Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

Stranger in a Strange Land

by Robert Heinlein

A Favourite of 5, Read by 68, Owned by 44, Reviewed by 2, | Quotes 0

Amazon Description:

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

Added on: Tuesday, July 25 2006

Recent Reviews:

Fri Jun 29 19:02:32 UTC 2007

Review of : Stranger in a Strange Land

Joseph said

Changing Realities As We Speak

This book was given to me by someone after they attended a MythoSelf Process personal development workshop that I ran. He thought it would be perfect for me … and he was right on. First of all this book is absolutely amusing and entertaining. Heinlein really gets both dialogue and situation, and uses both to great effect in this particular book. What caught my attention beyond both of these aspects of Heinlein’s writing however was the character development - and especially the interplay between characters. The coup de grace for me however was the way that he depicts the power of language on thought, and thought on reality. Getting this idea embedded into the story in a way that allows the main character, Michael, to emerge as a creator of realities was just brilliant … read this one soon!

Mon Dec 18 22:38:58 UTC 2006

Review of : Stranger in a Strange Land

+h30ry said

First Awakening

I read this when I was 14 years old and the ideas and thoughts have stayed with me ever since. A powerful perspective change, a different way of looking at the worlds from outside of our local planet's gravity.