2024 the best strangers in the world review

Price: $0.99
(as of Nov 29, 2024 12:17:08 UTC - Details)

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” powers—telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, telekinesis, teleportation, pyrolysis, and the ability to take control of the minds of others—and complete innocence regarding the mores of man.

After his tutelage under a surrogate father figure, Valentine begins his transformation into a kind of messiah. His exceptional abilities lead him 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 his “divine comedy” and often called his masterpiece. This Blackstone audiobook is the “as published” version, read from an Ace paperback published in 1987. The full, uncut text was not made available until 1991.

Reviewer: Karen Joan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Martian Named Smith
Review: There is no question that Robert Anson Heinlein is one of the Fathers of Science Fiction. There is also no question that STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND is his most famous work, having been called "the most famous science fiction novel ever written." Is it his best? Perhaps not. But it is a ground breaking classic, one that I enjoy reading again and again.STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND is the story of Valentine Michael Smith (Mike), a male born of human parents on the first Earth colony ship to Mars. Literally born as the ship landed on Mars, Mike's parents and the rest of the crew died, and Mike was raised by Martians. 25 years later, a second Earth colony ship lands on Mars, and discovers Mike, the native inhabitants of Mars, and a host of unanswered questions. Mike returns to Earth, and STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND is the detailed chronicle of his introduction to, interaction with, and transformation of human culture.STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND was Heinlein's first truly adult science fiction novel, and he took on some pretty heady topics. Politics, religion, sex, equality, and the concept of a truly un-human culture (which happened to be superior), to name a few. Heinlein wove these themes into STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, each of which contributed to his idealistic vision of a perfect world.He intermixed shock value, logic, and plain good storytelling to get his points across, and I think he did so quite wonderfully.1. Religion. Heinlein was not an atheist, as some have claimed. He did believe in a higher power; what he did not have any use for was organized religion. He believed in faith. If you had faith, true faith, then the trappings of religion were unnecessary and superfluous. They just did not matter. The Church of All Worlds in STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND was set up to show that no matter what the religious trapping were, it was faith that really mattered. He also created a religion where happiness and self-belief were the main drivers, rather than fire, brimstone, and fear. Makes great sense to me.2. Sex. Contrary to popular belief, STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND did not promote promiscuity or free love. What Heinlein did was to create a world where people were open about sex, where it was enjoyable and exciting, but with it came great responsibility. In this world, sex wasn't hidden, secret, or naughty; rather it was honest and pure and fun. People who could develop this utopian attitude became happier, healthier, less jealous, more caring, and, yes, more sexual. Responsibility to partners, offspring, and an entire extended family became the norm. In his own way, by exploring sexuality, Heinlein was exploring and redefining the meaning of family. He was also trying to define sex as a miraculous union, and to show that humans should treat it as the miracle of bonding and "growing closer" that it is.3. Equality. Before the sexual revolution and equality for women, Heinlein clearly believed in equality of the sexes, equality of the races, equality of faiths...basically the equality of all humans. Yes, he felt women should be treated with respect and reverence and be protected and nurtured because they gave birth and perpetuated the species, but he clearly believed that they were intelligent and capable. He also believed that women had sexual needs equal to those of men and had the right to pursue those needs.4. Politics. In STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, Heinlein clearly had little use for government, politics, or politicians. He believed that government in general was a necessary evil, but preferred that it be kept small and out of his business. He didn't care what it was based on or what guided it - astrology was the ridiculous example used in STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND - as long as it left him alone. Works for me. He also had little use for entitlements, and expected human beings to work for what they received. Again, works for me.5. Un-Human, Superior Culture. Heinlein did a remarkable and revolutionary thing when he created the Martian culture of STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND. The Martians of this novel are clearly not humanoids from another planet. They do not think like humans, act like humans, look like humans, reproduce like human, live like humans, or do anything like we do here on the planet Earth. There is nothing remotely recognizable about these Martians; they are completely alien. We can't them, and they can't understand us. They are older, more advanced, and can perceive the universe around them in ways that humans do not. But humans can, if properly taught, learn some of the things that Martians do. What a marvelous concept.In 1962 the original version of STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND won the Hugo Award for the Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year. After Heinlein's death in 1988, his wife Virginia discovered the original uncut manuscript and arranged to have it published in 1991. It is interesting to read the two books side by side, to see the differences, and to compare them. I enjoy both versions very much, and am still not sure which is my favorite. Whatever version you choose, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND. Whether you have read it before or not, whether you love it or not, you will find it to be an interesting and thought-provoking read.

