Product Description
The Earth is crowded and food is rationed, but a colony on Ganymede, one of the moons of Jupiter, offers an escape for teenager Bill Lermer and his family. Back on Earth, the move sounded like a grand adventure, but Bill soon realizes that life on the frontier is dangerous, and in an alien world with no safety nets, nature is cruelly unforgiving of even small mistakes. Bill’s new home is a world of unearthly wonders—and heartbreaking tragedy. He will face hardships, survive dangers, and grow up fast, meeting the challenge of opening up a new world for humanity and finding strengths within himself that he had never suspected existed.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent Juvenile SF
This book should be read for the first time only by juveniles, people reading to establish a base for Heinlein's later novels or people that have read a lot of period juveniles.The science is far outdated and the characters are straight out of a comic book, which makes it a good example of the genre.It is not his best juvenile, but it is a readable novel for a rainy day.

My favorite of the juveniles, though not without it's flaws
Farmer In The Sky is a story about an early attempt at extra-terrestrial colonization, which was a common science fiction theme in the 1950s. Heinlein writes a story that is usually compellingly inspirational about mankind moving beyond Earth.

Unfortunately, at least through the view of a more modern teenager, the main character is hopelessly immature, throwing 8 year-old hissy fits when he is supposed to be in his late teens.

Also, as this novel was originally (I believe) written for serialization in Boy's Life, it has a very strong Boy Scouts component. This is neither bad nor good, but it could have been written without it.

As I said in my title, Farmer In The Sky is generally my favorite of Heinlein's juvenile. I read it as a teen and still enjoy it. But you do have to ignore the protagonist's immaturity.

Thank you for the vision
Imagine it is 1950 and you are a (male) teenager. After reading Farmer in the Sky, you would probably go on and do one of the two following things:

1. Invent the microwave oven, portrayed amazingly accurately in chapter I.

2. Reach out for the stars.

Thanx for 2 and Sputnik, generations with a space vision grew up and paved the way for the stars. Alas, not exactly the stars and not the way Heinlein and all the other pioneers envisioned it (first manned mission to Ganymede in 1985?) but still with enough impetus to take humans to Luna.

So, thank you Dean for the vision, which is enough to forgive plot holes like the discrepancy between terraforming a planet and using 14th century science to farm. 3 1/2 stars.

Are you a SF lover and have not yet read this one? You will finish it quickly and with a smile on your face.

Are you are a (male or female) teenager? You `d probably find the Farmer naive and look elsewhere for space motivation. Where? I don't have a clue.

Loved it as a boy
I loved this book when I was a boy.I'm sure young readers today will like it just as well. ... Read more

Product Description
Last of the free nations to fall, America had been invaded and conquered. Ironically, even as Washington had been destroyed, a secret laboratory charged with developing weapons to defeat the invaders had discovered a new system of controlling energy and matter. A super-weapon is developed, but who will use it to liberate America? Reissue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (41)

Un-Heinlein
If you were to speculate that someone foisted a job on Heinlein, or possibly black-mailed him to write the story for a "ghost author," then Sixth Column would be my candidate, and in fact, that is case.The story line was from John W. Campbell, Jr.Somehow, he succeeded in persuading Heinlein to try and dress it up, but - sow's ear - silk purse ...Heinlein writes that he tried to clean it up and remove the racism, but given the surviving story there can't have been much other than racism in Campbell's original draft.RAH concluded that he did not consider the result a success.

If you read this story, then you should certainly also read "If This Goes On --", which is Heinlein's own version of such a story.Published in 1940, ITGO focuses on home-grown "invaders," when an extreme sect of Christianity seizes power in the US.Heinlein's brutal enemy is ourselves.

Racist? Yes.
When an educated Caucasian writer refers to Asian invaders as "flatfaces" and "monkeys" he is not just a product of his time, he's a judgmental, generalizing racist. It doesn't help that a token good Asian-American is included. The more you read Heinlein, the harder it becomes to defend his attitudes toward women, non-whites, non-Americans, juvenile delinquency, people who haven't done military service... Too bad, because he is obviously talented. Few can write a more accessible story, with such an unpretentious narrative voice. He's basically like D. W. Griffith, who was in his time the finest film director, then made an elaborate apology for the KKK in Birth Of A Nation. Both have terrible blind spots in their personal philosophies; it doesn't mean you can't get anything good out of their work. I would vote this easily among Heinlein's worst work. Another low point is Podkayne of Mars, a Nancy Drew-ish Juvenile which he wanted to end with his 'Nancy' dead of an atomic blast! (For other talents ruined by weird philosphies see: Steve Ditko/Objectivism and Phil K. Dick/religious mania)

Old Heinlein
Book was recommended to me because it had some very interesting parallels to the Iraq War.It's old Heinlein and even old sci-fi so the writing style drips of this.A very "ok" book with only a couple scenes that I thought were extremely well written.But liked some of the attitude of the characters as they were very realistic to being in a war.But overall a book you can definitely skip.

An entertaining, short, novel
"Sixth Column" by Robert A. Heinlein is an entertaining, short, novel.

The USA and the rest of the world has been conquered by the PanAsians.There is, however, a hidden research base that holds hope of a resistance effort. Unfortunately, just before Whitey Ardmore arrives to assess the potential of any research successes for a resistance effort, there is an accident that kills almost all of the staff.Yet, there was a success in finding an added "spectrum" of energy that might be of help.But, the total number of people available for the resistance effort is five men.

They found a fake religion that can do actual miracles, due to their secret scientific discoveries. And, we are off on a tale of psychological warfare.

The plot is simple.The story may or may not have come about after some thought on how The Prophet would come to power in Heinlein's Future History series of stories.

I like this story.However, one has to be careful about many comments and discussions concerning race.The heros are not racist.However, they must take advantage of cultural and ethnic differences to further their psychological warfare.So, Heinlein must walk a rather thin line in how these heros behave and some folks have made incorrect accusations on Heinlein's own beliefs.In real life, Heinlein was never prejudiced about race or ethnicity or sex.However, he felt free to comment on beliefs that might be associated with one group or another.Thus, folks would assume that he was commenting on the group.This is a very bad error in logic.

As I said, the heros are not racist.However, they are pragmatic.And, they accomplish a psychological hold (headlock?) that forces a retreat of the invaders.

This is a good, clean, straight-forward story.I like it.

Almost gave up -- glad I finished it!
I almost gave up on this one.... the story takes place after most of the action, and quickly leans upon technology so God-like that it is unbelievable.Then the characters, whom I had not connected with, built up a grass-roots religion.I had all but given up on this.

I'm glad I did not.I can't identify when, but at some point, I found myself invested in the story, and the payoff was worth it.

Sure, it's dated, in both science and political correctness, but geez, look at how old the story is!

I am surprised at how much I enjoyed it after almost giving up.Give it a try. ... Read more

Product Description
The great American science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein left a legacy of provocative and meaningful insightsthat "every human should know." Asnack-sizedessay meant for fast, enjoyable reading on the Kindle, this is part of the "999 Words" series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Total waste of time and money
Over the years at least two books of Heinlein quotes have been published.I thought this was another one.Heinlein had a great way with words, and I was in the mood to hear some of them again.I should have realized that this book couldn't be what I was expecting.Heinlein's work is still under copyright.So if this was a compilation of quotations from him, it would have been published by a real publisher.If you request the free sample of this book, all you get is a table of contents.I looked it over and thought, "Sure.I know Heinlein had great stuff to say on these subjects."So I bought the book.

It really makes me mad to think that this Zimmerman jerk just got three bucks out of me.What you get for your three bucks is a very brief biographical sketch and a short paragraph on each of six topics.All in Zimmerman's words--not Heinlein's.To put it into perspective, 999 words is about three double-spaced pages.Zimmerman probably whipped this up in a morning, then went to town and ate lunch at McDonald's to celebrate.

If you want to know something about Robert A. Heinlein, I recommend that you Google him.If you want to know what he said, buy one of his books, not this abortion.

what I expected
this short "snack sized" read was exactly what I expected from the book description and sample.

no way is this worth money
Stupid waste of money.And not even informative.Read back the flap of any book jacket for a much more relevant work. ... Read more

Product Description
First came the news that a flying saucer had landed in Iowa. Then came the announcement that the whole thing was a hoax. End of story. Case closed.

