Stranger in a Strange Land

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

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

Book Description

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Average customer rating:

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

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

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Stranger in a Strange Land

ASIN: 0786174307

Product Description

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

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

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

An excellent production of a timeless classic. Highly recommended

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Review copyright 1999, 2006 by Peter D. Tillman

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stranger in a Strange Land (Original Uncut)

Average customer rating:

A Classic, Immune to being "Dated"
A fine yarn, but dated and self-indulgent.
Definitive science fiction hallmark

Stranger in a Strange Land (Original Uncut)

Manufacturer: Ace/Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: B000E1T0RY

Product Description

The original version of "Stranger in a Strange Land", as written by Robert Anson Heinlein. The given names of the chief characters have great importance to the plot. They were carefully selected: Jubal means 'the father of all,' Michael stands for 'Who is like God?' I leave it for the reader to find out what the other names mean. -Virginia Heinlein

Customer Reviews:

A Classic, Immune to being "Dated".......2007-08-19

Stranger is a Science-Fiction read, and certainly as essential to the genre as Gatsby to the "American Dream," or Catcher to adolescent rite-of-passage literature. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Unfortunately, Mr. Tillman (his review above) has misrepresented Stranger, perhaps through a lack of research or understanding. In the preface to this edition, Ms. Virginia Heinlein explains a little more in depth Mr. Heinlein's intentions through writing this work. Yes, it is intended as entertainment (And is certainly entertaining!!), however, its original intentions were also as a tongue-in-cheek satyr. I must remind our readers, including Mr. Tillman, of the importance in also considering the preface, forwards, and introductions in any work. If they did not serve some purpose, they would not be there.

In addition, when we look to any piece of literature for its value beyond entertainment and light amusement, it behooves us to delve just a little into the history surrounding such work. Heinlein invented the term grok, Stranger being the first usage of the word. The term caught popularity, as did many ideals from Heinlein's first publication of Stranger and flooded into popular culture. For instance, grok was used in many Star Trek episodes throughout the 1980's.

As far as the "lippmans" or "winchells" being out-dated terminology, I believe it adds flavor to the book. It is correct many of those terms have been forgotten, but who is to say a futuristic society as the one described here would not revive such terminology? Either way, I am sure that an attentive reader would see that the messages throughout the satyr will not be obscured by a few "out-dated" terms.

The portrayal of women and homosexuals in Stranger is another thing Mr. Tillman is gravely mistaken over, and ought to be ashamed of himself for that. He pulls two phrases out of a 500 page book, as he admits, 220,000 words, and he picks six of them to sum up how the author allegedly portrays them? Mr. Tillman would do well to read a little more in depth than that. I believe as you read Stranger, you will find Heinlein refreshingly empowering in his treatment of women, and quite liberal towards homosexuality. However, these, among other delightful surprises, I will leave to the reader to discover on her own.

Happy Reading!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman
Review copyright 1999 by Peter D. Tillman

Definitive science fiction hallmark.......2006-03-09

What can I say? To me this is one of the best books I have ever read, regardless of genre. Heinlain's classic is uncut in this version, republished by his wife.

Stranger in a Strange Land: Uncut Version

Average customer rating:

A fine yarn, but dated and self-indulgent

Stranger in a Strange Land: Uncut Version

Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Review copyright 1999 by Peter D. Tillman

Average customer rating:

Stranger in a Strange Land

Manufacturer: G.P. Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Strangers At Home: Essays on the Effects of Living Overseas and Coming "Home" to a Strange Land

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Strangers At Home: Essays on the Effects of Living Overseas and Coming "Home" to a Strange Land

Manufacturer: Aletheia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Military brats, global nomads, missionary kids, and others who have spent some years overseas--whether in childhood or as adults--will be interested in this collection of essays by authors who have lived overseas, raised children in other cultures, or conducted social-scientific studies of internationally mobile children and families. This anthology presents varied perspectives on the effects of living overseas and coming "home" to a country that seems just as foreign as the one left behind. Includes useful advice for parents seeking to help their children--especially teenagers--cope with the experience of reentry and fitting in.

Strangers in a Strange Land ( U.S. Aircraft in German Hands during WW II) - Aircraft Specials series (6047)

Average customer rating:

Wow, amazing material here
For What It Is
Good Overview
Good book from Squadron/Signal
Good book , but missing a lot

Strangers in a Strange Land ( U.S. Aircraft in German Hands during WW II) - Aircraft Specials series (6047)
Hans-Heiri Stapfer
Manufacturer: Squadron/Signal Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

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Customer Reviews:

Wow, amazing material here.......2006-06-14

The criticisms of this book are true. The information that the reviewers say is lacking is indeed not there. More importantly, the information--especially the photographs and drawings--that is there is spectcacular. While I would like to know much more information about the life of the prisoners, and many other details, the information that is here would likely be much harder to find than what is missing if the authors had not provided it. I think that the problem might be the title more than anything else. Possibly the title infers something different from what was delivered.
I was thrilled and amazed to see B24 and B17 aircraft with Swiss air force markings. These must be really rare photographs indeed.

