Stranger in a Strange Land

Amazon.com

Stranger in a Strange Land, winner of the 1962 Hugo Award, is the story of Valentine Michael Smith, born during, and the only survivor of, the first manned mission to Mars. Michael is raised by Martians, and he arrives on Earth as a true innocent: he has never seen a woman and has no knowledge of Earth's cultures or religions. But he brings turmoil with him, as he is the legal heir to an enormous financial empire, not to mention de facto owner of the planet Mars. With the irascible popular author Jubal Harshaw to protect him, Michael explores human morality and the meanings of love. He founds his own church, preaching free love and disseminating the psychic talents taught him by the Martians. Ultimately, he confronts the fate reserved for all messiahs.

The impact of Stranger in a Strange Land was considerable, leading many children of the 60's to set up households based on Michael's water-brother nests. Heinlein loved to pontificate through the mouths of his characters, so modern readers must be willing to overlook the occasional sour note ("Nine times out of ten, if a girl gets raped, it's partly her fault."). That aside, Stranger in a Strange Land is one of the master's best entertainments, provocative as he always loved to be. Can you grok it? --Brooks Peck

Book Description

This is the epic saga of an earthling, Valentine Michael Smith, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet with many psi powers, including the ability to take control of the minds of others—and complete innocence regarding the mores of man.

Customer Reviews:

An look at ourselves from mars.......2007-10-03

If you like sci fi you will love Stranger, hard to put down once you get started due to great dialogue and interesting observations of the human race. Almost wish there was a sequel.

CLASSIC Science Fiction.......2007-09-15

In the wide-ranging genre of science fiction, there are plenty of classics, but only a few true CLASSICS. In this elite group are such works as the Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov, Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. It may be one of the revered science fiction books ever, but does it really deserve that reputation? Maybe, maybe not: personally, I like the book, but I don't think of it as one of the best sci-fi novels ever.

The Stranger in a Strange Land of the title is Valentine Michael Smith, the son of two of the initial colonists of Mars. The original colonists all died soon after landing, but the infant Michael survived and was raised by the native Martians. Around twenty-five years later, more colonists come to Mars and bring Michael "home" to Earth.

Michael is completely naïve to the ways of humans, which makes him the target of all sorts of people. Legally, he has incredible wealth including "ownership" of Mars itself. The government wants to keep him locked away, but the nurse Jill Boardman breaks him free and brings him to attorney/doctor Jubal Harshaw. Harshaw extricates Michael from the worst of his legal problems, but new issues develop.

Michael has all sorts of mental powers developed through his Martian schooling, including the ability to vaporize any enemies with a thought. His unique powers and his introduction of Martian culture to Earth - including the ideas of water brotherhood and grokking - help transform Michael into either a prophet or a messiah; he gains a following of other water brothers who have the potential to usher in a new age of mankind.

All this is just the briefest of synopses of this satisfyingly complex book. While many might think that Michael is the central character in the novel, I feel it's really Jubal Harshaw. While it's always dangerous to closely link the author with a particular character, I tend to think that Harshaw is the mouthpiece for Heinlein. And if there's a weakness in this book, it's Harshaw's pontificating. He may have good points, but at times, it seems that Heinlein (through Harshaw, and to a lesser extent Michael and other characters) is preaching more than storytelling.

This is also the difference between Heinlein and the other two members of the so-called "Big Three" of science fiction, Clarke and Asimov. The other two focus more on science, while Heinlein seems more interested in social issues. (That's not to say that Clarke and Asimov ignore these issues - or Heinlein ignores science - but just where the focus is.)

Revisiting my original question, while this may not be the best book ever, it is still really good and deserves its CLASSIC status for its historic impact as much as its quality. Well-written and thought-provoking, this is Heinlein's masterpiece.

Boring, dated, juvenile.......2007-08-30

There was nothing in this book to draw you in: the characters are one-dimensional, the plot is laborious, and the dialogue is dated, preachy and long-winded. It is also notably misogynistic. I recommend spending time and money on something more worthwhile.

