problems, but new issues develop.

Michael has all sorts of mental powers developed through his Martian schooling, including the ability to vaporize any enemies with a thought. His unique powers and his introduction of Martian culture to Earth - including the ideas of water brotherhood and grokking - help transform Michael into either a prophet or a messiah; he gains a following of other water brothers who have the potential to usher in a new age of mankind.

All this is just the briefest of synopses of this satisfyingly complex book. While many might think that Michael is the central character in the novel, I feel it's really Jubal Harshaw. While it's always dangerous to closely link the author with a particular character, I tend to think that Harshaw is the mouthpiece for Heinlein. And if there's a weakness in this book, it's Harshaw's pontificating. He may have good points, but at times, it seems that Heinlein (through Harshaw, and to a lesser extent Michael and other characters) is preaching more than storytelling.

This is also the difference between Heinlein and the other two members of the so-called "Big Three" of science fiction, Clarke and Asimov. The other two focus more on science, while Heinlein seems more interested in social issues. (That's not to say that Clarke and Asimov ignore these issues - or Heinlein ignores science - but just where the focus is.)

Revisiting my original question, while this may not be the best book ever, it is still really good and deserves its CLASSIC status for its historic impact as much as its quality. Well-written and thought-provoking, this is Heinlein's masterpiece.

Boring, dated, juvenile.......2007-08-30

There was nothing in this book to draw you in: the characters are one-dimensional, the plot is laborious, and the dialogue is dated, preachy and long-winded. It is also notably misogynistic. I recommend spending time and money on something more worthwhile.

Super Reader.......2007-08-26

Michael Smith is a child born in space, because of a manned mission to Mars from Earth. The Martians raise him on their planet, and he gains unique psionic abilities because of this upbringing.

When he returns to Earth he looks at things very differently to the locals, and basically straights preaching a new religion. When that happens, lots of people will get upset, particularly when it is of the love and shag all you like variety.

Mandatory reading.......2007-08-25

This book is awesome, and is credited with putting science fiction on the map. While there are parts that are long-winded, opinionated, and repetitive - I found the potent parts very moving. I haven't read the smaller originally-published version, so I don't know if the uncut version is any better. I recommend this book to anyone who gets disgusted with human nature and needs a refresher on how to live their neighbors. I wouldn't stand behind the characters in this novel and agree with each of their opinions, but they're at least very interesting. It's amazing how much this book has influenced American culture, good or bad. You can even find the word 'grok' in most large dictionaries. Long live science, and long live Michael Valentine Smith.

Average customer rating:

Not Free SF Reader
Not a United States a real American would want any part of . . . .
A must have for Heinlein fans
...
More relevant today than ever

Job: A Comedy of Justice
Robert A. Heinlein
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0345316509
Release Date: 1985-10-12

Book Description

After he firewalked in Polynesia, the world wasn't the same for Alexander Hergensheimer, now called Alec Graham. As natural accidents occurred without cease, Alex knew Armageddon and the Day of Judgement were near. Somehow he had to bring his beloved heathen, Margrethe, to a state of grace, and, while he was at it, save the rest of the world ....

Customer Reviews:

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

More Heinlein drek from the era of his that you Just Should Not Read. This book, however, does have one or two amusing bits in there, but not enough overall to save it, or make it worthwhile, I think. Travelling around, bits about god, all that sort of thing. Not sure if it is supposed to be Twainish, or what.

Not a United States a real American would want any part of . . . ........2007-08-03

Heinlein uses "comedy" in the Dantean sense, and his tour of the workings of both heaven and hell caused a number of evangelical preachers to fulminate against this book for "blasphemy" when it first appeared. Good for RAH! He does indeed do a sly number on organized religion, of which he was never a fan. Alexander Hergensheimer, assistant director of a large Christian money-raising organization in Kansas City (which is definitely NOT a charity), takes a vacation to Tahiti and makes the mistake of letting himself be roped into attempting a fire-walking. Not that he's injured by the experience -- but his world has subtly changed. When he gets back to his cruise ship, he finds that he's now Alec Graham, that the world is suddenly a great deal more free-wheeling in moral terms, and that there's not a thing he can about it. While fitting himself very gingerly into his new role, he also falls in love with Margrethe, the starboard-side stewardess. But his trials and tribulations are just beginning. Every time he and his girl take a step back toward Alec's roots, something happens: The ship strikes an iceberg (in the South Pacific), a Mexican town is destroyed by an earthquake (twice), their tourist cabin disappears (taking their small store of money with it), and on and on. It's Job's experience all over again -- literally. Alec is a thoroughgoing bigot, a narrowminded Protestant who has little patience with Papists, wonders whether it's time for some kind of "final solution" for the Jews, and regards "Blackamoors" as inherently inferior. But the whole North American Union is like that, so Alec is largely a product of the worst side of the American mentality. Eventually, the Rapture does come and Alec is taken off to Heaven -- but it's not at all what he was expecting. (In the Heavenly City, there's only one Commandment left: R.H.I.P.) The really interesting (and unsettling) thing, though, is that the Christian political platform of Alec's organization, which the author obviously meant the reader to perceive as very extreme (the death penalty for abortion, no votes for women, legal no divorce, mandatory religion in schools, etc), are now -- barely twenty years later -- part and parcel of the real platform of the real Christian Right. And if THAT doesn't give you pause. . . .

A must have for Heinlein fans .......2007-05-31

After twenty two years, I rejoiced when I researched the NY Times Best Seller list archive from 1984 and found this terrific gem! I once owned the hardcover (a first print edition) and after singing the books' praises, it was borrowed and debated until magically, (and sadly), it disappeared. Nonetheless, the book has withstood and thankfully is still available. If you are a fan of Rob Heinlein or just looking for a refreshing break for your reading pleasure, this is the one to get.