            Except that two agents of the most secret intelligence agency in the U.S. government were on the scene and disappeared without reporting in. And four more agents who were sent in also disappeared. So the head of the agency and his two top agents went in and managed to get out with their discovery: an invasion is underway by slug-like aliens who can touch a human and completely control his or her mind. What the humans know, they know. What the slugs want, no matter what, the human will do. And most of Iowa is already under their control.

            Sam Cavanaugh was one of the agents who discovered the truth. Unfortunately, that was just before he was taken over by one of the aliens and began working for the invaders, with no will of his own. And he has just learned that a high official in the Treasury Department is now under control of the aliens. Since the Treasury Department includes the Secret Service, which safeguards the President of the United States, control of the entire nation is near at hand . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Beware of People with Hunched Backs!
When I was a teenager, Robert A. Heinlein was one of my favorite sci-fi authors. Time had passed by, but I still love some of his books. "The Puppet Masters" is one of them.

This book was published in 1951 when the Cold War was raging. That cultural background greatly influences the story. As I pointed out in other reviews, books and films of the period allude the frightful issue of: "They are LIKE us but they are NOT us. They are DANGEROUS to us", as in the films "The Thing from another World" (1951), "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) or "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" (1958).

The story focuses on an alien invasion that expands all around the world with unimaginable speed. Sam and Mary are agents of an ultra secret Security Agency under the control of the Old Man who have a direct link to the President.
Both agents go to investigate and after discovering what's up, a fast paced adventure starts.
Alien parasites take control of human beings by the expedient of attaching themselves to the back of the host. The first frightful issue to overcome is how to distinguish friend from foes. Then, the Government has to implement some defense against them, that include a "bare backs" politic. Finally our heroes try to find the source and origin of the invasion.

At this height of his career, Heinlein was more centered in the action than in political or social speculation, as he develops in later books, with uneven success.

I recommend this book to all sci-fi lovers and those who enjoy adrenalin charged adventures.

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

How does it feel to be a puppet master?
"Were they truly intelligent? By themselves, that is? I don't know and I don't know how we can ever find out..."

While the idea of alien parasites infiltrating humanity is pretty much standard sci-fi now (from Jack Finney to "Stargate SG-1"), Robert Heinlein was pretty early on the concept. And "The Puppet Masters" remains a chilling story to this day -- he wove together some brilliantly vivid writing, some climatic twists, and an intelligent look at how the threat of alien slugs would change our society almost overnight.

Sam (an agent for a top-top-top-secret government organization) accompanies the Old Man and his new partner Mary to a site where a UFO supposedly crashed in rural Iowa. Unfortunately, they soon encounter bizarre gloppy alien creatures that attach themselves to a host's back -- and it turns out that one of them sneaked along with the Old Man's team, back to Washington.

With Iowa completely possessed and the government threatened by alien manipulation, all of humanity suddenly is in danger -- countries start bickering, people become hysterical, and almost everybody is practically naked. As the United States tries to keep the aliens contained, Sam and Mary must find a weakness in the puppet-masters that won't kill the host as well. And the answer may lie long ago in Mary's half-forgotten past...

"The Puppet Masters" is a true classic -- it spawned "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "The Faculty" and even a "Star Trek" episode. Not only is a chilling look at a quiet alien invasion via "body-snatching" slugs, it's also a pretty intelligent look at the societal changes that might come from alien parasites -- clothes aren't worn, pets become lethal, and an atmosphere of distrust where anyone may become a possessed killer.

The biggest problem with Heinlein's writing is the sexist attitudes towards "females," which is smugly condescending at best. Otherwise he comes up with a pretty solid "future" Earth that is just a little more advanced than we are and a few wars down the road (World War III is mentioned), but not too different in the ways that count (if you can overlook now-anachronistic stuff like a communist Russia).

And Heinlein unrolls a slow-moving sci-fi tale that's heavy on the social/political stuff, some horrific moments (S "All planets are ours") and a rapid romance between Sam and Mary. His style has a delightfully, deceptively casual flair and some snappy dialogue ("Cosmetics?" "Your own ugly face will do"), but he also does a brilliant job with the more atmospheric, intense moments of the book -- such as a blissed-out, hag-ridden Sam drifting around Washington.

Sam makes a good sharp-tongued, quick-witted hero who still has time to feel sorry about killing a poor innocent cat, although Mary is somewhat two-dimensional until the end of the book (when we find out more about her). The Old Man is perhaps the most compelling character: an incredibly smart and ruthless chief of a government agency, who cares deeply about his estranged son but is still willing to put almost everything on the line to save humanity.

Aliens taking over human bodies is something of a cliche now, but "Puppet Masters" is a suitably chilling look at the trope's origins. If you can get past the antiquated attitudes towards women, it's a brilliant little book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Decent for its time, but hopelessly outdated.
I've heard a lot of good things about Heinlein, so I finally decided to read one of his novels. As someone approaching this novel with no prior experience with his works, I suspect that my review will be different to those by people already familiar with this author. And what I thought was that this was nothing special. To be honest, I found it quite boring. It was a struggle to read, especially during the middle.

My copy of the book tells me this story was first published in 1958, and it definitely shows. I expect it would have been a good read for its time, but to me it seemed horribly outdated. I found it very hard to suspend my disbelief throughout the whole book. Major events in the plot rely on the assumption that certain technologies we have today don't exist 200 years from now. Reading this, I couldn't believe that Heinlein could conceive of a society in which aliens existed and spaceships could fly faster than the speed of light, and yet not even have genetic testing. The United Nations(or any) agreement on human rights seems to have been completely ignored as well. The existence of either of these things would have gone a long way to resolving the main plot, which sees long-lived humans persecuted in a Nazi-like fashion by the government for withholding the secret of longevity. Partly because of this, I found the main plot to be very frustrating, because it seemed so outlandish and unrealistic, particularly for a futuristic society which should have learnt its lesson from past events such as WWII. Instead, the book seems like it's set back in the 1940s or earlier, even earlier than it was actually published! I also don't see the logic at all in the government killing off the people they want to learn secrets from. Experimentation would make so much more sense!

Another issue I found, reading this, was that the characters seemed to have very little individual personality. Here the plot was clearly first priority, and characterisation seemed to be sacrificed for its sake - a poor choice, in my opinion. Every character in the book used the same sort of dialogue - dry, serious, explanatory. I felt like I was reading a book about the lives of a group of physics teachers in lecture mode rather than diverse human beings. I found it a very dull read. Everyone was very polite, even in the most extreme situations. Again, I expect this was probably influenced by the era, since social norms have changed drastically since 1958, but I still found it to be a significant obstacle to my enjoyment of this book.

In short, this wasn't for me. I'm hesitant to give Heinlein's books another try after this, despite the good comments I've heard. If all his books are this dry and unemotional, then I think I'll stick to more modern fare.

The Secret of Eternal Life
The first appearance of this story dates back to 1941 as a serial in Astounding Science Fiction, and as such places this as one of Heinlein's very early works, and the first novel-length work that was part of his Future History. He revised and expanded the original considerably for the book publication that appeared in 1958, though without any basic change to the story structure. Like most of Heinlein's `early period' works, the focus of this work is far more on action rather than long philosophical polemics, though there are certainly some comments and opinions expressed about prejudice, morality, mob psychology, and basic human nature and its incompatibility with being a `kept pet' or eternal idlers.

It also marks the first appearance of Woodrow Wilson Smith, better known as Lazarus Long, who at the start of this book is a mere 213 years old, a product of the Howard Family trust which sought to lengthen human life-spans through simple breeding choices. Lazarus is only a product of the third generation of this project, but through chance apparently has just the right genetic code to keep him young and healthy far longer than `normal' people. The book starts in the year 2125, after the overthrow of the Prophet, and with a healthy 70 years of rule under the Covenant that has helped guarantee basic rights for everyone that was adopted after that overthrow, the Howard families feel that they can reveal just who they are and what their life expectancy is. This is a bad mistake, and the Howards quickly find themselves on the run from all those out to force the `secret' of their long lives from them.

The major portion of the first half of this novel is just what the Howards, Lazarus, and the head of the world government do about this situation, ending up in a `con' job that effectively manages to swindle everyone in the world - a setup that is tailor made for Lazarus, the world's ultimate pragmatist, and he shines here as both hero and someone you wouldn't let in your front door - a characterization that continues to be fleshed out in several later books, most especially Time Enough for Love. The second half deals with a rather amazing jaunt to a couple of other stars, and what is found there just might cause you to end up with a few nightmares and with a need to curl up and think about just what the ultimate purpose of man is.