Super Reader.......2007-08-26

Michael Smith is a child born in space, because of a manned mission to Mars from Earth. The Martians raise him on their planet, and he gains unique psionic abilities because of this upbringing.

When he returns to Earth he looks at things very differently to the locals, and basically straights preaching a new religion. When that happens, lots of people will get upset, particularly when it is of the love and shag all you like variety.

Mandatory reading.......2007-08-25

This book is awesome, and is credited with putting science fiction on the map. While there are parts that are long-winded, opinionated, and repetitive - I found the potent parts very moving. I haven't read the smaller originally-published version, so I don't know if the uncut version is any better. I recommend this book to anyone who gets disgusted with human nature and needs a refresher on how to live their neighbors. I wouldn't stand behind the characters in this novel and agree with each of their opinions, but they're at least very interesting. It's amazing how much this book has influenced American culture, good or bad. You can even find the word 'grok' in most large dictionaries. Long live science, and long live Michael Valentine Smith.

Average customer rating:

If all my friends were as clever and likeable as these characters I wouldn't need to read so much. LOL
I Guess You Had To Be There
Classic science fiction and a great production
stranger in a strange land
A fine yarn, but dated and self-indulgent

Stranger in a Strange Land, New Edition
Robert A. Heinlein
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0786174307

Product Description

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 powerstelepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, telekinesis, teleportation, pyrolysis, and the ability to take control of the minds of othersand complete innocence regarding the mores of man.

After his tutelage under a surrogate-father figure, Valentine begins his transformation into a messiah figure. His introduction into Earth society, together with his exceptional abilities, lead Valentine 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 Heinleins earthly divine comedy.

Customer Reviews:

If all my friends were as clever and likeable as these characters I wouldn't need to read so much. LOL.......2007-10-11

This book/CD starts out slow but once it gets going it's all ya can do to stop. The supporting char.'s made this story memorable and fun. The main char. Is somewhat hard to get over. At the start he is terrible but that is the point don't worry by the end you'll love him too. But besides the loveable char.s the thing that really makes this book great is the way it approaches life, religion, and philosophy. It tackles all these subjects and never attacks one in a negative way. It is always respectful of everyone and their beliefs while still making you think about those subjects' core properties. It really examines what it means to be a human. It's a great book hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I Guess You Had To Be There.......2007-09-17

Right at the beginning of the `Flower Power Era' Robert Heinlein published this monumental work. It is monumental for a couple of reasons. It was one of the first SciFi works to make it into the `Best Seller' lists of non-SciFi ratings. It essentially broke that barrier forever. The book won Heinlein the 1962 Hugo and received more attention than some of his more solid SciFi works. The book was widely read by people in the beginning of the Vietnam protest, the drug culture (although Heinlein disapproved of any drug other than ethanol), and the `Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out' philosophy. For a few years it spanned a minor cultural movement and I must admit for a briefly embarrassing time my friends and I would say, "Can you Grok that?" rather than "Do you understand?" or even, "Can you dig it?" Fortunately or otherwise this did not last (unlike the even weirder work of L. Ron Hubbard) and no lasting harm was done.

This Audio CD version seems to be based on the fabled `long' version. When Heinlein wrote this, it was well over 200,000 words. As originally published it was much less. I think everything is in here because I found myself wishing about half the time that it was over. You can never go home and it is probably better not to revisit something of your youth with high expectations. When I saw this Blackstone Audio `New Edition' I snapped it up with just those high expectations. Now the long, long, long dialogues (or diatribes) about love, sex, god, cannibalism, and such are more boring than uplifting.

Having been critical I'd still recommend the Audio CD or the book (albeit the shorter version) and give it 5 stars. I do that because it is, in the best sense, a classic of SciFi and deserves your attention. Heinlein raised modern SciFi out of a sub-genre and into the mainstream. You can take or leave his philosophy, but he was one hell of a writer.