..........2007-05-27

Job starts off really promising... a dare, a mysterious happening, a beautiful woman... but by mid-way through the book it is treading ground it treaded a quarter of the way through without actually doing anything new. Guess what, Alec, you're in another world! A few pages later-- hey, I'm in another world!

When that game gets tiring to Heinlein, and about 100 pages too late, he decides to use the book as a religious statement.

No religion has capitalized on artistic mediums the way Christianity has. The reason many Christian products (be it books, music, or gift items) feels repulsive to people is because most of the items were created with the agenda of "bringing people to Christ." Unfortunately, most Christians don't realize that the agenda severely compromises the honesty of art.

This conflict between agenda and art isn't exclusive to Christianity. If I had a dime for every time I've heard a complaint about a musician who was pushing "liberal" political opinions I'd be rich. (I find it important to mention here that just because a book or CD is coming from a particular perspective or market, that doesn't automatically mean it is pushing an agenda or is artistically inferior. There have been some great "Christian" cds, books, etc, and some great "political" cds, books, etc. The definite trend, however, is toward artistic compromise.)

(On the other hand, it is entirely possible that I have my own blind spots that render the above argument completely moot!)

Now, the way that this applies to Job, the book at hand, is that it pushes its agenda of anti-Christianity. I don't care about Heinlein's opinions... or him sharing his opinions with others. All I care about is if the book is negatively impacted. And it is.

The religious aspects of Job are... boring. There are often cited passages that even with my fairly minimal level of Biblical knowledge I can tell are taken out of context or twisted... though it is common for them to be so in circles that actively try and disprove religion. (A tedious task considering there is no way to test for a god. Equally tedious is people trying to PROVE there is a god. It is a tired argument the second it starts, with nary a winner to be found.) Our main character is your average by-the-letter Christian (fairly fundamentalist by my standard)... nothing surprising there. Nothing new or original as far as a fictionalized concept of heaven. I've read similar depictions. Nothing new or original in the depiction of hell. It's all very bland.

I might be overzealous in calling this an agenda-driven book. It's just as likely that the stuff is bland because Heinlein was too lazy to actually get creative. But the bottom line is that it IS bland.

Then there are the loose plot strands. I won't really get into them because I've written too much already (I need to remember that this is simply an Amazon review and not an end-of-term paper!) but these flaws are also present.

Which is disappointing since the book DID start off so promising. Ah well. Most people here disagree and that is fine. I'm glad they could find some literary value in a book I personally found frustrating on many levels.

More relevant today than ever.......2006-05-28

This is the best of Heinlein's later works. In today's world there is nothing we need more than a good writer willing to stand up and puncture a few religious balloons. Heinlein does a great job of that here, by the simple method of taking Christianity to its logical conclusion. Along the way there's a hilarious tour of both Heaven and Hell. The book is funny even for people who didn't pay much attention in Sunday School. If you did study your Bible, it is even funnier.

Some of my favorite quotes from the book:
"Honest priests and preachers are denied the comforts of religion; instead they must live with the austere rewards of philosophy."
"Jehovah is said to be all powerful. If this is true, then the poor damned souls in Hell are there because Jehovah planned it that way in every minute detail. Is this not so? . . . Must a baby understand God's benevolent intention when his brains are dashed out against a rock? Does he then go straight to Hell, praising the Lord for His infinite Wisdom and Goodness?"
"Anyone who can worship a trinity and insist that his religion is a monotheism can believe anything--just give him time to rationalize it."
"How can justice possibly be served by loading your sins on another? Whether it be a lamb having its throat cut ritually, or a Messiah nailed to a cross and 'dying for your sins.' Somebody should tell all of Yahweh's followers, Jews and Christians, that there is no such thing as a free lunch."

I would like to see every reader of the "Left Behind" series read Heinlein's "Job," for balance if nothing else. Maybe then there would be less craziness in our world. Am I anti-Christian? If Christianity really worked to make bad people good and good people better, I would be the first to sign up. If Christianity was an effective way to relieve poverty and bring peace, I would definitely consider it. If Christianity were just a silly hobby that made people feel good and harmed no one, it wouldn't bother me. Unfortunately, that isn't what I see. Even when in power, Christianity has made little or no progress in solving the social problems that it deals with, such as poverty and violence. Christianity systematically ignores the most serious problems of our times: overpopulation, exhaustion of resources, and pollution, among others. Why does Christianity ignore these problems? Because they receive little or no attention in the Bible, a book written thousands of years ago.

Average customer rating:

I pity the fool who hasn't read this book
Controversy and illusion
Interesting experiment (look up Rodger W. Young) on the net.
Starship Troopers
An amazing book, but don't expect lots of battle scenes

Starship Troopers
Robert A. Heinlein
Manufacturer: Ace Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0441014100

Book Description

In one of Robert A. Heinlein's most controversial bestsellers, a recruit of the future goes through the toughest boot camp in the Universe-and into battle with the Terran Mobile Infantry against mankind's most alarming enemy.

Customer Reviews:

I pity the fool who hasn't read this book.......2007-09-20

I know I'm going to read this book again, and recommend it to all my friends. I especially recommend this book to anyone considering going into the military, because so much of this reflects Heinlein's personal experience. On top of that, this book is full of his wit, wisdom, and brilliant story writing...which means it's a great read even for those who don't normally enjoy sci-fi. The characters in this story are awesome. I don't want to give any spoilers, but don't expect a lot of action. Just good combat action. Rest assured that you won't be wasting your time with this one. Everything of any importance is founded on mathematics...might be hard to accept, but it's true.