This work is not as polished as his later material, with some dated slang (rare, but also something Heinlein almost totally eschewed in his later works), and characterization for anyone other than Lazarus is not as full bodied as would later be customary for him. The second half of the book doesn't have the same action quota as the first half, and there is a quite noticeable change in tone between the two halves. There's a lack of cohesion in theme between the two halves, almost as if Heinlein couldn't quite figure out where he was going with this book.

However, this is fine example of just what Heinlein was capable of even this early in his career. The constant action helps hide some of its weaknesses, his science, as usual for him, was as accurate as possible given what was known at the time of writing, his predictions for scientific advances are solidly grounded and plausible (some of which have come true, some may still happen, and a few are way off the mark - but Heinlein's batting average in this area is far higher than almost any other sf author).

For those new to Heinlein, this book would not be a bad place to start, though doing so without having read the prior books in the Future History (The Green Hills of Earth, The Man Who Sold the Moon, Revolt in 2100) will mean you'll miss a few of the references here. It's great advantage is its introduction to Lazarus, possibly the finest scoundrel to ever course the worlds of science fiction. Trust me, you'll like him (but hold on to your wallet).

---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

Star Travel the Long Way
Methuselah's Children (1958) is the fourth SF work in the Future History series.It was originally published as a serial within Astounding in 1941.It was later expanded to a full length novel.

The Howard Foundation was established in the 1870s to lengthen the span of human life.Using well established breeding principles, young men and women with living grandparents were encouraged to marry each other.In 1875, the first child of the Howard Families was born.

At first, they were just a bunch of people trying to improve the lifespan of the members.After a century or so, however, they were forced to start the Masquerade.Many members had grown too old, so ways were found to allow them seemingly to die and then to take on other identities.

In this novel, Lazarus Long is a member of the Howard Families.He was born 1n 1912 with the name Woodrow Wilson Smith.Now he is 213 years old and the Eldest living member of the Families.

Mary Sperling is also a member of the Howard Families.She was the Eldest until Lazarus reappeared.

Zaccur Barstow is a member of the Howard Families.Zack is also the Speaker for the Howard Trustees.

Andrew Jackson Libby is a member of the Howard Families.Andy was last seen in "Misfit" as the intuitive mathematician.

Slayton Ford is the Federation Administer.He has the problem of the Howard Families dumped into his lap by the Council.

In this story, Mary is leading an emergency meeting of the Family heads and things are looking bleak.When Lazarus complains about the long and wellknown review of facts before presenting new information, Mary gets him to admit his age.As the Eldest, Lazarus is now expected to moderate the meeting.

Others point out the improbability of maintaining the Masquerade.Some members -- about ten percent of the group -- had voluntarily admitted their extended lifespan.Although the initial impact on the public was small, a sense of anger and disbelief has been growing exponentially.

All present are impressed by the facts and calculations, but their voiced opinions are not very helpful.The members are undecided and unable to agree on any approach to the problem.Lazarus has them break up into like minded groups to work out better solutions and then adjourns the general meeting until the next morning.As he later admits to Mary, they are probably not going to agree on any workable approach.

Mary is being pursued by Bork Vanning, the Minority Leader of the Federation Council.The next morning, Bork comes to press his suit.He mentions the Howard Families and states that the secret of longevity is close at hand for important officials and their wives.Mary then tells him that she is one of the victims of this witchhunt.

Bork refuses to believe her until Lazarus steps into the conversation.Although his knife convinces Bork to leave, both Lazarus and Mary know he will send proctors to arrest Lazarus.They get out barely in time and take Mary's car out to kill time until dark.

After some evasion, they reach the Families' Seat and Mary hurries to the sanctuary to send a message through the telepathic sensitives.She sends a recall to all sites run by the Howard Families.Then they hold another emergency meeting.

During the meeting, many options are discussed.Leaving the planet is brought up, but dismissed since the only really habitable planet in the Solar System is Earth.Then Lazarus remembers the ship being built in orbit for the Second Centauri Expedition.

Lazarus proposes that the New Frontiers be used to leave the System.He learns that Andy had not been involved in the design of the New Frontiers, so there are probably ways to increase the boast.But this proposal is tabled while other options are discussed.

The meeting is interrupted by a call for Zack from the Federation Administrator.Ford now knows a lot about the Howard Families from captured members, including the location of the Families' Seat.But he doesn't think that the Families have a hidden secret of longevity.

This tale takes the Howard Families into custody and then onto the New Frontiers and into interstellar space.Most of the group are very disgruntled by the whole affair.Yet there are few adventurous souls who are looking forward to the voyage.

Lazarus Long is an anomaly.He was a third generation child in the longevity experiment called the Howard Families.Even so, his genes must have been exceptionally good.Few from that time would have lived more than a century.

The New Frontiers is the second spaceship sent to the stars.The next installment in this series tells the story of the first starship -- the Vanguard -- in Orphans of the Sky.Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Heinlein fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of interstellar voyages, longevous culture, and Lazarus Long.For those who want more tales by Heinlein, this and many other stories are also included in The Past Through Tomorrow.

-Arthur W. Jordin

good stuff
I loved this the first time I read it and again this time.The book arrived in a timely fashion

Long-life citizens escape to stars
A Howard "Family" have a life expectancy of 150 years. They kept their existence secret. In the hope that society would be ready to accepts them, they started a limited exposure of themselves. Society refuses to believe that the Howard Families simply 'chose their ancestors wisely', instead insisting that they have developed a method to extend life. When the Howard Families fail to produce any such techniques, the Families are persecuted and interned. The Society's prosecutor, Prime Minister Slayton Ford, can visualize only two horrific solutions: mass execution or mass sterilization. A genocide in either case. Slayton Ford turns his wheels and assist the families in hijacking the colony star ship New Frontiers. To survive, the Howard Families must embark on an exodus to the stars. They invent light-hugging stardrive and land on two planets. In the first the meet humanoids, who are merely domestic animals belonging to the planet's true masters. In the second they find group mind race who are masters of genetic engineering. One of the Howard family members transposes herself to group in order to become immortal. But this horrifies the families because humans are what they are because they are individuals. They return to earth after 74 year of exile to find out that artificial blood has achieved to keep population "young".

The story is a continuation of Revolt in 2100 which played with imagined history of church being the supreme dictator. The events in "Methuselah's Children" take place after that war was over. The problem with Heinlein's early works is not lack of imagination, but too much of it in one story. This 1958 published book had 144 pages where all these events are packed in. The early juvenile Heinlein books all share common trait where the books try to mimic comic book action scenes. This leaves character development at the stage of 12 year old.

Two (2) stars. The only character that is somewhat developed here, is Lazarus Long, the 200+ year old person, who takes the lead of the Howard family. But there are many, many interesting persons that we would have liked to know more about. Sadly, the speed of action is no substitute for lack of good characters. ... Read more

Product Description
The four-time Hugo Award-winning author recounts his travels around the world, detailing, in a never-before-published account, his experiences in places ranging from New Orleans to the Panama Canal to the African veldt. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

A fascinating book, not just for Heinlein fans
In 1953, Robert Heinlein had just made a nice sum of money and decided to travel around the world with it. So his wife Virginia and he planned a trip that would lead them from their home in the Rocky Mountains via New Orleans through South America, South Africa, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand via Hawaii back home. Most of the journey was done by ship, since Virginia was afraid of flying. The trip took a full year and afterwards Heinlein felt the need to digest and order what he had experienced, so he wrote it down as a book. However, it didn't find the favour of his publishers and was printed for the first time after his death. I would say that the reason is by no means a lack of quality, but that he was probably too open and honest with his opinions, some of which were not favourable to countries where his Science Fiction-novels were sold (Australia and New Zealand, to be exact). The book is both a fascinating travel report and provides insight into the character and opinions of one of the greatest writers of the SciFi-genre. It also shows how some of the topics and opinions you find in his later novels were the direct result of this journey.
Throughout the book, Heinlein is very honest (for example when criticising how badly tourists were treated in New Zealand back then or the idiocy of red tape all around the globe) without being prejudiced or intolerant. From today's point of view one should keep in mind that the book was written by a patriotic American who had just made it through World War 2 and was stuck right in the middle of the Cold War that was more hot than cold at the time. This influences the way he sees things, but also the way people treated an American tourist - not always in a friendly manner. Despite that 50s view, he was often far ahead of his time (e. g. he was strictly against racism, treated his wife as a partner instead of an inferior half-child, and was not following the prudish morals of his time). That makes his interpretation of the things he saw very interesting. In addition - or rather above all - he has a wonderful sense of humour which always shines through, even in rather unpleasant situations. For that alone I would give this 5 stars. All in all, I enjoyed his way of writing, I was fascinated with what the world was like in the 50s, and found his political, social and economic thoughts at the very least interesting, often convincing. Yes, he did not join the complete rejection of McCarthy, as is mentioned by other reviewers, because he felt that communism was dangerous (and it was at the time). But he does call him a horse's behind and states that what he did was completely ineffective when it comes to real Russian spies / traitors. So even there he remains open-minded and far from the right-wing fanatic some people want to see in him.
If you can get your hands on a copy of this book, expect a lot of humour, much depth of thought, an insight into the world of the 50s and travelling conditions at the time (tourism as we know it was only just beginning), descriptions of landscapes, sights, technology, art, animals, plants, but above all people. The Heinleins managed to get in close contact with people all around the world, travelling by car through South Africa with someone they met on a ship, visiting with a Chinese family, etc. This alone is quite unusual and utterly enjoyable. I would highly recommend 'Tramp Royale' to anyone who is willing and able to enjoy a book that is clearly from a different time and written by a man with strong opinions. It will be well worth your while if you read it with an open mind.

