New York, NY G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1961. Hardcover First Edition (1961); Seventh Printing. INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR: "To Robin Beck Never Thirst!". Very Good in Good: The book shows the faintest smudges and soiling at the outside edges of the text block and a a couple of faint soil spots to the green cloth over boards;the binding leans very slightly but remains secure; the text is clean. Free of any creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of any underlining, hi-lighting or marginalia or marks in the text. Free of any ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, plates, or labels. A handsome, copy, structurally sound and tighly bound, showing moderate wear and minor chipping; considerable rubbing to the panels; numerous tiny nicks and tears; the price is intact; mylar-protected. Remains serviceable, but shows considerable wear. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. (8.6 x 5.8 x 1.6 inches). 408 pages. Language: English. Weight: 21.7 ounces. First Edition (1961); Seventh Printing. Hardback with DJ. Robert A. Heinlein (1907 – 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often posed provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally. Heinlein was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors. Stranger in a Strange Land is one of his most notable works. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by Martians, and explores his interaction with and eventual transformation of Terran culture. In 2012, the Library of Congress named it one of 88 "Books that Shaped America". INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR.

Synopsis

Stranger in a Strange Land is a best-selling 1961 Hugo Award-winning science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human raised by Martians on the planet Mars, after his return to Earth in early adulthood. The novel explores his interaction with--and the eventual transformation of--Earth culture. The novel's title refers to the Biblical Book of Exodus. According to Heinlein in Grumbles from the Grave, the novel's working title was The Heretic.

Reviews

On Jul 31 2011, Feeney said:

Robert A. Heinlein's 1961 STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND is a clear example of the "didactic" novel. It teaches, it preaches, its characters rant and debate, parry and thrust. Its story is not much. But its message resonated with millions of confused "searchers" for meaning in the turbulent 1960s and even into the cooler, more blase 1970s. *** Valentine Michael Smith, after his pioneering parents died opening up Mars, was raised in a nest on Mars by Martians as close to a Martian as he could be. A later expedition from Earth to Mars found young Mike Smith and returned him home. Meanwhile the ostensibly pacifistic Martians, it is hinted throughout the novel, are planning something nasty for the Earth and earthlings. Mike seeks for a way to defend the Earth without tipping his hand to the alien race that raised him. ***Smith goes through one cross-cultural shock after another, eventually deciding that he can prepare earthlings to resist suspected Martian imperialism by making it attractive for them to learn selectively features of Martian civilization (ceremony of sharing water, thinking empathetically aka "grokking" and others) while going beyond even the Martians by adopting a new Smith-created religion, Church of All The Worlds. *** Smith's intially sceptical admirer is crusty old libertarian lawyer Jubal E. Harshaw. Via dialogs and monologs of Harshaw, author Heinlein criticizes received human religions, mores, thought processes, nudity, clothing and more from a Martian point of view -- as filtered through hybrid Martian-Human Mike Smith. *** The level of argumentation ranges somewhere between 1960s American 7th grade and college sophomore, arguably, on balance, sub-adult. But STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND proved wildly attractive to an increasingly rootless, restless generation of young Americans thirsting for they knew not what, eager to grok and to say, "I am only and egg" and "Thou art God." Study STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND not as literature but as 1960s sociology. -OOO-

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Details

Seller: Black Cat Hill Books (US)
Seller's Inventory #: 56199
Title: Stranger in a Strange Land.
Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Format/Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Used
Quantity Available: 1
Edition: First Edition (1961); Seventh Printing.
ISBN 10: 039910772X
ISBN 13: 9780399107726
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons,
Place of Publication: New York, NY
Date Published: 1961.
Bookseller catalogs: Collectible Pbks: Scifi; Science Fiction; Collectible SF&F; Fiction: Science Fiction & Fantasy; Authors D-J; Fiction: Collectible Paperbacks; American Popular Fiction; Modern Fiction First Editions;

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