Classic science fiction and a great production.......2007-01-03

An excellent production of a timeless classic. Highly recommended

stranger in a strange land.......2006-11-14

Great read! Loved the the subject matter. Recommend to anyone.

A fine yarn, but dated and self-indulgent.......2006-10-11

Heinlein conceived STRANGER in 1948, but didn't finish it until
1960. His editor asked him to cut it from 220,000 to 150,000 words; as
published it was 160,087. It was reissued from the original
manuscript in 1991, and I just got around to reading this "uncut"
edition. I first read STRANGER in the early sixties -- it's the only
"major" Heinlein I'd never reread (unless you count _To Sail the
Sunset Sea_ as major).

STRANGER hasn't aged well. Ostensibly set in the 21st century, it
reads like the 1950's. News commentators are "winchells" and
"lippmans" -- I recognize the names, but remember nothing else
about the originals; do you? The bad guys and minor characters are
purest cardboard. Women ("bims") have the "liberty permitted cats
and favorite children"; homosexuals are "poor in-betweeners". The
world beyond the USA is almost invisible.

Jubal Harshaw, the writer, patriarch and "father of all", is a self-
indulgent know-it-all given to long, hectoring speeches. The
women are quick to shed clothing and inhibitions, and couple with
any water-brother. They grow younger, more beautiful -- and more
exhibitionist -- as they learn Martian mind-control. Feh.

And yet, and yet .... STRANGER still works as a novel -- I reread it
pretty much at one go. The idea of a child raised from infancy by an
alien race ... Valentine Michael Smith's journey from innocence to
full humanity to New Messiah ... the cheerfully crass
commercialism of the Church of Foster ... the silly-but-serious
mysticism ... Heinlein, whatever his flaws, was a master story-
teller.

STRANGER was Heinlein's first crossover bestseller, becoming
something of a Sixties icon -- peace & love, y'know. Bits and pieces
were taken up in pop music and culture: "Discorporate, and you'll
be free", urged the Mothers of Invention. Grace Slick of the
Jefferson Airplane sang of "sister-lovers, water-brothers". The
ability to grok was briefly important, if mostly forgotten now.

Should you read, or reread, or listen to STRANGER? Mmmph. I don't regret
doing so, but the book stays pretty low in my mental ranking of
Heinlein novels. And if I were you, I'd hunt up the earlier edition --
the restored 70,000 words add little but bulk to the story.

Review copyright 1999, 2006 by Peter D. Tillman

The Lord's Song in a Strange Land: Music and Identity in Contemporary Jewish Worship Book and CD (American Musicspheres)

Average customer rating:

Eye-opening and inspiring

The Lord's Song in a Strange Land: Music and Identity in Contemporary Jewish Worship Book and CD (American Musicspheres)
Jeffrey A. Summit
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0195116771

Book Description

Across the United States, Jews come together every week to sing and pray in a wide variety of worship communities. Through this music, made by and for ordinary folk, these worshippers define and re-define their relationship to the continuity of Jewish tradition and the realities of American life. Combining oral history with an analysis of recordings, The Lord's Song in a Strange Land examines this tradition incontemporary Jewish worship and explores the diverse links between the music and both spiritual and cultural identities. Alive with detail, the book focuses on metropolitan Boston and covers the full range of Jewish communities there, from Hasidim to Jewish college students in a transdenominational setting. It documents a remarkably fluid musical tradition, where melodies are often shared, where sources can be as diverse as Sufi chant, Christmas carols, rock and roll, and Israeli popular music, and where the meaning of a song can change from one block to the next. The Lord's Song in a Strange Land is the first volume in Oxford's new American Musicspheres series. Featuring a CD of field recordings for many of the songs discussed, the book will prove an invaluable guide for a wide range of scholars and students of ethnomusicology and religion.