Controversy and illusion.......2007-06-17

I first encountered this story in October of 1959, when the first part of a two-part serial entitled _Starship Soldier_ appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I had just turned nine, so I didn't understand what I was reading all that well -- but I really liked the cover art for the second installment, in December, which was a stunning scene of the Mobile Infantry in combat, done by Emshwiller. My main memory of it at the time was that my father didn't think I could understand what I was reading; he asked me if I could explain "genetic impoverishment" (I couldn't).

I'm not going to give a neat plot synopsis here; most of the other reviews have that.

In the nearly 48 years since then, I have re-read this book more times than any other of my favorites. I don't know why this is, and it would probably be pointless to speculate on it. The point here is that I have come to see things about this story that others might miss.

This book represents a major watershed in Heinlein's career. _ST_ was his last juvenile novel, and it marks the beginning of Heinlein being a controversial figure. This book is one of the greatest bones of contention in the history of science fiction, with people arguing mightily (and seemingly endlessly) over it, dividing themselves neatly on opposite sides of the right-left faultline. Many opinions have been given on it, almost all of them quite worthless, a point which applies to those approving of the book as well as those disapproving of it.

This is one of Heinlein's strangest books, and one of his most convoluted. One has to read it closely (or many times, anyway) to really take note of it. The story is told from the first person point of view, a point which starts to take on significance when the reader realizes that there are entirely too many casual references to drugs and hypnosis through the
text, starting with the very first paragraph.

One might consider also that nowhere else in the body of Heinlein's work does he describe a society like that of _ST_ (a limited franchise democracy, with a decidedly right-wing, law-and-order ambience, complete with floggings and hangings). If he really were advocating this, one would expect to see this type of society depicted in many of his novels -- but it isn't. This is the only one.

And, of course, it's well-known that the opinions that authors put in the mouths of their characters are not necessarily the opinions of the authors. The opinions of Johnnie Rico's mentors and authority figures are not, I think, identical with those of Heinlein himself -- but that's sort of hard to tell, because Heinlein always maintained a closed front to the world, only displaying the sides of himself that he wanted to.

The one other thing I want to say about this book is the fact that you can keep on finding things in it that you hadn't previously noticed, even after many readings (that's also true of much of his other work). I noticed a new thing just a few months ago; this has to do with Heinlein's technique of showing rather than describing, and it makes for the sort of book you can read more than once. I won't go on about that; you can look for yourself, and maybe you'll find things that I've missed.

_Starship Troopers_, is one of the absolutely essential works that someone interested in Heinlein should read. The corollary to that is that, in order to have a valid opinion on Heinlein and his work, one needs to read more of his work than one book, or even half a dozen; depending on which ones one reads, that number would be around fifteen or twenty.

This book, of course, works on a number of levels. Whatever level you want to approach it on, I highly recommend it -- just don't stop here, because all of Heinlein's work deserves attention.

Interesting experiment (look up Rodger W. Young) on the net........2007-05-23

As with any good sci-fi the story and descriptions of the latest gadget are important; however this is just the window dressing or vehicle to carry a message or concept to you with out sounding too preachy.

Basically this book is not fascist like the movie. It suggests that people should be responsible for their actions and have a stake in what they make decisions on. Never did it say that these people were smarter or better, just that when you have a vested interest your decisions tend to work or you will pay.

I was intrigued in the process that Johnny Rico was going through in the story. The movie does not phase me as it looks like cartoon hype. But the book was too close to home. I hope my memory is flawed as I remember every one of the people types that he described. Actually I think with the volunteer Army today it is closer to the book than was Vietnam where conscripts looked on it this as slightly preferable to prison. I know that this story is not about the military but it is too real to be ignored as just the story.

You could have floored me with I found out there were no naked women in the book. Dizzy Flores must have had a great Swedish doctor. This could have been a genuine attempt to update the story; however it distracted from the original purpose.

Basically after school Johnny Rico is whisked into the military by peer pressure and to finds out if he is more than just the factory owner's son. While going through boot camp he learns of different cultures and the intricacies of military life. Naturally he makes mistakes and learns from others mistakes. As he grows he learns what make the world the way it is. I will not contrast this book with the movie because I think you enjoy the story more if you find out what happens as it unfolds.

Starship Troopers.......2007-02-21

"His head came off as I tried to take him out of his suit..."
This is one of the many gripping lines that doesn't let you put this book down. The story goes into the mind of a soldier going through boot camp and entering a career in the military.
The main character joins the army thinking that it would be an easy way to earn money and gain citizenship. His plan to earn some quick cash ended abruptly when the bugs attacked. In an attempt to avenge the innocent lives that the bugs had already slaughtered many were over zealous to fight their enemy. Most quickly learned that these were not the bugs you can spray with Raid and watch as they squirm in agony during their last moments of life. THESE bugs fought back!
Being outnumbered and outgunned the humans were fighting to survive. This book is an excellent read and is a must for any Sci-Fi lover. The author, Robert Heinlein, does an excellent job of pulling you in and keeping you suspended from beginning to end.

An amazing book, but don't expect lots of battle scenes.......2006-08-13

...because there aren't. This book has very little to do with the movie of the same name, other than some of the characters have the same name (but completely different personalities, not to mention different races), and the overall idea of fighting against an alien race known as the bugs.

This book is more about philosophy, why do we fight, why a volunteer army is important, and morality. Heinlein is one of the few people to admit that our Justice system is based on the principle of people wanting vengeance against criminals who have caused pain and harm to innocents. I believe he sums this up very in one particular line which states, "While a Judge's purpose is benevolent in nature, his rewards are supposed to make the criminal suffer". It also points out the failures in our modern society. In our society, people are punished more harshly than murderers sometimes. Disgusting.

