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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
From Library Journal
In 1939 Heinlein published his first sf short story and became one of the most prolific and influential authors in the genre. Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) is an international best seller and a landmark in more ways than one: it opened the trade best sellers lists to sf writers, breaking down longstanding barriers that will never be seen again. At the same time Stranger became an emblem of the 1960s generation in its iconoclasm and free-love themes. Telling the story of an Earth baby raised by an existing, ancient Martian civilization, the novel often reads as if it were the "Playboy Philosophy" in dialog form. The man/ Martian comes to Earth and broadcasts his ideas by forming his own Church. Heinlein has been rightly criticized for presenting as facts his opinions, which state that organized religion is a sham, authority is generally stupid, young women are all the same, and the common individual is alternately an independent, Ayn Randian-producing genius and the dull-witted part of an ignorant and will-less mob. Yet the book is hard to put down; in its early pages it is a truly masterful sf story. Every library with a fiction collection should have it. Christopher Hurt reads with authority, nicely drawing the characters via barely perceptible changes in intonation, harshness, and pacing. Highly recommended.?Don Wismer, Office of the Secretary of State, Augusta, Me.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
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First Sentence
ONCE UPON a time there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
ONCE UPON a time there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith. Read the first page
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Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Like the Manson family, but with more funding, and a man from Mars,
By MC (ON, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Stranger In A Strange Land (Mass Market Paperback)
The men are powerful and rich, the women are willing subordinates who happen to adore nudity. Orgies ensue. This story didn't even really need a man from Mars.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dated, boring, bad...,
By halda (World Wide Interweb Network Machine) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Stranger In A Strange Land (Mass Market Paperback)
...and the novel equivalent of "Barbarella"...This book is like all those obscure psychedelic albums from the same time period. I'm sure at the time, and with the right complimentary, uh, influences, one would consider them masterpieces. Today, though, they're just embarassments to the excesses of a phase that has somehow inflated itself into the Annals of Great Cultural Movements. This is Heinlein as his solipsistic worst. Read "Dune" instead.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Pompous demagoguery of the highest order.,
By Sutenhotep Mobius (St Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Stranger In A Strange Land (Mass Market Paperback)
A novel that begins with the promise of cultural exploration instead quickly devolves into heavy-handed philosophical prolesthetizing masquerading as social commentary. In typical Heinlein fashion, the author thinly veils the outright declaration of his hedonistic and anti-theistic views in stilted dialogue. Furthermore, he characterizes any and all viewpoints that contradict his own as "narrow-minded" and "opressive" while pretending to be an open-minded champion of free inquiry. One might argue that this book is worth reading because of the impact it made upon the hippie culture of its day; I would remind such a person that Chairman Mao also made a significant impact on hippie culture.Though this book serves as a good example of the bloated, sophomoric philisophical tracts that posed as science fiction throughout much of the sixties, I would not reccomend it to anyone looking for good reading. It is pompous, long-winded, morally backward, intellectually deficient, and eminently dull. A monumental waste of time.
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