h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A brilliant sci-fi about a martian who comes to earth.
read it now

Absolutely cracking book. I would also rec' 'Girl Friday' by the same author, for an outsiders view of humanity, and a distinctly possible way our future will go in terms of social structure...

As far as Heinlein, my favorite was The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
*...not that I want to take over...or, um...
run away!

Time Enough for Love is my all time favorite Heinlein novel. I've read it at least six or seven times. I like the idea of living long enough to experience the vast technological advances over an extended life span.

Of course, my kids think I have had an extended life span when I tell them about the olden days before color tv, vcr, microwaves and cell phones.

I think I'd have to go with "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" too.

I got a bit worried about one friend when I lent her "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls" with the proviso that she'd enjoy it as long as she ignored the social darwinism. About 1/3 or the way through she ws saying "What social darwinism?" but my faith was restored a few pages later with "Oh THAT social darwinism!"

I suspect Heinlein may be a good test for socialists, in that distance thrown should correlate well with commitment. However it's important to remember that his characters aren't actually as annoying as they appear at first glance.

That's what I like about Heinlein. In addition to being a great writer, he never did anything without some reason behind it. He was always saying something in addition to face value, so his books aren't just a bunch of flash. You can really get alot out of his work by looking beyond just the story. Wish more authors these days could inspire thought as well as adrenaline.

"Nuke 'em 'til they glow, then shoot 'em in the dark!"
Random quote guild

Unfortunately

"Kill them all: God will recognise his own."

Was actually said for real.

A lot of Heinlein can be viewed as a cheery dystopia: life is never as bad as he paints it.

"he never said anything without some reason behind it' is oh-so very true--in his 1940's-50's 'juvenile' novels, there are subtle sociology lessons as part of the story. interestingly, he worked on 'the heretic' (which became 'stranger') throughout the 50's and had to wage many battles to get it into print.
'moon' brought back hazel stone of the early 'rolling stones' and he started putting all his characters together for one last party in 'to sail beyond the sunset'---i'll always wonder what he could've written to top that one!!

Anything by RAH is great.. Though I did not read the juveniles while I was one, I did read them as an adult and wished I had read them earlier because it would have changed my thought process.

heinlein had influence on the kids who built the space age. after i read 'moon' in college, i started scouring the used book shoppes.
'expanded universe' and 'grumbles from the grave' are good examples of his thoughts while writing the stories.

references to heinlein and computers and heinlein's peer reviews should be at
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or from my space.