An interesting piece of Heinlein trivia....
Like most Heinlein fan's, I picked up this book simply because it was by the man, altho I do like travel books from this period as well. As far as travel books go (and I have quite a collection from the 1950's and also pre-WW2), it's fairly typical of the period. The book's real attactiveness is that you get a glimpse of the real Robert Heinlein, his thoughts, his views, the way he lived his life, what he enjoyed, what he didn't. And also of his wife, Virginia. It's a fascinating insight and just for that, it's well worth the read for any appreciator of Heinlein's science fiction.

And as New Zealander, I loved the beautifully scathing chapter on New Zealand. He visited the country before I was born, but his descriptiont bears a remarkable similarity to the country as I remember it in my youth in the 1960's - there were no real facilities for tourists, the six o'clock swill (a relict of WW1) meant bars closed at 6pm, and with workers knocking off at 5pm, you went to the pub and drank as much as you could as fast as you could in one hour - a recipe for the fistfights in the streets that Heinlein describes. Eating out was awful, the hotels were as bad, if not worse than Heinlein describes (I stayed in a few with my parents when they travelled) and a "service culture" didn't exist. You got to take it or leave it - Heinlein's book brings back all those lovely memories of an insular country and a restrictive lifestyle which really doesn't exist anymore.

A few reviewers commented that New Zealand isn't like that - well, it isn't now, but believe me, back in the 1950's it was just as he described - and that was in the bigger cities - in the small towns it was even worse. Altho back then we DID like Americans - they saved our bacon in WW2 and Kiwi's still remember that....

And a last comment - the publisher's review above is a piece of rubbish by someone who obviously isn't a Heinlein fan and isn;t really worthy of any further comment.

Dated Heinlein foreshadowing his right wing political shift
Robert Heinlein is responsible for exciting more young American men and women about science and space flight than any other author.His beautifully crafted series of "juvenile" books can still be read half a century after they were published, and by people half a century older than when they first saw the books.Same is true of the stories and books written in the 1940s and 1950s.So I had assumed this would be vintage Heinlein, and fairly apolitical.It is, and it isn't.

Comparing the world seen from a tramp steamer in 1952-1953 to our world is fascinating; among the most interesting things (Heinlein was a good observer and generally reliable reporter) I found were the comparisons of South America then, with Indonesia and South Africa.And the most surprising were the depressing reports of life in Australia and New Zealand, now two of the best countries to visit; then two of the most unfriendly to tourists with the worst infrastructure and the most exclusionary policies.Hideous hotels, a drink only available in a hotel, meaning the reason for having the beds was to peddle the booze, and customs and currency regulations rather reminiscent of East Germany.

As to predictions, suffice it to say that Heinlein liked Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Rio, and thought their governments on the way to democracy.He liked some South Africans, but hated their government, and expected that the White population could never give up Apartheid, and would all die in their beds when the Black population revolted.So much for his crystal ball.

Unaccountably, Robert calls his well-known wife, Virginia, always known as Ginny, "Ticky" in this book.Was it to shield a bit of privacy?Did Ginny change her favorite name?They are both dead, so there's nobody to ask.

Towards the end RAH gives some very valuable, still, tips on how to pack for a round-the-world trip, whether by ship or plane, although he omits water purification equipment, if memory serves.

But it is in the last few pages that the whole thing falls apart.He pens a paen to America, to Patriotism.He argues that the rest of the world doesn't like us (perhaps true today; not in 1953); and suggests that a nuclear war with the Soviet Union is inevitable, along with population wars with China and India spilling over to occupy Australia.The crystal ball has cracked, and the Neo-con political overtones so blatant that one is tempted to ask whether the authors of the Iraq War, Wolfowitz, Bolton, Feith, etc., were fans of the militaristic period in Heinlein's writing.

A fun romp around the world
This book provides a glimpse into the personality of one of the most influencial science fiction writers of the twentieth century, which is why science fiction fans will want to read it.But this book should also appeal to people who enjoy Bill Bryson's travel writing.This book is full of the same types of observations and humor that mark Bryson's work.

Heinlein's observations from his around the world trip with his wife in 1952-53 are, for the most part, dated.Having traveled to New Zealand and Sydney a couple of years ago, I can attest that these places are no longer anything like he described.Tourists are welcomed, the food and accommodations are as good as anything in the States, with no red tape to frustrate visitors (in fact, the tables have now turned, with tourist trying to enter the US having to face large amounts of red tape).

Like a time capsule, this book shows us the world as it was half a century ago, and by comparison, we can see how much the world has changed.What would Heinlein have to say about today's world?

The Man With Many Countries
The name Heinlein invokes `science fiction'. Trouble is, as he stated in Expanded Universe, he wrote other things too, which everyone thought was hyperbole until some digging was done and the mysteries, romance stories, political how-to and world warning message essays were found. This book is part of that `other' group, a travelogue of his around the world trip he took with wife Virginia `Ticky' Heinlein in 1953-1954. But regardless of what genre he was writing in, Heinlein's style, very personable `voice', and clear thought processes were always present, and this book is no exception.

But why would anyone want to read about Heinlein's travels from fifty years ago? Clearly the world has changed a lot since that trip, and much of what he saw then no longer exists or has morphed radically. But if you are looking for a very perceptive look at other countries and cultures, this is it, with the added fillip of looking to see just where and how things have changed and where things are still much the same as they were then. I've done a lot of world traveling in the past few years, and directly observed some of these changes. Perhaps one of the most obvious changes is the condition of Singapore, which Heinlein found to be very vibrant but quite dirty, and is now still vibrant but is one of the cleanest cities in the world, due to some draconian self-imposed laws. The Raffles is no longer THE place to stay there, though it still has some colonial charm, but has been eclipsed by some of the newer hotels. New Zealand, which comes in for some of Heinlein's harshest criticism, has made many changes to make a tourist's stay there more pleasant and enjoyable. Hawaii, while still an enormously beautiful island, has really become over-commercialized with one of the highest price tags of vacationing anywhere.

But as a confirmation of how acute and accurate his observations were, I was living in Sydney, Australia at the time he visited there, and can verify one of his statements that British subjects who came there were not treated as well as Americans, as when I came there I had a strong British accent and was frequently mistaken for one, which led to my exclusion from some of the kid's activities (I was about age seven then) while some other American immigrants in my school were not. Seeing such a small thing in such a short stay says much about how well he listened and looked.

But Heinlein does not merely catalogue the sights and feel of the countries he visited, nor did he stay within the bounds of only looking at the `tourist' sites. He looks at the governments, rules and regulations, economies, customs, history, and what he observed about each country's `average citizen's' attitude. Obviously he did a fair amount of research for this book - there is simply no way he could have accumulated that amount of knowledge about each country during his short stays in each one, though equally obviously he took copious notes about his first hand impressions during the days spent on shipboard between countries (though he never mentions doing so, instead regaling the reader with what life on ship was like, from Captain's table dinners to some heavy party sessions).