Customer Reviews:

Eye-opening and inspiring.......2000-12-27

This journey of Jewish song and identity draws the best of both to comprise an inspiring book that is both a good read and a good listen. It will leave the reader singing and praying.

A Strange and Blighted Land: Gettysburg, The Aftermath of a Battle

Average customer rating:

Wonderful History
An extraordinary, grim look at the consequences of a great battle
Gettysburg and the Horrors of War
A sobering look at the aftermath of Gettysburg
A Blackened Battlescape

A Strange and Blighted Land: Gettysburg, The Aftermath of a Battle
Gregory A. Coco
Manufacturer: Thomas Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1577470419

Book Description

The more dismal side of the Gettysburg campaign is covered: burials of Union and Confederate corpses, removal of the 3,000 horses killed, care of the wounded, descriptions of field hospitals, disposition of POWs, cleanup of the battle ground, collection of weapons, early relic hunters, battlefield guides, and a tour of the grim and bloody fields as described by a host of early visitors.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful History.......2007-09-21

For anyone interested in the Civil War I highly reccomend this book. There are literally thousands of books on the Civil War but most of them focus on the political or military side. This book focuses on the aftermath of the battle, something that is overlooked by many historians. The reader will get a whole new perspective on the impact the War had on areas where armies clashed. Anyone even remotely interested in the Civil War should pick this book up. For those of you who have weak stomachs, do not read the book after a meal.

An extraordinary, grim look at the consequences of a great battle.......2006-04-10

Greg Coco's "A Strange and Blighted Land" is, as far as I know, a uniquely intimate and yet comprehensive look at the aftermath of Civil War combat. The Battle of Gettysburg left 6000 soldiers dead on the ground (with thousands more to later die of their wounds) and 20,000 seriously wounded. When the two great armies that had fought there marched away, the dead and the wounded remained in and around Gettysburg, creating a horror worthy of an inner circle of Dante's Hell. This is an unflinching look at the days, weeks, and months that followed. I see that a previous, anonymous reviewer at this site complained about the "author's incesant anti-war sermonizing." To the contrary, I consider that Coco did little "sermonizing". Rather, he lets the eyewitnesses speak for themselves, quoting liberally from a vast array of primary sources. The result is a powerful, fact-packed book that is certainly grim, even gruesome, and far removed from the conventional romanticing and glamourization of the very deadly consequences of genuine 19th century warfare. I think that anyone who finds him- or herself thinking back to the supposed glory of Civil War battle where everyone dies heroically and cleanly should read Coco's book as a strong antidote against such a false picture.

Gettysburg and the Horrors of War.......2004-09-29

The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) was the largest ever fought on the American continent and the pivotal battle of our Civil War. Following the battle, with the retreat of Lee's Army and the pursuit by Meade's, there was a pressing need to take care of the dead, wounded, and destroyed that the armies left in their wake. There also was, and remains, a need to reflect upon the significance of the Battle and the lessons to be learned from it.

Gregory Coco's book, "A Strange and Blighted Land" (1995) gives a comprehensive account of the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg. Mr. Coco is a Park Ranger at Gettysburg, and he hasa written extensively and well about the battle. He is also a Vietnam veteran. His history in this book stresses eloquently, the carnage of war, its terrors and pain, and its irreplaceable cost in human life and treasure.

The book is arranged in five rather lengthy chapters. In the first chapter, Mr. Coco offers his readers a tour of the Battlefield in which he presents eyewitness accounts of the death and destruction evident over the 25 mile square Battlefield. The second chapter discusses the dead of Gettysburg and their burials. There is excellent historical material here about the establishment of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. In his next chapter, Mr. Coco discusses the Gettysburg wounded, both North and South, the medical and surgical practices of the day, and the camps set up in haste to care for the masses of grievously wounded soldiers. In his fourth chapter, Mr. Coco discusses the treatment of prisoners of war, and the fate of the many stragglers and deserters which followed in the wake of the battle. In his final chapter, Mr. Coco discusses preservation efforts for the Battlefield, culminating in the establishment of the Gettysburg National Military Park in 1895.