For What It Is.......2005-09-30

Squadron Signal books are primarily printed as an aid to model builders. With this in mind, amost the entirety of the book is dedicated to detailed photos and drawings of the aircraft in question.

Good Overview.......2004-10-08

This is in response to one of the previous reviews that wished there was more information on the pilots interned in Switzerland. You might want to read "Refuge from the Reich" by Stephen Tanner. He goes into all the details regarding the men and includes a nice, concise, history of how Switzerland ended up being neutral.

Good book from Squadron/Signal.......2004-06-15

This review is mainly a response to previous reviews more than the book itself. For those familiar with Squadron/Signal publications, the format of this book will be familiar. The subjects of most Squadron/Signal publications are aircraft specifically, more so than the men who flew them.

The two previous reviews for this book (as of the time of this posting) are actually for Strangers in a Strange Land Vol. II: Escape to Neutrality. The first (and more interesting) volume of this series, also by Stapfer, dealt with allied aircraft that had fallen into the hands of the Luftwaffe during WWII.

Good book , but missing a lot.......2001-06-12

The story of the planes and men interned in Switzerland during World War II is little known. Unfortunately, after reading this book, it is still mostly a mystery. I congratulate the authors for tackling the subject, but their treatment is superficial, focusing primarily on the aircraft and only secondarily on the men who flew them in. Though the book is full of excellent photographs of the planes that limped into neutral Switzerland, it does not examine some of the greater issues of the internees. There is little on the way the interned aircrews lived while in captivity, even less on the notorious Swiss prison camp the Swiss operated for some internees. The authors, who are Swiss, do touch briefly on the delicate balancing act the Swiss played during the war in placating their stronger neighbor, Nazi Germany, while at the same time staying neutral and providing a haven for combatants. One interesting story that is covered briefly is the fact that the Swiss, on occasion, did fire on US aircraft, and in several circumstances, that fire, whether from a Swiss fighter plane or antiaircraft fire, resulted in the deaths of American airmen. There are, however, other stories of the Swiss escorting damaged ships in to land, or not turning rescued crewmen over to the Germans. In short, this is a good book, but it could have been much, much more if it had taken a multi-dimensional approach to the history of the Swiss internees and their aircraft.

The Martian Named Smith: Critical Perspectives on Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land

Average customer rating:

The Martian Dissected

The Martian Named Smith: Critical Perspectives on Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land
William H Patterson
Manufacturer: Nitrosyncretic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Robert A. Heinlein : A Reader's Companion
Stranger in a Strange Land
Off the Main Sequence: The Other Science Fiction Stories of Robert A. Heinlein

ASIN: 0967987423

Customer Reviews:

The Martian Dissected.......2003-12-17

Works of criticism are not my normal fare, as I rarely listen to critics of any stripe, but I do make an exception for those pieces that refer to Heinlein, as I have consistently felt that he has never gotten the deep analysis that he deserves, and what little has been done has been sloppy and wrong-headed.

In my opinion, for a critical work to be worth spending money on, it must provide the following:

1. New insights into the internal structure and meaning of the work in question.

2. A good exposition of palpably discernable influences.

3. Valid comparisons to other works in the same milieu.

4. If applicable to the work in question, an investigation into the chronology of its writing and interrelationship with the author's life.

5. An analysis of what the author did right and what didn't work.

How does this work stack up in light of these requirements?

As a starting point, this work decides that the main structure of Stranger in a Strange Land is satire, which can work under different rules than, say, a novel of manners, romance, or confession, in terms of plot, character, and a host of other factors. As one of the main elements of satire is irony, most of this work is involved in identifying specific instances of this. The authors definitively point out that much of the book depends on sets of (apparently) polar opposites: Jubal (experience) versus Mike (innocence), The Church of All Worlds (Appolonian) versus the Fosterites (Dionysian), Jill and Dawn, the Carnival (heaven ) versus the Zoo (earth), etc. Also pointed out is the Heinlein tendency to structure his works in terms of starting from a point, logically expanding from the point, and then retreating back to the original point, now from a new perspective. In terms of meaning, this work clearly catches the fact that Stranger is intended to raise questions, not provide a blueprint for a new religion, and each of the points of irony or complement pairs shown here have a clear basis in the actual work. Thus in terms of the first requirement, this work did an excellent job, and it provides a strong basis for better analysis of Heinlein's later 'World as Myth' works. As exposed here, Stranger reveals depths, meanings, and complexities that are not directly obvious, a pattern of strongly sculpted variegated positions than can be very illuminating to the reader.