Throughout all of this book, there is a fair sprinkling of humor, most especially when he details the activities and dialogue of his wife. Many people have accused Heinlein of having unrealistic female characters in his stories, but here we see the archetype of those characters in a real person, one who Heinlein was obviously very much in love with, right down to his `compromises' with her that were all `her' way. In fact, Heinlein's own character shines throughout this book, a better look at the man and his actual opinions than can be found almost anywhere else. As an odd sidelight, Heinlein and I were within a few miles of each other in Australia in 1954. In 1983, I moved to San Jose, CA and once again I was within a few miles of where he was living then in Santa Cruz. But I never met the man, my great loss, for this man was a giant in more ways than one.

This book may have limited interest for non-Heinlein fans, but it is very readable, with some commentary that is just as applicable today as it was then, and is possibly a gold-mine for Heinlein scholars, as many things that he uses as background in some of his later books had an obvious genesis in what he saw during this trip.

---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
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Customer Reviews (121)

Heinlein's finest (believe it or not)
This is a novel that should be read by those who are familiar with the genre of pulp SF. Read E. G. Burroughs' Mars stories, read Asimov and Clarke, and read Heinlein first, then you will appreciate the scope and wit of this novel. This is a work from a man that is ready to return to the craft in full force.

An extra star only because its Heinlein
Honestly if anyone else had written this, it would get one star.I gave it two because every great author is entitled to a bad day sometimes.And wow was this a bad day.Four characters who are all two dimensional and perfect.The two older each have one tiny flaw which gets fixed throughout the book, the two younger have no flaws at all.Everyone loves everyone with all their heart, there is rarely any controversy.One of the super-genius foursome has invented a machine to travel into alternate dimension AND across time (I think, it was kind of hard to figure out) which is explained with long (and unreadable much less understandable) theories in time, space and math. Throw in a WHOLE lot of random and needless time travel throughout which the cast (including the car) get more and more perfect and awesome, to escape an aliens menace which they have theorized must exist.Because all perfect people must have an evil nemesis.All in all, the characters are boring, the people-copulating-with-other-people gets repetitive (and really, when you get tired of the sex, that's sad), and the worlds get tedious.Actually though, I guess I would give it two stars on its own, the world where there are no lawyers is about the book's only saving grace. I am assuming I don't need to complain about Heinlein's ego in the book since everyone else seems to have done that.

okok, I made the mistake of starting here...
Number of the Beast by Robert A. Heinlein is a pretty good read. Still, it took a bit to get into it. It started off well and good, grabbing my interest with the premise of four intelligent people running from an alien menace ("The Black hats") into other dimensions. But it lost me until I was 75% through the book. As such it took me longer to get through it then most of my reads.

Too much of it got convoluted and just felt like discordant ramblings by the author, in my opinion. Still I do love the idea that other universes are made up of our stories and myths here on terra firma.

We saw the land of Oz and Alice's wonderland, and also apparently some characters and worlds from some of his other books. (I liked his teasing jab at himself as the characters commented on one of Heinlein's earlier works.)

I definitely want to pick up some more of his stuff and read more about this Lazeraus Long fellow too...

But as for this one?a 2.5 out of 5.

Read this one last.
This seems to me to be the book that Heinlein always wanted to write but had to wait to set the stage.It has a lot to offer any avid Heinlein reader.He works quite a few of his other books into the story line and manages to keep shifting the story to keep it going strong.The almost constant refering of the characters by their duty positions during explorations gets a little old but is more than made up for with an excellent story.When I got to the end of the book it had what I consider the best compliment a book can get, I was wishing for another couple hundred pages.This book is a winner but I strongly suggest reading all his others before this one, this will get you in the mindset to more clearly understand his method and keep you from getting lost along the way.

Enjoy!

Unique Heinlein
I have been a science fiction fan from the time I was given "Have Space Suit Will Travel" while I was healing from an appendectomy and missing a trip to an amusement park.
While "The Number of the Beast" is not in Heinlein's usual mode, it is regardless a masterpiece. The characters are represented in a way that only Heinlein could (reminiscent of JOB: A Comedy of Justice) and a learnedness {not sure that's a word} that his experience and era could only produce. I must say that it is a more difficult read than most of his works, but I enjoyed it more for the effort.
Thankyou, Robert Heinlein, in effigy. ... Read more

Product Description

Robert A. Heinlein is widely and justly regarded as the greatest practitioner of the art of science fiction who has ever lived. Here are two of his greatest short novels:

GULF: In which the greatest superspy of them all is revealed as the leader of a league of supermen and women who can't quite decide what to do with the rest of us....

LOST LEGACY: In which it is proved that we are all members of that league -- or would be, if we but had eyes to see....

PLUS TWO GREAT STORIES: Two of the Master's finest: one on the nature of Being, the other on what it means to be a Man. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

A good example of early Heinlein
There are two major Heinlein camps and a few crossovers. This may account for the wide variation in what people think of this book. Artists in any field paint what is real, and then what is real to them. Realists like the early works that they can relate to on their daily lives and see the later works as off the deep end. Others see the early works as silly or something that they could do better and the later works as profound and insightful. They see two people instead of one in the process of transition.

The reason I bought this book is for a story that deals with transition. "Lost Legacy" (1941) I do not want to go into too much detail as it is fun to have the story unfold in its time. However the story speculates as to what the so-called unused portion of our brain is for. Heinlein is not the first to speculate, but he does put together a great story combining many previous speculations.

While enjoying his story, look at the rudiments that will be used in later Heinlein writing, "Stranger in a Strange Land." Even some of the names are the same.

A good example of early Heinlein
There are two major Heinlein camps and a few crossovers. This may account for the wide variation in what people think of this book. Artists in any field paint what is real, and then what is real to them. Realists like the early works that they can relate to on their daily lives and see the later works as off the deep end. Others see the early works as silly or something that they could do better and the later works as profound and insightful. They see two people instead of one in the process of transition.

The reason I bought this book is for a story that deals with transition. "Lost Legacy" (1941) I do not want to go into too much detail as it is fun to have the story unfold in its time. However the story speculates as to what the so-called unused portion of our brain is for. Heinlein is not the first to speculate, but he does put together a great story combining many previous speculations.

While enjoying his story, look at the rudiments that will be used in later Heinlein writing, "Stranger in a Strange Land." Even some of the names are the same.

short stories written by Heinlein in his "adult" mode
"Assignment in Eternity" is a collection of relatively short stories written by Robert A. Heinlein in his "adult" mode.These stories were written fairly early in Heinlein's carrer.Do not expect the author who coddled "juveniles" to be present here.Heinlein was a serious thinker and his early works sometimes have an edge to them that can be suprising to some folks.

I happen to have enjoyed reading these stories.I hope you will enjoy them too.

Classic Heinlein
Short stories of classic Heinlein science fiction.

A good example of early Heinlein
There are two major Heinlein camps and a few crossovers. This may account for the wide variation in what people think of this book. Artists in any field paint what is real, and then what is real to them. Realists like the early works that they can relate to on their daily lives and see the later works as off the deep end. Others see the early works as silly or something that they could do better and the later works as profound and insightful. They see two people instead of one in the process of transition.

The reason I bought this book is for a story that deals with transition. "Lost Legacy" (1941) I do not want to go into too much detail as it is fun to have the story unfold in its time. However the story speculates as to what the so-called unused portion of our brain is for. Heinlein is not the first to speculate, but he does put together a great story combining many previous speculations.

While enjoying his story, look at the rudiments that will be used in later Heinlein writing, "Stranger in a Strange Land." Even some of the names are the same.
... Read more

Product Description
A collection of works--most never before published in book form--by the first Grand Master (Science Fiction Writers of America). Includes major novellas "Tenderfoot in Space" and "Destination Moon," which was made into the famous George Pal film. Tributes from Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Silverberg, and Tom Clancy. "A fine memorial."--Arthur C. Clarke. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Tribute to a Grand Master
This work is essential reading for the Heinlein fan. It contains such rarities as Heinlein's guest of honor speech at the Third World Science Fiction Convention in Denver in 1941 and panelist speeches from Jerry Pournelle, L. Sprague de Camp, and even Tom Clancy. You'll find contributions from Poul Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, Gordon R. Dickson, Joe Haldeman, Larry Niven, Robert Silverberg, and Harry Turtledove. The best parts are by those who knew Heinlein the best, as when L. Sprague de Camp humorously comments on how some fans assumed that The Philadelphia Experiment story was true because he, Isaac Asimov, and Heinlein were all stationed at the Philadelphia Naval Air Station during World War II.