I have read several other accounts of the aftermath of Gettysburg. Mr. Coco's book is by far the most thorough. He has the factual details at his command and presents them in a convincing manner. He shows great familiarity with the Battle itself, and discusses well the controversies and issues in determining the numbers of the killed, wounded, and missing.

But there is much more to this book than a factual recounting of the aftermath of a battle. The book is written in an appealing, personal, sometimes buttonholing style in which Mr. Coco seems to be at the readers side offering observations and commentary on the significance of the events set forth in his story. He offers opinions on a variety of topics emanating from his reflections on Gettysburg and on war. (Specifically, Mr. Coco shows a healthy skepticism in matters of religion.) Mr. Coco focuses on the meaning to be drawn from Gettysburg and from our Civil War. His own perspective is clear. Mr. Coco is opposed to efforts to glorify or romanticize war. Again and again, he stresses the horrors of war and tries to impress upon his readers that the greatest lesson to be learned from Gettysburg is -- to try to prevent such things from happening. Thus his book concludes (p.373)

"Let us now leave behind the aftermath story with this hope: that for each and every attempt to parade the 'pomp and circumstance' of war, we give equal time to the corrupt and merciless monster shielded smugly within, because, 'if the bugler starts to play, we too must dance.'"

This book is both an excellent history and a deeply-felt attempt to think about the meaning of Gettysburg.

A sobering look at the aftermath of Gettysburg.......2004-04-08

This book isn't about the battle of Gettysburg. It's about the price that was paid for that battle by the men who fought it and the citizens of the town. The aftermath of Gettysburg was a nightmare beyond imagination.

After the guns fell silent Coco shows us that there was much to do. Thousands of dead soldiers needed to be buried and tens of thousands of wounded to be treated. How do you do all that? The truth is you can't, at least not very well. In the end many bodies were buried in shallow graves that didn't take long to get uncovered by the elements. Some bodies were simply dumped into the crevasses in Devil's Den. The wounded in many cases were left outside for no other reason than you had over ten times as many wounded as you had population in Gettysburg and there simply wasn't enough room indoors for all the wounded men. Toss in countless horses whose corpses needed to be gathered up and burned and you begin to get the picture. The aftermath of Gettysburg was a gruesome horror story.

This book is not for the casual or beginning Civil War reader. There's nothing about infantry charges and military tactics here. Coco doesn't hold back and to be honest the book is rather disturbing. However it tells the story that I don't think any other book does and that's the frank truth about the aftermath of Gettysburg.

A Blackened Battlescape.......2004-01-28

After the shooting stopped at Gettysburg, within a very short time the whole landscape had turned black from the flies spawned in the bodies of the fallen. The earth was soiled and black with grease and filth and the very air was heavy with foulness.

This is not a book for the faint-hearted, but it is a superbly well-researched account, drawn from eyewiteness statements and official documents of what happened when nearly 10 000 dead and two or three times that many wounded were left in a quiet farming community by armies that had gone elsewhere.

Amazon.com

Life in the summer of 1609 in the New World is strange for young Elizabeth, who has traveled with her family from England to Jamestown, Virginia. After the disastrous sea crossing, during which a hurricane destroyed or rerouted five of their nine ships, Elizabeth is happy to be on dry land. Her initial elation vanishes, however, when mosquitoes, steamy weather, rampant illness, and unrest between the Indians and the new arrivals threaten any hope of a peaceful settlement. To make matters worse, Elizabeth misses her twin brother, Caleb, and feels tremendous guilt because she took his sketchbook with her, and is now using it for a journal. But together with her parents, she begins to build a new life in the Jamestown settlement, befriending such 17th-century luminaries as Captain John Smith and 13-year-old Pocahontas.