The authors also do a good job of pointing out the influences on Heinlein, both literary and philosophical, not just in Stranger, but in many of his other works, showing a clear line to Mark Twain, Nietzsche, James Branch Cabell, and Korzybski. The (possible) relationship to Aleister Crowley (as analysed by Whence Came the Stranger: Tracking the Metapatterns of Stranger in a Strange Land) is also examined, without any definitive conclusions, but an opinion that this connection is somewhat unlikely. Happily, the authors clearly document the line to each of these influences, and don't try to force associations that may not be real. Surprising to me, however, was that no comment was made about Rudyard Kipling, to which Heinlein's work has been compared by multiple other critics.

Good comparisons are made to other satires: Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, Tristam Shandy, and several others.

There is a fairly long exposition of the germination and writing history of Stranger, along with the publishing conditions Heinlein was working under at the time, all relevant to the final form of the book. However, although there is considerable surprise expressed over the fact that both the original (cut) and expanded version are selling very well side by side, there is really no analysis of the differences between the two versions. But it does quite properly de-bunk the link between Charles Manson and Stranger.

The last item on my list is, unfortunately, almost totally ignored. We not only do not get an overall evaluation of how Stranger stacks up versus the rest of the literary world, there is zero discussion of the flaws of the book. Instead there is a sharp discourse on the failings of other critical looks at this book. Tackled here is Panshin's Heinlein in Dimension and William Atheling Jr.'s (James Blish) The Issue at Hand, along with several others. I re-read these works to see if the criticisms of the criticisms were valid. In general, I agree with their assessments. Re-reading Panshin was an agony - in many cases it seems that Panshin just couldn't see the forest for the trees, most notably in his consistent panning of all four of RAH's Hugo winners. The very fact that these works did take the Hugo should have at least warned Panshin that his analysis was probably lacking or incorrect. The authors of this book take Panshin to task for his identification of a single Heinlein character type, finding this to be very dubious. Blish is attacked for wrongheadly describing the book as a religious tract, with the esthetics of an engineer-turned-writer.

As an added bonus, there is an appendix to this book that lists at least some of the meanings of many of the character's names in Stranger, which is important to understanding some the ideas presented in the book.

This book is obviously written as if intended for use in a literature class, using the rather arcane idiom of academic criticism (which can be rough going if you're not used to it), and complete with a set of reader questions and exercises at the end of each chapter. A minor annoyance is, at several places in the book, the exact same point is made, as if for the very first time. Some better editing should have caught this. A summation assessment of how well this book is written as a totality would also have helped. But overall this book is a very good addition to the limited supply of reasonable criticism on Heinlein.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
Average customer rating:

A fine yarn, but dated and self-indulgent

STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
Robert Heinlein
Manufacturer: Berkley Publishing Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000EOAQ60

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Review copyright 1999 by Peter D. Tillman

Stranger in a Strange Land: Encounters in the Disunited States

Average customer rating:

I grok it

Stranger in a Strange Land: Encounters in the Disunited States
Gary Younge
Manufacturer: New Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1595580689

Book Description

Black, opinionated, and from a working-class background, Gary Younge is not your typical foreign correspondent. Yet, in three years as The Guardian newspaper's New York correspondent, Younge has acquired a transatlantic reputation as one of the most thoughtful commentators on contemporary America.

In these pages we take the stage with an extravagantly attired drag queen in John Ashcroft's hometown, join the dinner table of a fundamentalist Republican who has just lost his son in the Iraq war, and ride a bus with a group of illegal immigrants on a latter-day Freedom Ride to Washington, DC. We also listen in on expansive discussions with, among others, Warren Beatty, Michael Moore, Louis Farrakhan, the late Susan Sontag, and Maya Angelou. And throughout, we are in the company of a guide whose unique insights into the American psyche make for memorable reading.

Taking full advantage of his outsider status, Younge provides a fresh perspective on a nation that is at once growing more isolated from the rest of the world and bitterly divided against itself.
Customer Reviews:

I grok it.......2006-11-28
Well written, apposite, cogent.
And face it, there are 300 million Americans- it's not surprising some of them are very very strange.

And that's even outside the Beltway!
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