A Wonderful Tribute to a Great Writer
Heinlein has been my favorite author for many years, and his death seemed a personal tradgedy for me, knowing that there wouldn't be any more of his books forthcoming. However, Requiem at least fulfilled some of my need fornew Heinlein material, because I hadn't read some of the short stories.Ialso really enjoyed reading the tributes by other authors who knew himand/or admired him, because it made me feel more like I knew him.I foundSpider Robinson's tributes especially moving, and I really felt like he waswriting the same sort of things I felt in Rah rah R.A.H, one of histributes.The selection that Heinlein wrote some years before, and hiswife read, that is in this book "This I know" was a very touchingand uplifting essay, and it revealed some things about Heinlein I hadn'treally known.The short stories by Heinlein, were, as usal, verywell-crafted pieces of work.The two short stories he had written for agirl's magazine, Poor Daddy and The Bulletin Board, were especiallyinteresting, because they are so different from his usual work. REQUIEM wasan enjoyable book, not quite up to the very high standards of his otherbooks, but this is a collection of his old stories, after all.Still, theyare worth reading for any Heinlein fan, and the tributes are a must. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

The Start of It All
The Man Who Sold the Moon (1950) is an SF collection of Future History stories.It contains six stories, published from 1939 to 1949, and a Preface.

- Preface (1949) states the follies of predicting the future.The author created the Future History Timeline to track the background of his stories.Some of these prediction came true while he was still writing these stories and others will probably never happen.But the Timeline produced a consistency not found elsewhere in science fiction.Note: This Preface is not found in later editions.

- "Let There Be Light" (Super Science Stories, 1940) concerns two scientists who invent a new power source.

- "The Roads Must Roll" (Astounding, 1940) is about an illegal work stoppage on the mechanical roads.

- "The Man Who Sold the Moon" (First publication, 1949) relates the story of D. D Harriman and his efforts to establish a base on the Moon.

- "Requiem" (Astounding, 1940) exposes the fate of D. D Harriman.

- "Life-Line" (Astounding, 1939) tells of the man who could predict the time of death of an individual; this was Heinlein's first sale.

- "Blowups Happen" (Astounding, 1940) depicts the tensions among the workers in an atomic breeder plant.

The title story was copyrighted in 1949, but was first published in this collection.Note that the title story is a prequel to "Requiem".The author added "The Man Who Sold the Moon" as an original story for this collection.

Various versions of this collection have been published with different contents.This version contains all the tales associated with this title.But the order varies from other editions.

In 1939, Heinlein submitted his first SF work -- For Us, the Living -- to various publishers, but it didn't sell.The feedback pointed out that the novel lacked adventure and excitement.So he started writing short stories for the magazines to learn his trade and was a success.But many of the ideas for his stories came from the original novel.

This was the first collection of stories in the Future History series by the author.The second collection is The Green Hills of Earth.Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Heinlein fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of strange talents, future engineering, and a huckster who led the way to Luna.For those who want more tales by Heinlein, these and many other stories were included in The Past Through Tomorrow.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Good Early Heinlein
"The Man Who Sold the Moon " is a collection of six Heinlein "Future history" stories.I first read these stories in the early 1950's.Talk about putting red meat in front of a carnivore!I loved these stories.While they still are excellent, I know that Heinlein did even better later in his career.

"Life Line" is about a device that can foretell any persons death date.Kafka could not have done better.

"Let There Be Light" describes the development of a unique power source.It appears to be a nuclear power source that is in advance of our current nuclear power sources in 2008.I have read this story many times and the power source appears, to me, to be neither nuclear fission nor nuclear fusion but, rather, a sort of total nuclear destruction with the near 100% release of all the energy in the mass of the nucleus.If this thing ever had come into existence, it would be far more scary than present day nuclear devices.

"The Roads Must Roll" is a story based on solar power and a sliding road technology.The story asks the question, "Who will control electrical power and transportation?"

"Blowups Happen" deals with job stresses when the stakes are incredibly high.When reading this, please remember that we still do not understand all the possible disaster possibilities of future nuclear fusion plants.

"The Man Who Sold the Moon" is the longest story.D. D. Harriman wants to travel to the moon.He raises the money to ensure the first trip to the moon and to ensure that he will retain control of the moon.While we have, actually, gotten to the moon, we still do not have commercial travel there.So, will any part of this story come true?Stay tuned.Private financing and people figuring out how to make a profit out of moon travel may yet take this enterprise out of public control.

"Requiem" tells the story of D. D. Harriman, grown old and frail, still trying to get himself to the moon.It is a very human story.

Read the book!I still enjoy it.

Still Finding his Voice
"The Man who Sold the Moon" gathers together some of Robert Heinlein's earliest works, including his very first published science fiction story, "Lifeline".As you might expect, this means that we get material more rough than his great masterpieces.Back in the 1930's, he still hadn't learned to polish his prose and put a real spark into his characters.Nonetheless, the seeds of future greatness were there, and this collection gives us a fascinating look at how on of SF's greats started out.

The main story in this volume covers the first moonshot.Given that it was written a full generation before the Apollo program, it was remarkably prescient with regard to many things including the technology.Making it into space and back would require not just the right gadgets but also political support and financial backing.Only a few pages are actually about flying.Most of it is about the industrialist D. D. Harriman, who has to fight to wring money from his fellow multi-millionaires.Characterwise, Harriman is not so convincing.He comes across as an unpleasant monomaniac, as do many of the scientists in this volume.In terms of thought, however, the story shows a great deal of honest analysis.

The other stories in this book follow the same pattern.They are readable but don't show much of Heinlein's special zing.Certainly nothing here compares with great tales like "Goldfish Bowl" in The Menace From Earth.All of them are well worth reading, however.Besides learning about Heinlein, it's also fascinating to see ourselves in retrospect.

Not Free SF Reader
Another short Heinlein collection, with a longer novella in the middle, the title story.I prefer the last half of this book though, compared to the more well known couple of stories.

A more than the usual brief intro is also included.

Man Who Sold the Moon : Let There Be Light - Robert A. Heinlein
Man Who Sold the Moon : The Roads Must Roll - Robert A. Heinlein
Man Who Sold the Moon : The Man Who Sold the Moon [SS] - Robert A. Heinlein
Man Who Sold the Moon : Requiem - Robert A. Heinlein
Man Who Sold the Moon : Life-Line - Robert A. Heinlein
Man Who Sold the Moon : Blowups Happen - Robert A. Heinlein


Firefly longlasting tech story.

3 out of 5


A master engineer and others work to stop industrial action from stopping massively engineered mass transit.

3 out of 5


I'm going, damn it.

3 out of 5


Any ship will do if you can get me there.

3.5 out of 5



"I can tell you when the Black Camel will kneel at your door."

3.5 out of 5


Rocket scientist atomic observational pressure.

3.5 out of 5




3.5 out of 5

Not his best, but you can't hit a home run every time.
The Man Who Sold the Moon is a series of short stories by the great sci-fi master R.A.H. The short stories in this book were written early in Heinlein's career and cover the later half of the 20th century and how he predicted the future based on the occurrences of World War 2. The primary story is based on a character who's goal in life is to first visit the moon (being the first human) and then setting up a colony on the moon. Harriman (the character) uses is past business successes and his business savvy to convince his friends, his company, and complete nations of children to help back his venture, which is of the goal to fulfill a childhood fantasy instead of make money. The rest of the stories tell of the engineers who make that path possible via their inventions and work and it sets up a beautiful backdrop. The painful part of reading this was Heinlein's attention to detail around concerning everything but the inventions and many of his shady business practices and national politics seem to be more far-fetched than the inventions themselves. But in the end, I did enjoy it, but for all I would recommend that one sticks with Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress as they are much better stories. ... Read more

Product Description
Earth was being invaded by aliens and the top security agencies were helpless: the aliens were controlling the mind of every person they encountered. So it was up to Sam Cavanaugh, secret agent for a powerful and deadly spy network, to find a way to stop them--which meant he had to be invaded himself!
... Read more

Customer Reviews (52)

Early Heinlein at his best
"Aliens take over human minds" was the plot of more than one Star Trek episode - and of nearly every episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - but the concept was still fresh when Heinlein wrote The Puppet Masters.Rarely has it been employed more successfully.Heinlein was a great believer in the rugged individualist's desire and ability to fight for freedom, a feeling he captured brilliantly in The Puppet Masters.