The My America series presents historical events in a fictional setting. Award-winning author Patricia Hermes does an excellent job of developing the personality of the intrepid and irrepressible 9-year-old Elizabeth. Through a season of death and disease, confusion, and many thrilling adventures, spunky Elizabeth will hold the attention of every young reader. A historical note following the journal provides real-life Jamestown context for the story. (Ages 8 to 11) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

In May 1607, 3 ships sailed up the James River in Virginia. In the riverbank marshes, they made land and hung the flag--England's flag--establishing the first permanent English colony in Jamestown, Virginia. In 1609, the first ship carrying women and children arrived. After 71 days at sea, nine-year-old Elizabeth Barker is thrilled to be on dry land. Lizzie keeps a journal for Caleb, her twin brother who stayed in England because of his weak lungs. In her buoyant entries,Lizzie tells of the abundant forests, trading with and learning from the Indians, and adventures with her new friends.

Customer Reviews:

my america.......2004-10-13

I like this book because it is based on a true story about a girl named Elizabeth and her family at war. Her brother and father get dragged in to the war by some soldiers. Elizabeth gets very worried about her brother and father because they do not come back until a while.

A Washington Mill Student.......2004-03-06

Once I got this book I couldn't put it down. It was so interesting that I did not want to go to sleep. I liked it when Elizabeth had to hide her journal from her mom and that her mom had a baby.One day Elizabteth asked Captin Jonh Smith to say hi to her brother Caleb.Whenever I read an interesting book,like this one, I never let it go until I finish it.I hope you read this book one day.

A Great My America!.......2002-01-22

In 1609, nine year old Elizabeth Barker's family sails from England to Jamestown, Virginia, establishing America's first English colony. In her diary, Elizabeth explains the hardships of daily life and the happiness of family. However she is also sad because her twin brother Caleb was left in England because he had bad lungs. Elizabeth and her best friend Jessie have fun and adventures in this new strange land. They befriend the Indian princess Pocahontas. Howeveer soon Elizabeth realizes life isn't all going to be great, as her family faces scarce fook, illness, even death. However Elizabeth is determined to make a new home in this strange new land.

This book is about..........2001-07-19

This book was a diary written by Elizabeth. Elizabeth and her family and were coming from England to the new land of America. They had to built houses when they got here. Life was hard in the new land. They met Indians. Elizabeth liked the Indians but the other people were afraid of Indians.

The Greatest Book Ever.......2001-03-31

I have just read a book called Our Strange New Land by Patricia Hermes. In this book Elizabeth is writing in a diary. In this book Elizabeth and her family travel to Jamestown in America from England, but sadly they can't bring Elizageth's brother, Caleb because he is sick and had to stay in England. In the book they lose their food, have many, many people die, and meet indians. They even meet Pocahontas. Elizabeth has adventures with her friend, Jessie. Also, Elizabeth's mom has a baby girl and they name her Abigail. I think this is a really good book because you learn a lot about the pilgrims that lived in Jamestown, Virginia. I hope you can take the time to read Our Strange New Land by Patricia Hermes.

Average customer rating:

off the beaten track of modern life
Repetitive, But Revealing
Outstanding Percy Compilation
Great introduction to a great American thinker
Great introduction to a great American thinker

Signposts in a Strange Land: Essays
Walker Percy
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312254199

Book Description

At his death in 1990, Walker Percy left a considerable legacy of uncollected nonfiction. Assembled in Signposts in a Strange Land, these essays on language, literature, philosophy, religion, psychiatry, morality, and life and letters in the South display the imaginative versatility of an author considered by many to be one the greatest modern American writers.

Customer Reviews:

off the beaten track of modern life.......2003-09-15

a better title for this book might be, strange signposts in an otherwise interesting world. He became a devout Catholic while the rest of us were questioning its relevance. C. Pierce's psychologic discovery or insight does not seem especially significant. This MD does not provide the right presciption for our times.