Anyway, like I said, there aren't too many battles, but the few ones there are, are pretty cool. I find myself re-reading those parts because Heinlein also gets into the idea of fighting an enemy who won't roll over and die just because you throw a million nukes at their planet. Not gona work on the bugs pal. The technology they use is also really cool, the power armor in particular.

Bottom line, read this book.

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I Guess You Had To Be There
Classic science fiction and a great production
stranger in a strange land
A fine yarn, but dated and self-indulgent
Hear a tale that will lever you wanting more

Stranger in a Strange Land, New Edition
Robert A. Heinlein
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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The Door into Summer: Library Edition
Stranger in a Strange Land

ASIN: 0786174307

Product Description

Stranger in a Strange Land is the epic saga of an earthling, Valentine Michael Smith, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet with psi powerstelepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, telekinesis, teleportation, pyrolysis, and the ability to take control of the minds of othersand complete innocence regarding the mores of man.

After his tutelage under a surrogate-father figure, Valentine begins his transformation into a messiah figure. His introduction into Earth society, together with his exceptional abilities, lead Valentine to become many things to many people: freak, scam artist, media commodity, searcher, free-love pioneer, neon evangelist, and martyr.

Heinlein won his second Hugo award for this novel, sometimes called Heinleins earthly divine comedy.

Customer Reviews:

I Guess You Had To Be There.......2007-09-17

Right at the beginning of the `Flower Power Era' Robert Heinlein published this monumental work. It is monumental for a couple of reasons. It was one of the first SciFi works to make it into the `Best Seller' lists of non-SciFi ratings. It essentially broke that barrier forever. The book won Heinlein the 1962 Hugo and received more attention than some of his more solid SciFi works. The book was widely read by people in the beginning of the Vietnam protest, the drug culture (although Heinlein disapproved of any drug other than ethanol), and the `Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out' philosophy. For a few years it spanned a minor cultural movement and I must admit for a briefly embarrassing time my friends and I would say, "Can you Grok that?" rather than "Do you understand?" or even, "Can you dig it?" Fortunately or otherwise this did not last (unlike the even weirder work of L. Ron Hubbard) and no lasting harm was done.

This Audio CD version seems to be based on the fabled `long' version. When Heinlein wrote this, it was well over 200,000 words. As originally published it was much less. I think everything is in here because I found myself wishing about half the time that it was over. You can never go home and it is probably better not to revisit something of your youth with high expectations. When I saw this Blackstone Audio `New Edition' I snapped it up with just those high expectations. Now the long, long, long dialogues (or diatribes) about love, sex, god, cannibalism, and such are more boring than uplifting.

Having been critical I'd still recommend the Audio CD or the book (albeit the shorter version) and give it 5 stars. I do that because it is, in the best sense, a classic of SciFi and deserves your attention. Heinlein raised modern SciFi out of a sub-genre and into the mainstream. You can take or leave his philosophy, but he was one hell of a writer.

Classic science fiction and a great production.......2007-01-03

An excellent production of a timeless classic. Highly recommended

stranger in a strange land.......2006-11-14

Great read! Loved the the subject matter. Recommend to anyone.

A fine yarn, but dated and self-indulgent.......2006-10-11

Heinlein conceived STRANGER in 1948, but didn't finish it until
1960. His editor asked him to cut it from 220,000 to 150,000 words; as
published it was 160,087. It was reissued from the original
manuscript in 1991, and I just got around to reading this "uncut"
edition. I first read STRANGER in the early sixties -- it's the only
"major" Heinlein I'd never reread (unless you count _To Sail the
Sunset Sea_ as major).

STRANGER hasn't aged well. Ostensibly set in the 21st century, it
reads like the 1950's. News commentators are "winchells" and
"lippmans" -- I recognize the names, but remember nothing else
about the originals; do you? The bad guys and minor characters are
purest cardboard. Women ("bims") have the "liberty permitted cats
and favorite children"; homosexuals are "poor in-betweeners". The
world beyond the USA is almost invisible.

Jubal Harshaw, the writer, patriarch and "father of all", is a self-
indulgent know-it-all given to long, hectoring speeches. The
women are quick to shed clothing and inhibitions, and couple with
any water-brother. They grow younger, more beautiful -- and more
exhibitionist -- as they learn Martian mind-control. Feh.

And yet, and yet .... STRANGER still works as a novel -- I reread it
pretty much at one go. The idea of a child raised from infancy by an
alien race ... Valentine Michael Smith's journey from innocence to
full humanity to New Messiah ... the cheerfully crass
commercialism of the Church of Foster ... the silly-but-serious
mysticism ... Heinlein, whatever his flaws, was a master story-
teller.

STRANGER was Heinlein's first crossover bestseller, becoming
something of a Sixties icon -- peace & love, y'know. Bits and pieces
were taken up in pop music and culture: "Discorporate, and you'll
be free", urged the Mothers of Invention. Grace Slick of the
Jefferson Airplane sang of "sister-lovers, water-brothers". The
ability to grok was briefly important, if mostly forgotten now.

Should you read, or reread, or listen to STRANGER? Mmmph. I don't regret
doing so, but the book stays pretty low in my mental ranking of
Heinlein novels. And if I were you, I'd hunt up the earlier edition --
the restored 70,000 words add little but bulk to the story.

Review copyright 1999, 2006 by Peter D. Tillman

Hear a tale that will lever you wanting more.......2006-10-03

The title says it all. As you read this story of a stranger who brings more than novelty to his new world, different people will read different things into the story. I suggest you read "Stranger in a Strange Land" for your self and draw your own conclusions. Remember this is no longer the 60' so don't go out and build a water-brother nest.

If you read an older version of this book, then you have missed a little something. Many of the words were cut out of the book before it was published. Moreover, due to contractual agreements the missing part of the book could not be printed while Robert A. Heinlein was alive. Now dead the missing pages have been restored to many versions.

