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Stranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land
Author: Robert A. Heinlein
The story of Valentine Michael Smith, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet superhuman in abilities and ignorant of sex as we know it. He shocks the mores of Western culture by attempting to set up a strange and fascinating discipline on Earth: the first step is learning to Grok...
ISBN: 12101
Pages: 413
Rating:
  • Currently 4.6/5 Stars.
 8

4.6 stars, based on 8 ratings
Publisher: Berkley
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

timgatewood avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 11
Heinlein was well known in his time to be less than thrilled at all the hippies and drop-outs who adopted this book as their bible. He was said to have hated it when people asked to "share water" with him, as if the ceremony he invented was somehow sacred. His own time spent in the U.S. Navy (had to leave for actual medical reasons) led him to believe that only those who did national service should vote (See Starship Troopers) - so, he was far from thrilled by the peace movement and the drop-outs of the Sixties.

EVEN SO, this book had a profound effect on American culture by opening the minds of its many, many readers to the possibility of a religion that meant something, that led to actual changes in how people behave and act toward one another, not just beliefs -- but actions. I dare say that the thoughts Heinlein put out into the culture via this book were an important part of the stew that led to the reviving of religion as a vital force in the culture, after it had become so staid and dry during the Fifties.

Okay, enough profundities. This book changed my life. There, I said it. It did that by leading me to ask myself questions that I had been trying to avoid, which put me on a different path religiously and otherwise. I might have been a very different person had I never read this book.

The world would have been much different had Heinlein not written it. You owe it to yourself to read this NOW.
reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 63 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This was Heinlein's crossover book. He had written stories attracting science fiction fans for a decade or more. When this book came out in 1961 or so, it drew more readers than science fiction fans. Read it and find out why. It's a good read, simply but effectively written by a master story teller.
reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Amazing book. And the characters are so real! You can truly see people acting this way, making these decisions. And Valentine -- the main character -- is truly what you would expect a man from another planet to act like, having no understanding of anything even remotely human. The preconceived notions that humans have, no matter where they are from -- he does not have them. Wonderful, and completely realistic. I understand why the cover reads "The most famous science fiction novel ever written."
reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 52 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A man born on Mars - without human contact - and his learning experiences on becoming human. His innocence and his willing to trust others could leave him vulnerable to the not so nice, but he is lucky to fall in with those who will protect him and teach him (and who are later, willing to LEARN from him).

Explores new or different family structures/marriages.

Magic is simply science shown to the uneducated seems to be one of the themes.
doctorslime avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 241 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
If you are going to read 100 Sci-fi Books in your life.

This book needs to be in the top ten, of that stack of 100 books.
Reading may not change your life, but it may change your perspective
on life if you read it while your young enough to be influenced by
Literature.

Its a classical Sci-fi Tale, and it puts a lot out there for you to consider,
maybe it was more timely to read it back in the 70's and 80's Like I did, but
I do think it holds significant weight and should be required reading for those
looking to expand their perspectives on Literature and Life.

Great Book, Great Sci-fi.
Can you Grok it baby?

DoctorSlime.paperbackswap.com
Michael
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doctorslime avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 241 more book reviews
If you are going to read 100 Sci-fi Books in your life.

This book needs to be in the top ten, of that stack of 100 books.
Reading may not change your life, but it may change your perspective
on life if you read it while your young enough to be influenced by
Literature.

Its a classical Sci-fi Tale, and it puts a lot out there for you to consider,
maybe it was more timely to read it back in the 70's and 80's Like I did, but
I do think it holds significant weight and should be required reading for those
looking to expand their perspectives on Literature and Life.

Great Book, Great Sci-fi.
Can you Grok it baby?

DoctorSlime.paperbackswap.com
Michael
2Gabby avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 2 more book reviews
Robert A. Heinlein is my favorite author of all time...I have read this particular book many times over the years, and it's full of subtle layers, so that each time I come away with something I had missed from the time before. It's like buried treasure...

If you have never read this book, or anything else from this author be prepared for a great adventure of the mind, with compelling characters and thought-stimulating ideas. Heinlein took on some very controversial (for the time period it was written in!) subjects in this book and stood them on their collective ears...I hope you will enjoy reading it even HALF as much as I did, and that you will grok it in the fullness of time.
reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 84 more book reviews
The stunning story of an earthling, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet with suerhuman powers and a total ignorance of the mores of man. You must get the book to contune this story.........
billystan3 avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 42 more book reviews
This book is Robert Heinlein at his best. It tells the story of a boy abandoned on Mars to live with the Martians. And how the martians have taken an abandoned child from another planet and train him in their ways. When the boy is finally returned to Earth he is a teen full of curiosity over theses strange beings that for all intents and purposes look like him. They act very strangly though and as the book progresses you see how the now young man in his frustration begins to unwind and go back to doing things the Martian way.
doctorslime avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 241 more book reviews
If you are going to read 100 Sci-fi Books in your life.

This book needs to be in the top ten, of that stack of 100 books.
Reading may not change your life, but it may change your perspective
on life if you read it while your young enough to be influenced by
Literature.

Its a classical Sci-fi Tale, and it puts a lot out there for you to consider,
maybe it was more timely to read it back in the 70's and 80's Like I did, but
I do think it holds significant weight and should be required reading for those
looking to expand their perspectives on Literature and Life.

Great Book, Great Sci-fi.
Can you Grok it baby?

DoctorSlime.paperbackswap.com
Michael
reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 25 more book reviews
A view of our life and culture from the outside-something many writers attempt but very few carry-off this well.
doctorslime avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 241 more book reviews
If you are going to read 100 Sci-fi Books in your life.