Repetitive, But Revealing.......2003-06-26

This is not the place to start, if you haven't read Percy before. When read fresh, much of this collection of essays comes across as rambling, with the themes of "Southerner," "Catholic," "Author," "Southern Catholic Author," and "Fan o' Kierkegaard & Dostoevsky" running incessantly throughout the volume.

However, Percy's engaging wit keeps the essays entertaining, and it is interesting to watch his fixations and how they change (or don't change) over time.

Of particular value is the discourse on semiotics, which is a nice primer to the uninitiated, but doesn't help one make heads or tails of Umberto Eco.

Still, I would recommend reading Percy's fiction before tackling this collection.

Outstanding Percy Compilation.......2002-03-10

This book is perfect as either an introduction to Walker Percy's thought or as a final collection of essays for the longtime fan. "Signposts" is the only book available that provides Percy's writing from virtually every stage of his life, including the period when he was completely unknown. That fact alone makes it worth the purchase.

Great introduction to a great American thinker.......1999-11-27

Though better known as a novelist, Walker Percy began his writing career with non-fiction pieces of a philosophical bent. He remains one of the most philosophical novelists of the late 20th century, and his first novel, The Moviegoer, is widely acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of contemporary literature. This collection covers Percy's major interests over the span of his career: the literally miraculous ability of humans to communicate with language, the unique qualities of Southern writing (and why, for instance, there are no great Los Angeles novelists or Zen Buddhist novelists), and the curious fact that late-twentieth century western man is bored, weary, and sad, despite living in the most affluent period in human history.

Like C. S. Lewis, Percy became a Christian after spending his young adult years as a confirmed atheist. For this reason, he is particularly adept at addressing the intellectual impediments to belief. His work is the perfect antidote to those who think that smart people don't believe in God. He was also a scientist, having been trained as a medical doctor. Science, he believed, has discovered how the universe works but has been unable to address the most important fact of our existence: that each of us is a self-aware human being who will one day die. Percy was profoundly influenced by Kierkegaard and thus has been called a Christian existentialist, though he finds the term has become meaningless through overuse.

Great introduction to a great American thinker.......1999-11-27

This is a fascinating overview of Percy's ideas. As a bonus, the book concludes with a whimsical self-interview that lets us see what a delightful man he would have been to know. Highly recommended, along with his Lost in the Cosmos, which further develops many of the ideas here in the mock format of a self-help book.

Average customer rating:

A fine yarn, but dated and self-indulgent

Stranger in a Strange Land: Uncut Version

Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

ASIN: B000H27V80

Customer Reviews:

A fine yarn, but dated and self-indulgent.......2006-10-11

Heinlein conceived STRANGER in 1948, but didn't finish it until
1960. His editor asked him to cut it from 220,000 to 150,000 words; as
published it was 160,087. It was reissued from the original
manuscript in 1991, and I just got around to reading this "uncut"
edition. I first read STRANGER in the early sixties -- it's the only
"major" Heinlein I'd never reread (unless you count _To Sail the
Sunset Sea_ as major).

STRANGER hasn't aged well. Ostensibly set in the 21st century, it
reads like the 1950's. News commentators are "winchells" and
"lippmans" -- I recognize the names, but remember nothing else
about the originals; do you? The bad guys and minor characters are
purest cardboard. Women ("bims") have the "liberty permitted cats
and favorite children"; homosexuals are "poor in-betweeners". The
world beyond the USA is almost invisible.

Jubal Harshaw, the writer, patriarch and "father of all", is a self-
indulgent know-it-all given to long, hectoring speeches. The
women are quick to shed clothing and inhibitions, and couple with
any water-brother. They grow younger, more beautiful -- and more
exhibitionist -- as they learn Martian mind-control. Feh.

And yet, and yet .... STRANGER still works as a novel -- I reread it
pretty much at one go. The idea of a child raised from infancy by an
alien race ... Valentine Michael Smith's journey from innocence to
full humanity to New Messiah ... the cheerfully crass
commercialism of the Church of Foster ... the silly-but-serious
mysticism ... Heinlein, whatever his flaws, was a master story-
teller.