Now all bets are off. So count the words in the copy you are about to buy and be sure you have the whole thing. And for those people who read the original release I suggest you re-read to see what you missed

If you have not read other Heinlein books then you may not realize how his writing stile has changed over his life time. This book is more of a latter Heinlein style. Some people like both early and late Hein lend others prefer one or the other.

The audio versions have all the pluses and minuses of audio. So you will also want a copy of the book for reference.

Average customer rating:

Oh, yeah! The "Coriolanus effect"!
The best?
Double Star - a political treatise
If you gotta swipe a plot...
Entertaining Heinlein

Double Star
Robert A. Heinlein
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0345330137
Release Date: 1986-10-12

Book Description

One minute, down and out actor Lorenzo Smythe was -- as usual -- in a bar, drinking away his troubles as he watched his career go down the tubes. Then a space pilot bought him a drink, and the next thing Smythe knew, he was shanghaied to Mars.

Suddenly he found himself agreeing to the most difficult role of his career: impersonating an important politician who had been kidnapped. Peace with the Martians was at stake -- failure to pull off the act could result in interplanetary war. And Smythe's own life was on the line -- for if he wasn't assassinated, there was always the possibility that he might be trapped in his new role forever!

Download Description

From the dark recesses of a moon-based hotel bar, unemployed actor Lorenzo Smythe is hired to impersonate John Bonforte, a politician who's been kidnapped in the middle of an election campaign. Peace with the Martians is at stake -- failure to pull off the act could result in interplanetary war. Lorenzo knows nothing of the issues concerning free interplanetary trade and equal rights for aliens--and cares even less, but the politico's top aide offers a handsome compensation, and assurance that the charade will last only until they find Mr. Bonforte.? Hugo Award Winner

Customer Reviews:

Oh, yeah! The "Coriolanus effect"!.......2007-06-04

This one isn't really "science fiction," since, with only changes, it could be set in the here-and-now, or in Ruritania -- but it's pure Heinlein, and better written than many of his earlier works. At only 128 pages, it's also pretty short for a novel -- but it works. Lorenzo Smyth (a/k/a Larry Smith) is an actor convinced of his own talent (which, as it turns out, is actually considerable) who is hired to impersonate the Good Guy leader of a major political alliance, who has been kidnaped on Mars by the Evil Opposition. Against his better apolitical judgment, Lorenzo takes the job because it's a challenge, and almost immediately regrets it as the limited engagement spins itself out indefinitely. There's a minimum of strident overwriting of the sort Heinlein was often guilty of in pursuit of his moral and ethical positions, with the quietly-made exception of a plea for racial tolerance.

The best?.......2007-05-12

In his autobiography Isaac Asimov says that he thinks that 'Double Star' "is the best thing [Robert Heinlein] ever wrote." I agree that the novel is very well written. However, among his many, many, other works there are several that can meet the same challenge. The one I like best is "Time Enough for Love."

Double Star - a political treatise.......2006-11-04

Okay, I love anything, mostly, by RAH but this is one of my favorites. It has action, politics, intrigue, and it is way too often overlooked by science-fiction lovers. Get it, read it, enjoy it.

If you gotta swipe a plot..........2006-01-30

...swipe from the best, and Heinlein certainly did here, lifting his plot from Anthony Hope (hodgeson)'s classic swashbuckler "The Prisoner of Zenda".

The interesting things about this book (which is NOT one of RAH's juveniles) that at first appear to set it apart from the majority of Heinlein's output are all characteristics of the narrator, Lorenzo.

Lorenzo is a xenophobe, an unheard-of trait for a Heinlein protagonist.

Lorenzo is completely incompetent at mathematics -- while RAH (through the mouthpiece of Lazarus Long) has opined that no-one is truly human who cannot understand higher mathematics.

Lorenzo is completely uninterested in politics or anything having to do with government, except as he personally may find himself interacting with law enforcement officials.

Lorenzo presents himself as something of a coward.

And Lorenzo is a raving egomaniac.

But Lorenzo learns to deal with his fear of Martians.

He never does learn math, but we gradually come to recognise that Heinlein has pulled a switch on us, and that Lorenzo is still our old friend, Heinlein's Competent Man -- but that his competency lies in another direction.

Because Lorenzo is recruited for the greatest challenge of an actor's career -- to impersonate, literally in front of entire worlds, an immensely famous politician, who has been kidnapped by his political enemies in order to derail an important treaty with the inahbitants of Mars.

And, gradually, as Lorenzo comes to know the man he must replace -- know him from the inside out, and "become" him, to the point that he can extemporise politically sound speeches in the Great Man's style -- that he begins to understand that politics is all-important in making it possible for the masses to live in peace and security, Lorenzo Grows Up.

The Lorenzo we meet on Page One is a cheerful, flippant, shallow and actually fairly immature man. The Lorenzo we see by the end of the story proper has matured, seen some of the wrongs that need righting, and has realised that someone has to step up to the line and take a stand or the wrongs will simply continue; that all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

And that is what the story is about, really -- like RAH's juvenile, "Starman Jones", this is mostly a story about a man growing up and accepting a man's role and responsibilities.

And, as the much-older Lorenzo adds as a short coda at the very end of the book, learning the important thing about the faceless masses, the thing that so many politicians lose sight of -- that they have lives of their own.

That they can hurt.

(At least one previous review has alluded to the excerpts from Bonforte's speeches -- i strongly suspect that, as the character of Bonforte himself seems to be by the man, they are heavily influenced or inspired by the oratory of Winston Churchill. Particularly, when i read the passage about choosing sides, i hear Winnie's voice in my head...)