Published in 1951, during the time Heinlein was busy turning out juvenile novels, The Puppet Masters is very much an adult novel.The hero (using the cover name "Sam") openly lusts after a fellow agent, comments upon her physical attributes, considers calling an escort agency, and takes pills to wake up or to sharpen his wits or to extend his sense of time (and enjoys the high).Heinlein had some fun with the obvious way to make sure the person you're talking to doesn't have an alien riding on his back:by presidential order, nudity becomes the required fashion.Daring stuff for 1951!

The story moves quickly, Sam's reluctantly heroic actions are plausible, and Heinlein invests Sam with a full personality - and an opinionated one, as one expects from a Heinlein hero.The Puppet Masters has more of a thriller feel than some of Heinlein's more cerebral novels.Ignoring the fact that Russia seems less a threat now than it did six decades ago, the novel has aged well, and should retain its appeal to the modern reader.I enjoyed it, reading it for (I think) the first time this year.

Classic Heinlein
I started out on the World as Myth/Lazarus Long books as my first reading of Robert Heinlein's work. Since then I have enjoyed the shorter stories that he wrote back in the fifties, and this is no exception. It's a rather creative and thought-provoking work, especially for its time when sci-fi was still a fairly new and underground genre.

This story is fun to read as one reads about the struggle against the slugs from Titan. I was laughing at how less and less clothing was needed to defend against the slugs, but in this book, it didn't feel dirty, Heinlein didn't make it sound naughty or anything, even mentioning at how people no longer really looked at one another. The ending was a bit abrupt, but it was a good story nonetheless.

How does it feel to be a puppet master?
"Were they truly intelligent? By themselves, that is? I don't know and I don't know how we can ever find out..."

While the idea of alien parasites infiltrating humanity is pretty much standard sci-fi now (from Jack Finney to "Stargate SG-1"), Robert Heinlein was pretty early on the concept. And "The Puppet Masters" remains a chilling story to this day -- he wove together some brilliantly vivid writing, some climatic twists, and an intelligent look at how the threat of alien slugs would change our society almost overnight.

Sam (an agent for a top-top-top-secret government organization) accompanies the Old Man and his new partner Mary to a site where a UFO supposedly crashed in rural Iowa. Unfortunately, they soon encounter bizarre gloppy alien creatures that attach themselves to a host's back -- and it turns out that one of them sneaked along with the Old Man's team, back to Washington.

With Iowa completely possessed and the government threatened by alien manipulation, all of humanity suddenly is in danger -- countries start bickering, people become hysterical, and almost everybody is practically naked. As the United States tries to keep the aliens contained, Sam and Mary must find a weakness in the puppet-masters that won't kill the host as well. And the answer may lie long ago in Mary's half-forgotten past...

"The Puppet Masters" is a true classic -- it spawned "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "The Faculty" and even a "Star Trek" episode. Not only is a chilling look at a quiet alien invasion via "body-snatching" slugs, it's also a pretty intelligent look at the societal changes that might come from alien parasites -- clothes aren't worn, pets become lethal, and an atmosphere of distrust where anyone may become a possessed killer.

The biggest problem with Heinlein's writing is the sexist attitudes towards "females," which is smugly condescending at best. Otherwise he comes up with a pretty solid "future" Earth that is just a little more advanced than we are and a few wars down the road (World War III is mentioned), but not too different in the ways that count (if you can overlook now-anachronistic stuff like a communist Russia).

And Heinlein unrolls a slow-moving sci-fi tale that's heavy on the social/political stuff, some horrific moments (S "All planets are ours") and a rapid romance between Sam and Mary. His style has a delightfully, deceptively casual flair and some snappy dialogue ("Cosmetics?" "Your own ugly face will do"), but he also does a brilliant job with the more atmospheric, intense moments of the book -- such as a blissed-out, hag-ridden Sam drifting around Washington.

Sam makes a good sharp-tongued, quick-witted hero who still has time to feel sorry about killing a poor innocent cat, although Mary is somewhat two-dimensional until the end of the book (when we find out more about her). The Old Man is perhaps the most compelling character: an incredibly smart and ruthless chief of a government agency, who cares deeply about his estranged son but is still willing to put almost everything on the line to save humanity.

Aliens taking over human bodies is something of a cliche now, but "Puppet Masters" is a suitably chilling look at the trope's origins. If you can get past the antiquated attitudes towards women, it's a brilliant little book.

Fun Sci-Fi Story
To start, let me say that this is not "heavy" Heinlein.There is little of the philosophical and moral/social commentary that makes his best stuff so amazing.So if you're looking for another Stranger in a Strange Land, this is not it.There are also fewer, shall we say.."adult" situations than is typical for a Heinlein novel.I give it a PG-13 rating.That said, this was a very engaging and entertaining sci-fi story.Personally, I couldn't put it down and sacrificed sleep to finish it in 2 days.

Basically, the earth has been invaded by body-snatcher aliens.The main character works for a secret government agency tasked with saving everyone from the alien menace.I don't want to give to much away, so I'll stop there, but the story takes several unexpected directions and is told in typical fast-paced Heinlein style.

If you love Heinlein or classic sci-fi in general this book is definitely for you.It's fun, interesting and an easy read.I enjoyed it very much.

I hope this review is helpful!

Mind control taken to extremes of horror.
"Puppet Masters" is Heinlein's scariest novel.For those who like tales of horror, this is a masterpiece.I wasn't happy with it because I don't like horror tales.Nevertheless, it deserves high marks!

Besides the horror, Heinlein writes plenty of good science fiction into this yarn,I have read H. G. Wells story of space invasion from Mars and listened to a recording of the radio broadcast that nearly froze America into a panic.This is a better tale with more horror!

If you enjoyed "Alien", you will love "Puppet Masters". ... Read more

Product Description
First came the news that a flying saucer had landed in Iowa. Then came the announcement that the whole thing was a hoax. End of story. Case closed.

            Except that two agents of the most secret intelligence agency in the U.S. government were on the scene and disappeared without reporting in. And four more agents who were sent in also disappeared. So the head of the agency and his two top agents went in and managed to get out with their discovery: an invasion is underway by slug-like aliens who can touch a human and completely control his or her mind. What the humans know, they know. What the slugs want, no matter what, the human will do. And most of Iowa is already under their control.

            Sam Cavanaugh was one of the agents who discovered the truth. Unfortunately, that was just before he was taken over by one of the aliens and began working for the invaders, with no will of his own. And he has just learned that a high official in the Treasury Department is now under control of the aliens. Since the Treasury Department includes the Secret Service, which safeguards the President of the United States, control of the entire nation is near at hand . . .

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Customer Reviews (4)

Insert soundtrack for Team America here
How does RAH get labeled the greatest SF writer who ever lived? Most prolific, maybe, especially as an American SF writer. The cold war was a real mind job on Americans in the 50s. Here comes a global catastrophe that only America can solve; in fact, only Sam Cavanaugh. The jokes, dialogue, and juvenile thoughts about women are embarrassing to read (as always with RAH). What's up with drinking like an alcoholic (6-12 beers) just to celebrate solving a problem? How do the slugs take over the humans and just speak English like it's cool? What was happening in other parts of the world? Why are the only two countries that seem to matter USA and Russia?

Cool things - cell phones, the influence of a quality woman in Sam's life, Sam's imperfections and lack of self-confidence which he overcomes. But even with these technologies, with a global catastrophe, why aren't nations working together to solve the problem? Despite whatever questions lay unanswered about how, I liked the impact on the media, and the Heinleinesque opinions of government by the people.

And here's a point in the book I don't think I agree with 100%:
"the price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle, anywhere, any time, and with utter recklessness."

It seems like any battles America has been in, in my lifetime, have been associated with this attitude, and have only increased debt for Americans (debt being less freedom). Read the pamphlet "War is a racket" by Smedley Butler if you really want to experience the truth about these wars for freedom, and what they really accomplish. I think David Pringle listed this in his 100 greatest SF books for being the first mind-controlling alien horror story. And we do need to watch out for mind controlling anythings, don't we? Predictable and tacky, with a few interesting moments.

A Fight to the Finish
"The Puppet Masters" was first published in 1951 as a manuscript of approximately 60,000 words, eliminating some 36,000 words from Heinlein's original story.The cuts were made because of concerns about the book's length and the controversial (sexual) nature of some of the passages eliminated.Of course, what was risqué in 1951 is extremely tame by today's standards and in 1990, two years after his death, Heinlein's original version was finally published.I read the shorter version of "The Puppet Masters" sometime in the early 1960s but this review is based on my just completed reading of the long version.