STRANGER was Heinlein's first crossover bestseller, becoming
something of a Sixties icon -- peace & love, y'know. Bits and pieces
were taken up in pop music and culture: "Discorporate, and you'll
be free", urged the Mothers of Invention. Grace Slick of the
Jefferson Airplane sang of "sister-lovers, water-brothers". The
ability to grok was briefly important, if mostly forgotten now.

Should you read, or reread, STRANGER? Mmmph. I don't regret
doing so, but the book stays pretty low in my mental ranking of
Heinlein novels. And if I were you, I'd hunt up the earlier edition --
the restored 70,000 words add little but bulk to the story.

Review copyright 1999 by Peter D. Tillman

An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land

Average customer rating:

Christianity as a unique identity and uncompromising.
Has had a profound impact on my life.

An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land
William Stringfellow
Manufacturer: Wipf & Stock Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1592448747

Customer Reviews:

Christianity as a unique identity and uncompromising........2004-02-13

When one wishes, in these times, to identify oneself within the framework of Christianity and Society, I can find no better place to take up the challenge. Mind you, this is a tough read and Stringfellow was not afraid to use his own unique brand of polemics. If one wants compromise or comfort, it will not be found here. However, if one wants hard examination with hard logic and true genius, this is the gold standard. Theology students be warned: This man takes no prisoners. And, you may find yourself within a seeming abyss of depression- until you can discern the light which shines on recognition of what this man has said. A pearl of great price. Do you, can you, take the challenge?

Has had a profound impact on my life........1999-05-08

This book, more than any other that I have read, has given me a "compass" for my life. For me, Stringfellow has melded a fresh interpretation of both Christianity and humanity into a compelling ethical framework for the human journey. It is not easy to read, not a fast read, but very profound in its message.

Average customer rating:

Stranger in a Strange Land

Manufacturer: G.P. Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000ERKWXE

The First Strange Place: Race and Sex in World War II Hawaii

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WW2 in Hawaii: heroes and hell-raisers
Great research and a fascinating, beautifully written book

The First Strange Place: Race and Sex in World War II Hawaii
Beth L. Bailey , and David Farber
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0801848679

Book Description

" The First Strange Place is in the great tradition of oral history and yet it makes marvelous use of archival records -- I was reminded both of Studs Terkel's sensitive ear and of Shelby Foote's sweeping vision." -- Boston Globe

Customer Reviews:

WW2 in Hawaii: heroes and hell-raisers.......2000-02-11

SUMMARY: facts and interpretation of the effects of WW2 in Hawaii

REVIEW: The authors interviewed many people, including my father, Anthony Capanna, as they wrote this account of WW2 in Hawaii. Although I think their account is quite accurate (and was grateful they depicted my father as the good/honest/moral person he is), there are parts of the book that are quite graphic as pertaining to the sleazier side of what went on after Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Factual, yes; worth reading, if you need it as a research tool; a bit jolting and base...yes. I don't recommend it for young people.

Great research and a fascinating, beautifully written book.......2000-01-16

This book is the best ever done on the WWII scene in the Islands. The research is exhaustive, and the stories extremely well-told. I am a historian and author in Hawai'i--concentrating on the 19th century but well aware of the 20th--and the authors have done a great job of not only telling the stories but coming to the correct conclusions. The two chapters on Black soldiers and the sex trade are especially good.

The title refers to the idea that Hawai'i, with very different foods, traditions and most of its population Oriental and Polynesian, was the first strange place that most young servicemen ever encountered. On their way to fight Japanese, they are stationed on an island with more than a third of the population of Japanese ancestory.

If you want an insight as to the impact of suddenly tripling the population of an island, primarily with young fighting men, this is the book. It's a GREAT read, and it all happened!

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