Rating: 
Summary: Wow, what a disappointment!
Review: ....Unfortunately, this book did nothing to justify my heightened expectations [of it].Instead, I plodded through an overly simplistic analysis of religion and culture. The main character, Michael Valentine Smith, immigrant martian and superman, creates a cult based on his martian culture. We get to watch. ....The saddest thing is that I was enjoying the book until about halfway through it. The political intrigue aspects early on were great. ... but by the second half one has to accept so many questionable premises that it is not even remotely convincing. ....
Rating: 
Summary: Good book
Review: Although I'm not a huge fan of science fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed Heinlein's 'Strange in a Strange Land'. It is basically the story of Valentine Michael Smith- a boy born on Mars who becomes the only human survivor. He is raised knowing only the ways of Martian civilization, but after he reaches adulthood, is brought back to earth. Michael is highly prized by earthlings because they believe he is the true owner of valuable Mars. However, they discover that although Michael is physically a human, his mind and body have adapted completely to the ways of the Martians, and he soon escapes the grasp of the authorities that hold him. With the help of Jubal, a bossy ex-lawyer, and the few people that live in Jubal's household, Michael learns the ways of life on earth, while changing the ways of the earthlings around him. He show's people how to get to the root of their goodness by casting away the petty jealousies that we create, and learning to love freely and openly without judgement. To really see the beauty and the gift of being human. One can learn a great deal from this book. I really recommend it.
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Summary: At the very least, I read a classic...
Review: ...but that's not the only thing that makes reading this book worthwhile, as most of the reviewers would have you believe. Okay, for the record: the book does go downhill after the first half, and it is very preachy. Now that I've confirmed what all others have said, I'll put in my two cents. There are lots of things about this book that struck me as remarkable. Despite it being about a man raised by Martians, it is quite definitely a book about the human condition. I love the fact that there are actually Martians in the book, but Heinlein totally ignores them to show us the adventures of one man not of this world who yearns to understand it. Or should I say "grok" it? Another thing I love about this book is the concept that the one thing this Martian finds most worthy of grokking is God. There is a great line in the book: (in reference to the word GOD) "...he had discovered that long human words rarely changed their meanings but short words were slippery, changing without pattern. Or so he grokked. Short human words were like trying to lift water with a knife. This had been a very short word." One of the main themes of the novel is Smith's struggle to "grok" God. The solution he comes up with is quite unusual (at least, by my standards). Nevertheless, through the use of a Man from Mars as protagonist, Heinlein shows us the world through the eyes of a virtual newborn adult, and the most important thing to this man is to understand God (substitute Truth, if it makes you feel better). This is a desire I believe all humans share after a fashion. In one way or another, we all seek to understand the truth as we see it, to find answers to the questions that plague our existence. Valentine Michael Smith actually gets his butt in gear and does something about it. That's what made this novel great to me. Yes, the novel is dated, especially notable by its treatment of women and overt "hippie"-ness, and I wonder if it would have won the recognition and status it did had it been released in a less compatible era. And the second half of the novel is extremely slow. I certainly don't agree with Heinlein's philosophies, but he doesn't necessarily want me to and has been quoted as saying such several times. He is a great writer and thinker, and the book, while weak on plot, is worth reading for his ideas alone that'll make even the most stalwart philosopher stop and think (pun intended). Not Heinlein's best, and I wouldn't recommend it to a Heinlein virgin, because it might turn you off to some of his better works (namely The Moon is a Harsh Mistress). Still, if you read it and don't like it, at the very least, you've read a classic
Rating: 
Summary: stranger in a strange land
Review: It is the BEST book ever made. I've read it 3 times now in the last month or 2.
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Summary: A new religion is born
Review: My father used Stranger In a Strange Land to teach me how to read when it was originally published. Since then I have read it at least twenty times and purchased it ten or twelve times! It is the only book I have ever read that not only gets better every time you read it, it changes as you mature and understand it better. Do not start this book on a week night or you may very well lose a day or two of work/school. There are already a lot of people who Grok the Church of Mars.