When a flying saucer lands in isolated Grinnell, Iowa, it appears to be business-as-usual, just another hoax put together by a couple of Iowa farm boys with nothing better to do.Or is it?All the "Old Man" knows for sure is that he sent several agents to Iowa to investigate the landing and that none of them have been seen or heard from since.That is why he decides to go to Iowa along with two of his best agents, "Sam" and "Mary," posing as a family of tourists in Grinnell to get a firsthand look at the flying saucer.What they see is an obvious hoax, a ship that would fool no one for long.What they learn before barely escaping Grinnell, however, is shocking.

The citizens of Grinnell, Iowa, are being controlled by alien parasites that have attached themselves to the spinal columns of their victims.Since the parasites are hidden by the clothing of those they control, all appears normal to unsuspecting humans until they, too, are saddled with a Puppet Master of their very own.

The "Old Man" and his two agents return to Washington D.C. where they face the difficult task of convincing the President and his staff that the threat from Iowa is real.Seeking evidence that will finally convince government authorities that the U.S. has been invaded by an alien culture, Sam returns to Iowa with two agents and a live camera capable of broadcasting "stereo" images back to Washington.Needless to say, things do not go well for Sam and his crew but he accidentally returns with the proof he needs to make his case: an agent who has been taken over by one of the alien "slugs."Thus, begins America's fight for survival but, despite the best efforts of America's military, the entire center of the U.S., from north to south, is soon lost to the Puppet Masters.

"The Puppet Masters" is very much a novel of its time.Heinlein, for instance, makes comparisons between what it is like for an American living under the control of a Puppet Master and what it is like to live behind the Iron Curtain or in communist Russia.Sam comes to the conclusion that the two experiences must be very similar, maybe even worse for the unfortunate Europeans and Russians.Too, modern readers are likely to find Heinlein's attitude toward women to be sexist, and at least a bit offensive, because his female characters, unless they are elderly, are always described in terms of their attractiveness, first, and their abilities, second.And, while this long version of the novel does include Sam's sexual escapades, his romance with Mary, and references to orgies and the like, it is all presented in a very 1950s squeaky clean manner.It is the kind of thing that appealed mightily, of course, to teenage male readers of the era.

"The Puppet Masters" holds up surprisingly well today despite the fact that it was one of the first alien invasion novels of its type, one in which those being invaded by aliens took the initiative to fight back.One could not likely have read the novel during the 1950s without thinking of America's cold war with Russia and all the horrors that might suddenly spring from that standoff.Mr. Heinlein knew his audience well and "The Puppet Masters" became a science fiction classic.

How does it feel to be a puppet master
"Were they truly intelligent? By themselves, that is? I don't know and I don't know how we can ever find out..."

While the idea of alien parasites infiltrating humanity is pretty much standard sci-fi now (from Jack Finney to "Stargate SG-1"), Robert Heinlein was pretty early on the concept. And "The Puppet Masters" remains a chilling story to this day -- he wove together some brilliantly vivid writing, some climatic twists, and an intelligent look at how the threat of alien slugs would change our society almost overnight.

Sam (an agent for a top-top-top-secret government organization) accompanies the Old Man and his new partner Mary to a site where a UFO supposedly crashed in rural Iowa. Unfortunately, they soon encounter bizarre gloppy alien creatures that attach themselves to a host's back -- and it turns out that one of them sneaked along with the Old Man's team, back to Washington.

With Iowa completely possessed and the government threatened by alien manipulation, all of humanity suddenly is in danger -- countries start bickering, people become hysterical, and almost everybody is practically naked. As the United States tries to keep the aliens contained, Sam and Mary must find a weakness in the puppet-masters that won't kill the host as well. And the answer may lie long ago in Mary's half-forgotten past...

"The Puppet Masters" is a true classic -- it spawned "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "The Faculty" and even a "Star Trek" episode. Not only is a chilling look at a quiet alien invasion via "body-snatching" slugs, it's also a pretty intelligent look at the societal changes that might come from alien parasites -- clothes aren't worn, pets become lethal, and an atmosphere of distrust where anyone may become a possessed killer.

The biggest problem with Heinlein's writing is the sexist attitudes towards "females," which is smugly condescending at best. Otherwise he comes up with a pretty solid "future" Earth that is just a little more advanced than we are and a few wars down the road (World War III is mentioned), but not too different in the ways that count (if you can overlook now-anachronistic stuff like a communist Russia).

And Heinlein unrolls a slow-moving sci-fi tale that's heavy on the social/political stuff, some horrific moments (S "All planets are ours") and a rapid romance between Sam and Mary. His style has a delightfully, deceptively casual flair and some snappy dialogue ("Cosmetics?" "Your own ugly face will do"), but he also does a brilliant job with the more atmospheric, intense moments of the book -- such as a blissed-out, hag-ridden Sam drifting around Washington.

Sam makes a good sharp-tongued, quick-witted hero who still has time to feel sorry about killing a poor innocent cat, although Mary is somewhat two-dimensional until the end of the book (when we find out more about her). The Old Man is perhaps the most compelling character: an incredibly smart and ruthless chief of a government agency, who cares deeply about his estranged son but is still willing to put almost everything on the line to save humanity.

Aliens taking over human bodies is something of a cliche now, but "Puppet Masters" is a suitably chilling look at the trope's origins. If you can get past the antiquated attitudes towards women, it's a brilliant little book.

Flying Saucers Are Landing
The Puppet Masters (1951) is a standalone SF novel.It is set in the present era on a timeline where Russia is still ruled by the communist party and the USA has a base on the Moon.Armed satellites orbit the Earth and watch for threats down below.

In this novel, Sam Cavanaugh is visiting a site near Des Moines where a flying saucer has become a tourist attraction.He is actually an agent in the Section, a black agency reporting directly to the President.

Charles M. Cavanaugh is Sam's uncle, accompanying him to the site.He is actually the head of the Section.

Mary Cavanaugh is Sam's sister.She is actually another agent in the Section.

In this novel, Sam is awakened by his imbedded phone and ordered to report for duty.He enters one of the many entrances to the agency headquarters and reports to the Old Man.There he learns his cover identity and is introduced to his sister.

As they fly, Charlie briefs them on a saucer landing.They travel as tourists to the site of a fake flying saucer and buy tickets to see the attraction.Charlie decides to not enter the cramped mockup and they return to the car.

They try to check out a nearby site where the real saucer landing had been photographed by a military satellite.On the way, Mary tells them that several of the men at the fake saucer site seemed to not respond to her sexuality.She calls them "harem guards".

The Cavanaughs cannot get to the site of the real saucer, so they fly into Des Moines to investigate the broadcast station that carried the first reports.Charlie impersonates a federal communication official and gets into the manager's office.There Mary signals that the manager is a harem guard.The manager abruptly moves toward a drawer and Sam burns off his legs.

The manager is dead, but something is moving on his back.Sam puts on agent gloves and cuts off the manager's jacket.A slug-like creature is riding high on the back.They chivvy the slug into a film can and take it back to headquarters, but it dies on the way.

In the capitol, Charlie goes to the president with the story and cannot get him to believe the evidence.The agency sends Sam back with two other agents to try to capture another specimen.Everything goes wrong, but when they get back to the agency, Mary signals that one of the other agents is not responding properly.They remove the slug and put it on a disabled ape.

This tale spends a major chunk of the text showing how the president and congress cannot believe the evidence that the Section has provided.The politicians only start to believe in the slugs after having personally been possessed by the slugs or having seen the creatures riding someone else.

Sam and Charlie start calling the slugs "puppet masters" because the creatures ride humans like horses, but also have full use of their minds and memories.Sam gets to see the puppet masters from the inside when one catches and rides him.Later the humans regain others who have had such experiences.All would rather die than be recaptured.

This work has an Introduction that discusses the story itself and its significance.It also has an Afterword that speaks of the personal feelings of a reader who had read this story in her teen years.They both explain the tale as an allegory about war and despotism.Not a specific war or despot, but all wars and all despots.

This work does not belong in any series.Yet it fits into the theme of human tenacity and ingenuity that stands out in all of the author's works.Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Heinlein fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of alien invasions, human perseverance, and true romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin ... Read more

Product Description
5 Heinlein Novels:The Man Who Sold the MoonThe Puppet MastersWaldo & Magic, IncGlory RoadRevolt in 2100 ... Read more