This book needs to be in the top ten, of that stack of 100 books.
Reading may not change your life, but it may change your perspective
on life if you read it while your young enough to be influenced by
Literature.

Its a classical Sci-fi Tale, and it puts a lot out there for you to consider,
maybe it was more timely to read it back in the 70's and 80's Like I did, but
I do think it holds significant weight and should be required reading for those
looking to expand their perspectives on Literature and Life.

Great Book, Great Sci-fi.
Can you Grok it baby?

DoctorSlime.paperbackswap.com
Michael
doctorslime avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 241 more book reviews
If you are going to read 100 Sci-fi Books in your life.

This book needs to be in the top ten, of that stack of 100 books.
Reading may not change your life, but it may change your perspective
on life if you read it while your young enough to be influenced by
Literature.

Its a classical Sci-fi Tale, and it puts a lot out there for you to consider,
maybe it was more timely to read it back in the 70's and 80's Like I did, but
I do think it holds significant weight and should be required reading for those
looking to expand their perspectives on Literature and Life.

Great Book, Great Sci-fi.
Can you Grok it baby?

DoctorSlime.paperbackswap.com
Michael
jeffp avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 201 more book reviews
A classic, and one where I don't find Heinlein quite as off-putting as most of his works.
reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 3 more book reviews
Classic old-school sci-fi. I'm not usually a science fiction reader but this drew me in, even if it's kind of sexist and homophobic. It opens the mind, even if that's in a very 70's kind of way.
reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on
This book fit in perfectly with the era in which it was released; pushing the envelope of the free love movement of the 60's. Although I'm glad I read it so I could come to my own conclusion, sadly I don't feel it stands the test of time and certainly does not deserve to be called the best science fiction book ever written.
whoviangirl avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on
I read this book roughly three years ago, I still think about it nearly every day. It was my first time with SciFi, having spent more time in the Fantasy side of the Genre. I couldn't have a chosen a better book. You really grow to care about the characters. the Plot line is strong and concise. I had a bit of trouble, with certain aspects (the "grass" in the living room) but that came with starting a new genre. I cannot recommend it enough.in actuality I do recommend it often and loudly to my friends.
doctorslime avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 241 more book reviews
If you are going to read 100 Sci-fi Books in your life.

This book needs to be in the top ten, of that stack of 100 books.
Reading may not change your life, but it may change your perspective
on life if you read it while your young enough to be influenced by
Literature.

Its a classical Sci-fi Tale, and it puts a lot out there for you to consider,
maybe it was more timely to read it back in the 70's and 80's Like I did, but
I do think it holds significant weight and should be required reading for those
looking to expand their perspectives on Literature and Life.

Great Book, Great Sci-fi.
Can you Grok it baby?

DoctorSlime.paperbackswap.com
Michael
doctorslime avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 241 more book reviews
If you are going to read 100 Sci-fi Books in your life.

This book needs to be in the top ten, of that stack of 100 books.
Reading may not change your life, but it may change your perspective
on life if you read it while your young enough to be influenced by
Literature.

Its a classical Sci-fi Tale, and it puts a lot out there for you to consider,
maybe it was more timely to read it back in the 70's and 80's Like I did, but
I do think it holds significant weight and should be required reading for those
looking to expand their perspectives on Literature and Life.

Great Book, Great Sci-fi.
Can you Grok it baby?

DoctorSlime.paperbackswap.com
Michael
doctorslime avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 241 more book reviews
If you are going to read 100 Sci-fi Books in your life.

This book needs to be in the top ten, of that stack of 100 books.
Reading may not change your life, but it may change your perspective
on life if you read it while your young enough to be influenced by
Literature.

Its a classical Sci-fi Tale, and it puts a lot out there for you to consider,
maybe it was more timely to read it back in the 70's and 80's Like I did, but
I do think it holds significant weight and should be required reading for those
looking to expand their perspectives on Literature and Life.

Great Book, Great Sci-fi.
Can you Grok it baby?

DoctorSlime.paperbackswap.com
Michael
reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 95 more book reviews
The classic!
reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on
I love this book, even though this book was first published in 1961, it's ideas and views are still ahead of our time while having a thoroughly engaging story.
doctorslime avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 241 more book reviews
If you are going to read 100 Sci-fi Books in your life.

This book needs to be in the top ten, of that stack of 100 books.
Reading may not change your life, but it may change your perspective
on life if you read it while your young enough to be influenced by
Literature.

Its a classical Sci-fi Tale, and it puts a lot out there for you to consider,
maybe it was more timely to read it back in the 70's and 80's Like I did, but
I do think it holds significant weight and should be required reading for those
looking to expand their perspectives on Literature and Life.

Great Book, Great Sci-fi.
Can you Grok it baby?

DoctorSlime.paperbackswap.com
Michael
CAJUN avatar reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 339 more book reviews
name valentine michael smith, acestry, human, origin, mars. michael was born on mars and learned the way of life of mars. he was sent to earth to learn, due to different vocals, he had to learn how to be a human. had never seen a woman, that was a first for him. this books has more twists and turns to drive your mind up the wall trying to figure out what is the real perpose of him being on earth. a lot of surprises is all i am going to tell you. reader beware, you are in for a trip of a life time.
reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 495 more book reviews
One of SF's most seminal works.
reviewed Stranger in a Strange Land on + 296 more book reviews
This is a rather famous "cult" book out of the 60's when there was a lot of interest in sexual mores and new thoughts on them--this fits right into Woodstock and the whole environment of the times.

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