Rating: 
Summary: fascinating read
Review: I must admit that I read this book with perhaps a too critical eye. I found it fascinating that the Messianic character represenetd herein fought this destiny until ultimately embracing it. Which is antithetical to Christ of course, who only expressed doubts at the very end of his ministry.I was intrigued by some of the philosophical 'jokes' that seemed to pop up: "With that reasononing you could explain away the whole universe" (paraphrase). If you have yet to read this book, prepare to be shocked. Heinlein is offering a bittersweet portrayal of humanity, with some of his 'solutions' interspersed. Some of you may notice that these 'solutions' mirror the times he was writing in. So do the colloquialisms spoken by the characters. Be prepapred to have your sexual mores, your religious faith and your very soul questions and revised. In the end I think you will find it a well written little work that you either take or leave
Rating: 
Summary: He's not telling you what to find, simply to go and look
Review: Above all else this book entertained me and generally most people read for that reason. Fiction after all is fiction. Deabting about the intent of the author is distracting enough to miss the point. Orson Scott Card wrote once that the most powerful way to write about something was to write around it but never directly mention it. Maybe heinlein was doing this - maybe not. The power of this book is in the way it affects you - like any good work of fiction. If you see and believe in the "Philosophy" good, if you don't then also good. Writing holds the mirror to what you are looking at - but not always what the author intends. The best way to reccomend this book is to say that while I was reading it - I wasn't thinking of anything else
Rating:
Summary: Still good even today
Review: I once made a joke to my English teacher regarding this book. Looking through a catalog of books while my teacher was deciding what to order for her students to read next year, my eyes alighted on Stranger in a Strange Land. "Get this for the summer reading" I told her, "and come September you'll have an entire class of liberals!"
That's how subversive this book is. I can see how it got a cult following and reading it is like brainwashing yourself. Heinlein makes some great ideas that probably wouldn't work in the real world but the great thing about fiction is that you can make your ideas always come out on top. His story of Valentine Michael Smith is a delightful satire on the world and most of it sadly still applies today. While I wouldn't consider it his best (that honor belongs to The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, probably even more subversive, if that's possible), it's certainly an excellent novel and a watershed in the history of science-fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Heinlein displays insight, optimism, literary talent
Review: It was not long ago when I first read this book, and since then I have scrutinized it's contents as finely as any true critic would. I have found that Heinlein has, if nothing else, a talent for putting the abstract into concrete words. Though my personal opinion of the novel's ideas are very high, I can say that even a reader who does not agree with these themes of human potential, love and idealistic happiness will enjoy this joyous tragedy as much as I. Jubal Harshaw and Valentine Michael Smith are two of the most complex and beautifully rendered characters I have yet to encounter in literature, and the plot flows well, covering all aspects of the story without moving slowly. Though in many ways a sad and sometimes frightening tale, the message is one of hope and optimism in a world deprived of both, while showcasing Heinlein's own brand of humor and allowing the reader to see their own world from a stranger's eye view. I would recommend this novel for everyone who enjoys science fiction, or any genre, which carries a message
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: Not a horrible book, just a bad one, this novel is perhaps one of the most overrated in all SF. I am a fan of Heinlein's, but this book represents a personal nadir in his writings. A problem is, perhaps, that straight SF has never been RH's forte, and that he really does not have the depth of insights into how and why people behave as they do as do, say, Melville or even Austen, or for that matter Orson Card (to give an SF example).Do not waste your time or money on this preachy, overly-long, non-insightful novel. ("Hey, the devils have seen to it that we're not going to reproduce, so how's about we nuke ourselves?!" Baaaaaaaarrrrf.) Heinlein has written enough decent material that he has earned the right to have this embarrassment quietly forgotten, revered only by neo-hippie New Ageists
Rating:
Summary: Read and understand where man is, and where he can be.
Review: This is a masterfully crafted sci-fi tale of wonder that manages to also be a textbook for life. Sometimes in order to understand ourselves we have to look in as a 'stranger.' Robert Heinlein here challenges every aspect of our lives and shows us the true potential that man posseses. From the viewpoint of Valentine Michael Smith, born of man raised by martians, we see our faults, our merits, and our abilities. No sci-fi collection can claim complete without this book, and no philosophy prof. can teach without this manual. Read it, drink of it, grok it.
Rating:
Summary: Self indulgent, often annoyingly pretentious, but still good
Review: This book reminds me a lot of the sixties movement... lots of good intentions, but ultimately a shallow, meaningless philosophy. The book works best when you read it as a great piece of science fiction loaded with innovative ideas and interesting characters. I find it fascinating that many people have found their lives changed by this book, but in my oh-so-humble opinion, this says more about those people than about this book. Brilliant science fiction, but folks -- it's a fantasy, no more real than Lord of the Rings or The Wizard of Oz. Definitely read this book, but if you find it changing your life, it may be time to see the shrink
Rating:
Summary: Self indulgent, often annoyingly pretentious, but still good
Review: This book reminds me a lot of the sixties movement ... lots of good intentions, but ultimately a shallow meaningless philosophy. The book works best when you read it as a great piece of science fiction loaded with innovative ideas and interesting characters. I find it fascinating that many people have found their lives changed by this book, but in my oh-so-humble opinion, this says more about those people than about this book. Brilliant science fiction, but folks -- it's a fantasy, no more real than Lord of the Rings or The Wizard of Oz. Definitely read this book, but if you find it changing your life, it may be time to see the shrink
Rating:
Summary: Supernova Testament
Review: Being not serious seems to be what the modern times are all about. If you write a Neo Testament, make sure it isn't. Want to be good to your hungry neighbour? Let him have your leg for breakfast! This book may not change your life but you'll enjoy it. I mean, them both, all the better for it
Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorites
Review: Get a copy of I and Thou by Martin Buber. Read it. Re-read Stranger in a Strange Land. Grok
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