Stranger in a Strange Land

Best story I have ever listened to. Full of delightful and colorful characters. A thinking persons science fiction. I had to immediately find the original unedited script released by Heinlein's wife after his death and request it for Christmas. First time I actually finished a sci-fi book and wished it was true, but you have to get it to grokk it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I'm not a fan of science fiction but gave this book a try. I can't praise it enough. I don't think I would have enjoyed the written book as much. The narrator is wonderful and I will look for more read by him. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Actually, with a title like I gave this review, people will probably be MORE inclined to check out the book! Well, if that's your thing, go for it. If I had it to do over, I would still have "read" the book. It's worth getting under your belt, it's a classic, etc. A neat combo of Ayn Rand and 1984, both of which I love. Then about 1/2 through, we seem to enter the Playboy mansion of postmodernism. It's fun, that's for sure, but it makes it a little hard to take Heinlein's ideas seriously when he keeps stripping everyone (especially the lovely ladies) naked in the middle of his philosophical treatises. I noticed the previous reviewer's note about the deadpan voice -- I actually thought it was HILARIOUS, especially to hear him reading the female voices (certainly the voices of the nude and tatooed). A fun romp, perhaps not as life-changing for this generation as the last.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I found the context of this book to be very interesting. The text is very well constructed. The deadpan delivery of the reader was quite boring. I often found my mind wandering...

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a great book. The narrator is fine and does do some limited voice acting that helps you distinguish between different characters in a scene with ease. A previous review mentions somewhat dated values but that is to be expected considering the age of the book. The future imagined in this book is of course fiction but it is not unbelievable. I would recommend this book to everyone that enjoys a good science fiction book. Also if you have a player capable of handling mp3 CD's it is a lot easier to manage this on a single disk rather than the typical 8-15 CD's.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

If you like Heinlein, you will like this. I like Heinlein because he addresses sociological issues and societal morays. There is little science in this story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book was very slow and it never improved. Not a pageturner.

I've read this book twice and really loved it! Having someone read it to me was awesome! I love Heinlin and this is my favorite - - FUN FUN FUN!

The most amazing part of this book is the fact that it was written in 1961. When I think of the free-love, communal, polygamous, get-naked society ideals, I associate them with the LATE 60's. The most disturbing aspect of this writing is the prevalent derogatory attitude towards women. As a man, I was offended. And I would not wish this read on my tree-hugging, hippy wife for all the martians on the 4th planet. In short, it's a good study of a mentality gratefully gone and a well-written, semi-erotic, but horrible story.

I had been told this book sparked the hippie movement in the 60s so I had to check it out. I was not disappointed. Though it is dated, this book was an eye opening experience. With wonder and awe; we see the world through Smith's eyes and question those things that make him wonder what is wrong with our world. I thoroghly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all. I found it to be a bit preachy about what the author thought was wrong with the world and a LOT comedy. It made me laugh.