Should be required reading annually for all politicians

books:


	• The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Robert A. Heinlein Orb Books, 1997 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 229 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

All Smiles

Heinlein is notorious for his lack of character development, so I wasn't expecting Dostoyevskyan psychologies explored in great detail. The pronounless Russian tinged English was incredible to read (though that's because I've lived in Brooklyn my whole life), though I see how it could be annoying for some. It's a boat for ideas and a great story. I devoured this book, and it has taken its place near the very top of my heart's list.

Doesn't quite reach greatness

This is an entertaining, thought-provoking story that explores several timeless themes of science fiction: the relationship between humanity and machines, the sentient nature of artificial intelligence and the relentless perservance of the human race against all odds. As always, Heinlein is original, imaginative and gripping. However, the book also contains some lewd sexual elements and displays poor taste on a number of occasions. The fatal flaw of this book, however, is its readability. The story is told from the first-person perspective of the main character, who has less than a mastery of the English language (for example, he frequently leaves out key words such as it, the, a/an, pronouns, helping verbs, etc). While this is part of the novel's ambiance, it makes for clumsy reading. This novel is worth your time but isn't strong enough to recommend highly.

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Simply a great read

Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is a story of revolution that could have really been set anywhere, but it just happens to be set on the moon. That is the best part of Heinlein's earlier works- while they are science fiction they are still grounded in reality and character driven tales. A little slow at the beginning, this book was a great read.

Should be required reading annually for all politicians

This is a great book and really should be required reading for anyone even considering a career in politics. I hope colleges use it in both Literature and Poly-Sci courses.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Robert A. Heinlein was the most influential science fiction writer of his era, an influence so large that, as Samuel R. Delany notes, "modern critics attempting to wrestle with that influence find themselves dealing with an object rather like the sky or an ocean." He won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, a record that still stands. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was the last of these Hugo-winning novels, and it is widely considered his finest work.

It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of the former Lunar penal colony against the Lunar Authority that controls it from Earth. It is the tale of the disparate people--a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic--who become the rebel movement's leaders. And it is the story of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to this inner circle, and who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of the high points of modern science fiction, a novel bursting with politics, humanity, passion, innovative technical speculation, and a firm belief in the pursuit of human freedom.

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