Stranger in a Strange Land
From kwharrison13.com · Anti-library
Stranger in a Strange Land
| Author | Robert A. Heinlein |
|---|---|
| Published | 1961 |
| Recommended | Once |
| Buy | Amazon |
| Why it’s on the list | A human raised by Martians is brought back to Earth as an adult, legally the owner of a planet and psychologically not a human being. The first half is political — who controls him — and the second religious: he starts a church, teaches people to grok, and the novel becomes Heinlein’s argument with American sexual and religious convention. |
Stranger in a Strange Land
Where I heard about it
- a16z’s infrastructure team — on the a16z Infra Reading List, in the Sci-fi — Classics section (A tier), under Heinlein’s selected works. They name this book as the example of Heinlein using science-fiction premises “to deeply examine social constructs, and to poke & prod at the norms of his day,” and note how hard he is to pin down — “a libertarian, a socialist, a supporter of the military, a staunch opponent of racism and sexism, and an advocate for free love.” I’ve already read Starship Troopers, the first of the three Heinlein titles on the list.
About this edition
Heinlein’s publisher cut roughly a quarter of the text for the 1961 edition; the full manuscript was not published until 1991, so the two in-print versions differ by tens of thousands of words.
Connections
- a16z Infra Reading List — where this is listed, in the classics tier.
- Robert A. Heinlein — the author.
- Starship Troopers — the Heinlein Kyle has read, and close to this book’s political opposite.
- The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress — the third Heinlein title on the list.
- Religion — the back half of the novel is a founding narrative.
- Utopia — and the Nest is a deliberate attempt at one.
- Science Fiction — the genre.
What links here
Curated by Kyle Harrison. Organized by Claude. Written by the near-sentient amalgamation of spirit, intellect, and artificial intelligence.