Entertaining Heinlein.......2005-05-25

I'm not a big Robert Heinlein fan, but my wife suggested "Double Star" and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's one of Heinlein's novels for juveniles, and it is straightforward and thought-provoking without being simplistic or preachy. It can be enjoyed at face value, but you can pull quite a bit of interesting psychological and socio-political concepts from it as well. Although set in the future when humans have colonized various parts of the solar system, the focus is not on science at all. Unfortunately this makes it all the more jarring when occasional references are made to slide rules and microfilm.

Average customer rating:

Another triumph by the master
One of Heinlein's More Serious Juveniles
Finally available in book form

Time for the Stars
Robert A. Heinlein
Manufacturer: Orb Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0765314940
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Book Description

Travel to other planets is a reality, and with overpopulation stretching the resources of Earth, the necessity to find habitable worlds is growing ever more urgent. With no time to wait years for communication between slower-than-light spaceships and home, the Long Range Foundation explores an unlikely solutionhuman telepathy. Identical twins Tom and Pat are enlisted to be the human radios that will keep the ships in contact with Earth, but one of them has to stay behind while the other explores the depths of space. This is one of Heinleins triumphs.

Customer Reviews:

Another triumph by the master.......2007-10-09

In "Time for the Stars" Heinlein has created a charming novel about human life and human relationships that includes many of the SF tropes we all love; exploring alien worlds, long space voyages, that whole Einsteinian time paradox thing, and telepathy. A SF classic.

One of Heinlein's More Serious Juveniles.......2007-04-03

Heinlein wrote a series of twelve books for Scribner's that are collectively called Heinlein's Juveniles. Some Heinlein historians include "Podkayne of Mars" as one of the juveniles, but Heinlein himself did not. This 1956 novel was Heinlein's tenth juvenile.

Tom and Pat Bartlett were twins; very close twins. In fact, they were so close that they possessed a special ability shared by very few twins. When the Long Range Foundation contacted the twins for an interview, they milked the Foundation for every penny they could get. However, the Foundation was indulgent with the twins because they needed them for a very special project.

The twins soon find themselves herded along with numerous other twins through a series of tests. At the other end of the series of tests is a contract for the twins that will guarantee that they and their families will be well taken care of for the rest of their lives. The only problem with the contract is that one of the twins will have to leave earth on a torchship, the Lewis and Clark, also called L.C. or Elsie, for distant planets.

Tom Bartlett ends up being the lucky twin to leave crowded Earth for the stars. Heinlein's books tend to accurate in their engineering, physics and astronomy, and this book certainly is. Heinlein has all his stars in the right places and he appropriately described the relativistic effects of traveling near the speed of light. Heinlein also did an excellent job of envisioning life aboard a ship that would spend years in deep space, including the interplay of personalities and ship politics.

Heinlein also included the mandatory element of every space exploration book, aliens. Heinlein's aliens are inscrutable, but still behave in a way that we can somewhat understand, but we will not forgive. Comparing Heinlein's crew with the crew of the starship Enterprise and other, later explorers, Heinlein's crew was distressingly naïve. I think Heinlein made his crew naïve intentionally to help contrast the relative innocence of his space explorers with the veteran space explorers who had won their lessons in the hardest ways possible.

Heinlein does a wonderful job of wrapping up this book with an unpredictable ending, which comes all too soon. The ending is bittersweet and as happens with many Heinlein endings, somehow makes me wonder whether the tragedy and the sacrifice was worth it (define "it" however you like when you reach the end of the book). Heinlein's answer always was "yes".

Heinlein remains one of science fiction's greatest authors. His science is excellent, his stories are generally well-plotted and written, and he nearly always leaves you wanting more. I recommend this book for every person who thinks of themselves as a fan of "hard" science fiction. This book is a winner from an author who won four Hugo awards during his life and the first Nebula Grand Master Award.

Personal Note: I am not very objective about this novel. This book was the very first science fiction book I ever read, and was the reason that I read thousands more after it. I sometimes wonder whether this book and others like it inspired me and many others like me to become engineers and scientists. I hope that others read this book and see the same thing in it that I did and start down the same path.

Enjoy!

Finally available in book form.......2007-04-03

This was a classic Heinlein story that had been out of print in book form for quite some time. It follows Heinlein's tradition of superb story telling about a young boys' travel through the stars. Already familiar to most Heinlein fans, Time for the Stars is about the use of telepathic twins to breach the vast emptiness of space in a bid to further explore the galaxy and allow mankind to expand beyond its home planet. Although it lacks the soul-delving depth of Heinlein's masterpieces (Stranger in a Strange Land, the Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Time Enough for love), it's a grand adventure story that will inspire young teens to look up to the stars and always wonder. And that, is what Heinlein's stories are all about.

Average customer rating:

One of the very best of the Heinlein "Juveniles"
My Second Science Fiction Novel.....
Possibly Heinlein's best juvenile book

Time for the Stars
Robert A. Heinlein
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0765314932
Release Date: 2006-08-08

Book Description

This is one of the classic titles often referred to as the Heinlein Juveniles, written in the 1950s and published for the young adult market. It has since been in print for almost fifty years in paperback, and now returns to hardcover for a new generation. Travel to other planets is a reality, and with overpopulation stretching the resources of Earth, the necessity to find habitable worlds is growing ever more urgent. With no time to wait years for communication between slower-than-light spaceships and home, the Long Range Foundation explores an unlikely solution human telepathy. Identical twins Tom and Pat are enlisted to be the human radios that will keep the ships in contact with Earth. The only problem is that one of them has to stay behind, and that one will grow old while the other explores the depths of space. Always a master of insight into the human consequences of future technologies, this is one of Heinleins triumphs.

