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I’m not going to rate this book, because, as a novel, it’s pretty bad. However, as a foretaste of Heinlein’s later novels (many of them absolutely brilliant, IMO), it’s quite fascinating. Written in 1939, it has remained unpublished until recently. It’s really a string of political, moral, and economic philosophies and ideas held together loosely by the threads of a story.
Heinlein always held strong opinions, and didn’t hesitate to express them in his novels. However, it wasn’t until Stranger in a Strange Land that he let the preaching and teaching overtake the story. His earlier works are much better because they spend more time storytelling and less time preaching.
In this, I was interested to see that Heinlein predicted an attempt by Christian evangelicals to take over the US government between 2025-2030(!). He also foresaw that the family car would become a versatile little airborne runabout, capable of operating …
I’m not going to rate this book, because, as a novel, it’s pretty bad. However, as a foretaste of Heinlein’s later novels (many of them absolutely brilliant, IMO), it’s quite fascinating. Written in 1939, it has remained unpublished until recently. It’s really a string of political, moral, and economic philosophies and ideas held together loosely by the threads of a story.
Heinlein always held strong opinions, and didn’t hesitate to express them in his novels. However, it wasn’t until Stranger in a Strange Land that he let the preaching and teaching overtake the story. His earlier works are much better because they spend more time storytelling and less time preaching.
In this, I was interested to see that Heinlein predicted an attempt by Christian evangelicals to take over the US government between 2025-2030(!). He also foresaw that the family car would become a versatile little airborne runabout, capable of operating either as a helicopter or a plane, and running on electric battery power.
He foresaw the importance of television, and various forms of real-time long-distance communication, as well as quick delivery of goods. However, although he could assign a woman the role of doctor, he didn’t see women as important parts of the economic engine. In 1939, he still reserved paying work mostly for men, and considered men the drivers of economic activity, with women acting as dependents and child producers and carers. He even refers to a “man’s job,” and all of his politicians were male.
He also posited, in 2083, that we had yet to land on the moon. So in that regard, at least, the reality outpaced his imagination.
Given his views on the importance of privacy, as described in this book, he would be outraged at the appalling lack of privacy we have today.
All in all a very interesting read. Highly recommended as an interesting insight into one of the great storytellers of the twentieth century.