Reviewer: Craig in NE CT
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great story!
Review: I read this book as a teenager, in the 1960s, and just, now, finished rereading it, at age 65. I see that I missed many of the author's ideas (due to my youthful lusts, antics, and ignorance of life and of the Bible). "Stranger in a Strange Land" struggles with boundaries of self, morality, and what may constitute/govern a normal healthy society. The author pokes at our spiritual needs, ideas, or rituals upon which we all depend to order our lives, whether we be atheistic, pantheistic, or monotheistic. By minimizing God and godhood to the level of individual understanding and growth, the Heinlein's story posits that all philosophical views need not be antagonistic toward one another; that, by default, truth is and should be relative, given our potentially reformed natural self-interests. Whether a `religious' or irreligious person or organization is primitive, civilized, or `who-cares', Heinlein poses that, despite our ideologies that distinguish us from others, or unite us, only a growing constructive self-awareness is really important, not whether God really exists or whether we will face a final judgment. The author's trick to redemption is how we decide to get along with ourselves and our neighbors, within a `fly right, or mess up and go back to the beginning' scenario, in contrast to the biblical one-life-one-chance view. By design or default, in this story, Heinlein relegates God below human self-actualization, and allows no room for absolute truth. Heinlein's self-fulfilling self-actualization is entirely at odds with biblical Christianity and biblical Judaism, yet quite at home with most religions and faiths that rely on salvation by personal works, and reincarnation-based religions. Maybe that was part of the author's point in telling the story.When it comes to putting a halt to abusive powers, I have to chuckle at how Heinlein has Smith frustrate the overbearing powers-that-be. A thought struck me about twenty years ago that those who have power or understanding have a God-given responsibility to exercise discipline and restraint with those who lack power or understanding. Having more power or understanding than someone or something else does not obviate one's responsibility to exercise that power or understanding to better the world in which we live, nor does it entitle one to do ought but to treat others with love, respect, and decency, which, for the betterment of society and our world, may require that one's power or understanding be exercised to identify or destroy evil. Though this philosophy is exercised by the lead character within the story, the clarity of this comes late to Valentine Michael Smith, yet, sadly, such clarity does not move him to embrace an absolute God, absolute truth, nor his own existence as a created being that is not God, leaving Heinlein's view of life and after-life harshly in contrast to the biblical viewpoint, hence at odds with God. Martian or human, in the end, Heinlein simply does a shell game with his characters, when the issue of death arises, leaving readers to guess in what level the author will eventually hide them, to avoid a final judgment, leaving each soul's story to continue ad infinitum, ad nauseam, without any ultimate accountability.This is an entertaining science fiction story, yet, Heinlein's ideas, in this sexual-religious-social romp, border on theological sophistry. His ideas will probably offend most established points of view. Despite his general bravado, and so bold a topic, Heinlein omits balanced discussion among the characters, fails to deal with any absolute truth or true final judgment of evil, and perfunctorily dismisses biblical views that might be germane to cogent biblical discussion. There are two upwelling truths that the author has twisted and cheapened them considerably, by his denial of absolute truth and avoiding our accountability to God's perfect righteousness. Those are self-sacrificing love and the inevitability that every soul is responsible for her/his own thoughts and actions. Though he allows watered down versions of those traditional moral elements to remain, Heinlein (who must have seen too many money-hungry medicine shows, tent meetings, and carnival acts) relies solely on human constructive self-awareness, self-discipline, and self-empowerment to pose a stab at a positive future for humanity and the afterlife. The story's quasi-moral might read, "Find any way to beat the present system and exploit it at almost any cost, so long as no one really gets hurt." Smith's earthly end-game of self-sacrifice is a corrupted shadow of Christ's. Smith's is a twisted image of self-sacrifice, a huckster's trick to work the crowd, avoiding entirely the biblical God and plan of Christ. Heinlein's bootstrap theology, in the end, can neither respect nor agree upon one God, nor save itself from its own moral meanderings and wishful unthinking of human sin.As an author, myself, I would add that every one of our actions, gestures, and our written or spoken utterances, has its consequences, and that we are ultimately responsible, to God, for everything that we generate and utter. I believe that Heinlein's story agrees partly with my belief, except that Heinlein leaves the one true God completely out of his story. Despite Heinlein's philosophical thrust that everyone can claim "Thou art God", for self or others, I personally subscribe to the biblical view that all things and people are created by God, and that He holds us together by His Laws and will, and that there is, yet, a separation that He reserves between us and Him, that can only be bridged or reconciled through His Christ, and, furthermore, that we are the only part of His Creation that has been offered that exclusive plan of redemption. By contrast, Heinlein's story offers the carrot of constructive self-awareness as the means of possible redemption for humanity, insecurely hoping to save us from ourselves.Craig M. Szwed(Author, photographer, combat veteran, father, composer)

Reviewer: Robirda
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is a complex and fascinating story that clearly reflects the times it was written in - plus a whole lot more. I thought I knew this story - but as the years pass, perceptions change, and I've found more highlights to ponder this time around that I ever managed in earlier readings during the 70's and 80's. Heinlein is always great, but it's fascinating to be able to compare the various editing techniques that were used on different editions; what some folks call boring, others see as insightful. Always more layers to uncover, that's the thing I love the best about Heinlein stories, no matter who they were written for, or when, or who edited them, and how. Marvelous stuff! 🙂

Reviewer: Douglas McLaurin
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I have read this book about 6 times now. I purchased the Kindle edition to re experience Heinlein's masterpiece after 2 decades of not reading it and it was even better. I believe I now grok fully.Give this book a try for a wild ride in religious synchretism and philosophy. Definitively a page turner and an unforgettable story.

Reviewer: H Ozinga
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Leuk en goed boek. De manier van verzenden (de verpakking) voorkomt niet dat het met ezelsoren arriveert.

Reviewer: Marilyn Ruston
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: It's an interesting and thought provoking book. I really enjoyed the story and characters. Very clever idea.

Reviewer: Cliente Amazon
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Un classico tuttora godibilissimo ad onta degli anni trascorsi dalla sua prima pubblicazione. Si noti che questa edizione riporta la stesura originale del libro, più lunga di un terzo rispetto alla versione pubblicata nel 1961, quando l'editore richiese all'autore di accorciarla. Fantascienza, ma ancor più filosofia.