Customer Reviews:

One of the very best of the Heinlein "Juveniles".......2006-11-04

"Time for the Stars" is essentially a retelling of Magellan's catastrophic three-year circumnavigation of the globe. In fact, the fate of "Project Lebensraum," the title of the first systematic attempt to explore the near earth interstellar environment is comparable to that tragic voyage, at least in subjective/proper time, and in percentage of crew and ships lost.

The novel is compelling for its story, the strength of its characters, the remarkable efficiency in which the tale is told, its strong sense of history unfolding, and the impressive integration of its story threads. Moreover, when the science has to be right, it is. It is the best fictional introduction to Relativity theory I know of.

The story covers just over seven decades of tumultuous times. Like Magellan's voyage, the Project occurs on the edge of the transformation of one age to another. And also like Magellan's armada, these relativistic (i.e. high-velocity but slower-than-light) ships, are on their own. In fact, in one way it is even worse: they cannot even come to each other's aid.

Prepare for a rough ride. Despite the frequently humorous and optimistic tone of its narrator, Tom Bartlett, starship Lewis&Clark with its 80% fatalities over four years, is a death ship. It will suffer accidents, diseases, and violent attacks by local residents. As with Magellan's voyage, mutiny is an ever present danger. It will take a miracle, technological or otherwise, to save the survivors.

I cannot recommend this book enough. If you haven't read Time for the Stars, here is your chance. If you have, read it again.

My Second Science Fiction Novel............2006-10-05

This is another one of those Heinlein 'juveniles' published by Charles Scribners that are no longer marketed as such. They never go out of print because they are such great stories.

Set in the future, Earth is overpopulated. An interstellar expedition is formed in order to identify and survey possible earth-type planets. At the same time, it is successfully demonstrated that telepathy is possible. To the astonishment of the researchers, telepathy is instantaneous and ignores the inverse square law. Distance is not a factor. A top secret project is formed to identify and recruit telepathic pairs for the expedition. Instead of waiting years for the fleet to report back, Earth can get the valuable information in real time.

Enter the Bartlett twins Tom and Pat. They sign up for the project. One will remain on Earth while the other goes with the expedition. However because of the Lorentz-Fitzgerald time contraction, the twin in space will age much slower than for his earthside counterpart.

What's the beauty of this book? It's a very strong character driven story. Tom and Pat are not Damon and Pythias. Tom has always been dominated by his brother in a million subtle ways. The relationships Tom forms with his fellow explorers are complex yet realistic. Heinlein understands the personal dynamics of shipmates from his time in the U.S. Navy.

Heinlein also understands the problems of exploration. The simple fact is exploration is an extremely risky business. Your superior technology may not help if your numbers are few and you're far from home.

I'll end this before I give up much more of the story. You will find it a fast and entertaining read.

Possibly Heinlein's best juvenile book.......2006-09-03

Please note that most of this review is actually on Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy. That's because I was unable to post this review on that product page for some reason, maybe because of a system problem, and rather than delete the review, I thought I would post it here under another one of Heinlein's juveniles. So I apologize for that but hope you will enjoy this review too.

However, I would like to make one brief comment about Time for the Stars. The two main characters are interesting in that Heinlein has portrayed a dysfunctional twin pair who, although not close personally, they are mutually telepathic. Usually, twins are close and almost inseparable, but not in the case of these fictional twins. And when one twin dies in real life, often the surviving twin dies shortly thereafter.

Heinlein started out writing juvenile novels, although sometimes the dividing line between juvenile and truly adult works in his oeuvre is not as simple as is commonly thought. There are a number of these that Heinlein fans are familiar with, such as Rocket Ship Galileo, Time for the Stars, The Star Beast, Tunnel in the Sky, Starman Jones, The Rolling Stones, Podkayne of Mars, and Citizen of the Galaxy. As my fellow reviewer Dark Genius points out, this is probably the most mature of his juvenile works. But they are still notable for containing some of Heinlein's best fiction and ideas.

For example, in Starman Jones, we are introduced to the concept of the cruel and unjust society. In Heinlein's juvenile novels, they are allowed to exist, but in the later adult novels, they are resisted and overthrown. In Starman Jones, we encounter a society of intelligent but violent and carnivorous horse-like quadrupeds who capture and imprison the exploration team sent down to the planet. In this society, the old and sick are not cared for by their family. Instead, they are brought before the tribal chief where they are judged and put to death rather than allowing them to become a burden.

Although Starman Jones was written almost 60 years ago, unfortunately the quadruped culture is not so different from what modern American society has become, in which old people are considered useless and of no value. Contrast our culture with that with China, where the old people are valued for their experience and wisdom.

Getting back to the present book, in addition to the several points Dark Genius discusses, such as slavery, that make this a more adult novel, there are a number of other themes that are more mature, some of which became standard Heinlein fare in later adult works. These include the pervasive corruption of government officials, the odiousness of most governments in general, and their virtually ubiquitous abuse of power. Heinlein feels that such governments richly deserve to be violently overthrown and destroyed down to their very foundations.

Then there is the self-imposed, almost ritual poverty of Baslim, the beggar; the over-regimentation, authoritarianism, and bloodthirsty cruelty of the dominant society; the importance of education and knowledge as power; the moral and ethical obligation of duty and of an unfree citizen to overthrow unjust authority; and many others.

Another interesting idea is the female as the aggressor in initiating a romantic relationship, which Thorby encounters for the first time in the Sisu trading ship--which is actually how things normally work in both primate and human society. :-) And in Heinlein's books, the female is often the more intelligent and educated of the two partners, as in his story Gulf, Mr. and Mrs. Stone in The Rolling Stones, and in the case of Valentine Michael Smith's parents in Stranger in a Strange Land.