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Summary: After 40 Years Society Turns Full Circle
Review: "Stranger In A Strange Land" ("Stranger ...") by Robert A. Heinlein discusses human society as viewed by Valentine Michael Smith, 'The Man From Mars', the first human offspring born on Mars raised by Martians. Smith travels to Earth as a young man, knows only the Martian language, has never seen women, and is totally naive. But Smith brings to Earth the disciplines embodied in the Martian language. These disciplines control all physical and mental functions including the power to teleport the body, to astrally project the mind, and to discorporate (cease to exist) objects both animate and inanimate. The first twenty-eight chapters of "Stranger ..." describe the planet Mars, Smith learning about humans and sexuality, and Smith making human friends ('growing closer'). Mars is an arid, resource-poor environment. Young Martian 'nymphs' are females that mature to become adult males. Smith makes his first human friends through the Martian 'sharing water' ritual. Sexual lovemaking later supplants sharing water as his growing closer ritual. The next seven chapters of "Stranger ..." deal with Smith's career first as a carnival performer and then as an evangelist. As a carnival performer Smith learns skeptism for human behavior and motivation. Smith then decides to improve humanity by teaching the Martian language and its attendent disciplines. He founds a church whose members, once chosen, advance in rank according to their Martian language proficiency and their closeness to other church members. Chapter XXXVI raises (but doesn't discuss) a number of issues relevent today. Smith uses reincarnation belief to justify himself choosing and discorporating ~450 'vicious' individuals [consider vigilantes]. He utilizes unrestricted lovemaking to promote closeness among church members [consider sexually transmitted diseases and rejection of 'safe sex' practices]. He does not value human infants because Martian nymphs must survive unaided [consider unwanted children]. And Smith challenges the sanctity of property and asks why human adults do not voluntarily discorporate (euthanize) to provide food (resources) for others [consider the medical ethics of withholding or withdrawing life support to conserve a patient's estate value]. Despite having won the 1962 Hugo Award I believe that "Stranger In A Strange Land" is written awkwardly. The first thirty-five chapters form a wordy tale that does not achieve its potential -- rather than discussing Smith these chapters discuss the characters around Smith. Yet "Stranger ..." is important for its sociological concepts. Several 1960's organizations based upon these concepts have adapted and survive today.
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Summary: Absolutely a "thinkers" book
Review: Though not much for sci-fi, a friend of mined raved about this book until I had to read it. And I'm glad I did! This was the only book to ever get me to have a theological argument with myself in my head. Heinlein brings up interesting new concepts and brings them to life with wonderful, deep characters. I recommend this book even to those who don't normally read sci-fi, as it can make anyone look at the world in a whole new light.
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Summary: and here i am writing
Review: i finished this book about ten minutes ago, and i grok it a bit more completely with every passing second. i put it down, i sigh, and all i find myself wishing for is more. almost like it never ended, and even the great holden caufield said that you feel the worst when you get no goodbye. surely, this book had a very definite ending: cliche, predictable, yet for some unexplainable reason....breathtaking. so in order to get more, i sit down at my computer and read you people's commentary just to see if any feels these ideas and emotions that lurk and swarm inside of me right now. nobody seems to have a reaction even remotely comparable to mine, and i think that that fact comprises the beauty of this book. we are all strangers, truly, if we are true to ourselves. lets quit making so many damn rules, and obligations, and judgements, and learn about each other. love, understand. completely. there's so much more to life than just living, i guess. i know that now.
Rating:
Summary: Still intriguing despite the hype
Review: Henlein's most talked about novel remains a landmark piece of creativity in a popular science fiction format. I read this novel knowing little of its background or controvery. From that standpoint, I enjoyed it immensely. The poignant insights into human motivation, selfishness, envy, vanity, desire, love, and quest for spirituality are intriguing. This, in the setting of a half martian, half human man who returns to earth and unwittingly becomes the leader of a movement akin to a religion. It's entertaining and you'll want to "grok" even if it just means sharing a glass of water. How Heinlein translates cannibalism into one of the highest honors one could strive for is strange, ludicrous, philosophical, and ultimately witty. Say what you want about Heinlein, but toss aside what you've heard, read the novel, and come to your own conclusions. The philosophy, humor, and prose will not please everyone, but I enjoyed it. That Charles Manson cites the book as an inspiration evokes all kinds of discussion and controversy, but you know what, whatever...Highly recommended.
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Summary: Returning To My Reading Roots And Loving Them Anew
Review: One would suppose that sci-fi fiction would have only improved as we moved ahead in time. We've picked up some good new writers along the way but much of the present day work leaves me baffled. For one, it can be difficult to even read and, for another, I could care less about battles. Easy to read and not focused on intergalactic battle forces is Heinlein's classic, "Stranger In A Strange Land," about Michael from Mars, but with links to earth, who comes to earth to experience us in all our oddity. This novel has it all: love, romance, religion, God, money, power. Most of all though, I enjoyed it because it was a fertile ground for the exploration of ideas valid then as well as ideas which were in the air and coming.
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