Another way to think about the book is that it is basically a Heinleinian, Sci-Fi version of the rags to riches tale, as you watch Thorby's rise from a poor, ignorant, beggar boy to one of the richest and most powerful men on earth. Overall I think Citizen of the Galaxy counts as one of Heinlein's best novels, whether juvenile or adult.

Average customer rating:

Read, wait X years... repeat.
No Real Ending
Glory Road
Irony is a lost art
There's not much to do for a retired Hero

Glory Road
Robert A. Heinlein
Manufacturer: Orb Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

The Door into Summer
Citizen of the Galaxy
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
Tunnel in the Sky
Double Star

ASIN: 0765312220
Release Date: 2006-03-21

Book Description

A Vietnam veteran idling away his time on the Isle du Levant, Oscars eye is caught by the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, sleekly muscled and with regal bearing. When she offers him a job with great adventure and great risk he blindly accepts, little realizing just what an incredible trek he has let himself in for: a journey through some of the twenty universes where Star is Empress, on a quest to retrieve the stolen Great Egg. The grandest pure adventure from the genres master storyteller, Glory Road is a masterpiece of escapist entertainment with a typically Heinleinian sting in its tail.

Customer Reviews:

Read, wait X years... repeat........2007-05-13

I first read this book after reading "Tunnel in the Sky", "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" and "Time for the Stars", so I was a bit surprised when it read more like a dungeons and dragons story. Beautiful woman, pulls normal everyday guy into an alternate dimension where they travel by foot with her halfling companion.... The plot isn't even in the same ballpark as the other works I mentioned, but the writing and style are definetly Heinlein.

Destiny and Fate seem to be underlying themes throughout the book. The main character seems "hand picked" for the task at hand, while his female companion is destined to be a galactic ruler of sorts. Looking beyong the sci-fi, action adventure plot-line, it's easy to see Heinlein was trying to tell us all that we may not always be the master's of our destiny.

If you like Heinlein as an author, you'll like this book despite the departure from his usual theme. Its a book you'll pick up five years from now, re-read and discover something completely new.

No Real Ending.......2006-07-27

After reading this, I didn't have the 'warm and fussy' feeling. The ending is somewhat weak, and beware not to read the back of your book (depending on which print you have), mine had a spoiler on it.

I love Heinlein's book, but wish he had choosen another ending.

Glory Road.......2006-03-15

A Sci-fi Classic. Had not read it in years. Enjoyed as much now as I did in the past.

Irony is a lost art.......2006-02-25

Glory Road is, in my never humble opinion, one of the finest books ever written. It has long been my own personal favorite and the older I get the more I find to love. However, you cannot judge a great author merely on the surface of his text. The power of Glory Road, like many great works before it, lies in the undercurrents running silently between the lines.

This book was originally written in the midst of the Vietnam War. America was in constant social turmoil with "youth power" attempting to overthrow the "wisdom" of the elderly. Russia had signed SALT 1, then turned around and deployed hundreds of SS-22 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Our world was a bloody mess. Although it is hard to believe now, in many ways things were far worse at the time this book was written.

The first time I read Glory Road, it was a swash-buckling high adventure with a surprising, almost depressing ending. Now I pick it up and begin turning the pages to find insightful social commentary, scathing criticism of both those in power and their critics, and an ironic chuckle at the total foolishness of the human animal.

Star, for example, is every man's dream woman. Blonde, buxom, and unreachable. When she finally falls, she reverts to a half-witted emotional dependent leaning on her hero's strong arm.

Then twenty pages later she turns out to be a galatic empress commanding more worlds that most people ever dream of.

The convoluted nature of her character is completely intentional. At first Star embodies all the traits of a fictional heroine in a genre that has a powerful inclination to objectify women. Then, when she is suddenly unveiled as a nearly omnipotent galatic ruler, the dichotomy tears aside the traditional depiction of women and reminds us that these "frail" creatures carry an inner strength and unshakable sense of self which humiliates and humbles anyone foolish enough to challenge them directly. Women, we are reminded, are just as human as the men. The strong hero is suddenly in the role of dependent and discovers he hasn't got what it takes to fulfill the role he'd been more than willing to assign to her.

Glory Road is, on the surface, a semi-serious story of high-sdventure with a quirky ending. Underneath that shallow surface, however, lies an ironic coming of age story in the life of a man who suddenly finds himself outside the bounds of normal reality. "Scar" Gordon starts out a slave to fate, but winds up the master of his own destiny.

Glory Road is not about dragonslaying at all. Glory Road is about breaking free of the assumptions that chain each of us into predefined social templates that are so completely engrossing we cannot see how insane our society has become until we step outside it.

This isn't a book about adventure. This is a book about the limitations of your own assumptions.

There's not much to do for a retired Hero.......2006-02-08

I began reading RAH's novels in the early `50s, mostly as they appeared. Every decade or so, I go back and reread them, and probably will continue to do so for the rest of my life. Even with his overwriting (which is part of his charm) and the gentle preaching and not-so-gentle opinionating, his stories are always a romp. This is one of the better ones (and Heinlein's only true fantasy novel), about "Scar" Gordon, mid-20s, just released from the U.S. Army after a run-in with Little Brown Brother in southeast Asia, and now at loose ends in the cheapest corner of the French Riviera he can find -- the Île du Levant, where clothing and costs both are very minimal. There he meets "Star," an Amazonian sort of woman, and loses her, and finds her again -- not realizing he's been selected and set up for a quest in a world on the other side of the looking-glass. He's now a genuine Hero, like it or not, . . . but he learns to like it, mostly. There's Good Guys and Bad Guys and monsters and even fire-breathing dragons, but Gordon manages to overcome it all. But what does a retired Hero *do*? Loads of fun!

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