Rating: 
Summary: The beginning of a long decline
Review: Here and in STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, Heinlein began indulging himself in some highly questionable explorations of mores and morals. In the present work, his main character Hugh Farnham solemnly intones, "Morals are our bedrock, always," but (to put it mildly) doesn't seem disturbed by the fact that his daughter wants to have sex with him. This is just a hint of things to come; readers of Heinlein's later works will tell you that few of his characters show Farnham's restraint. (The handful who do typically apologize for it, explaining that their "tastes" were "canalized" in the barbaric cultures of their childhoods.)The meager plot in this novel isn't worth the trouble of reading it. Heinlein says nothing new or interesting here, and the story itself is very much a product of its time: bomb shelters, race relations, that sort of thing. If you insist on reading Heinlein, read THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS, STARSHIP TROOPERS, THE DOOR INTO SUMMER, and DOUBLE STAR. A few of his other early works are still marginally readable. But if you've read those four, you've seen the best Heinlein has to offer.
Rating: 
Summary: Post WWII Era values?
Review: Yes, this story gives good and bad. For the good you have a conservative older man who builds a bomb shelter to attempt to save his family from being destroyed in a nuclear war with Russia. The concept is not new although he was writing about it before it became a popular storyline. The bad news is that he begins to discuss 'deviant' sexual behavior, primarily when his adult daughter admits to the main character 'Hugh' that he was welcome to have her sexually. Now he of course declines but the very discussion was repulsive, they were of the belief that the small band of survivors were the only people to survive but still! If you and your daughter were the last 2 people on earth I would hope her virtue would be safe. What kind of mind thinks of such awful things? As a story FREEHOLD was quite good and I recommend it. Just beware that it has some odd mores exhibited within. I do recommend this novel but some of his later works tend to be sexually twisted.
Rating: 
Summary: A very good book not to read
Review: Heinlein wrote some significant books, but tends to preach. Everything worth saying Heinlein said in his early work, concluding with "Stranger in a Strange Land". His early work is interesting and sometimes charming (cf "The Star Beast"). Heinlein is one of the greats of Sci Fi, but would have been more so if he had not written anything after "Stranger". His later work is not worth reading and this goes in particular for FF. Hope it stays out of print.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm not sure what these peopl eare so upset about
Review: This is a fine novel! I'm not sure what these pople are upset about. It seems as though it is the society which he fabricated which seems to turn everyone off... the canibalism etc. I'm not exactly a litterary scholar but I Know when I find somthing that I like. a great book, definitely not one of Heinlein's worst!
Rating:
Summary: By far the worst
Review: I agree with Mr. Farris, except that the negatives he cites were more than enough to turn me off. Of Heinlein's dozen or so books that I've read, this one is by far the worst.
Rating:
Summary: Dated and disgusting; but not without merit.
Review: I am a sucker for any type of post-apocalytic story. Farnham's Freehold is this type of story. I really liked this book and also disliked it at the same time. Hugh and his family; wife, son, daughter, servant and a friend are caught by a nuclear surprise. They survive in Hugh's shelter; and are catapulted to a world in the future where all 'white' society has been obliterated, and black rule over whites. Slavery, studding, torture, castrating and cannabilism are the norm in this society. These situations are not sensationalized but they are shocking. Problems with book: 1. Not much character depth: The most truthful characters are Joseph the servant, and Hugh himself. The other characters are as followed: the drunken wife, a mama's boy, a daddy's girl and a sexy friend of daddy's girl. 2. Not scientific. I can buy how Hugh builds a well stocked shelter. I can buy how they got catapulted to the future. I can't buy how only black society survived. Certainly, the Chinese (more technologically advanced than Africa in 1962) or the Japanese would have survived also. 3. Disturbingly written. Cannabilism and torturing are disturbing actions. But they way in which it is written seems to be more shocking than the acts themselves. Good points of book: 1. Stunningly adroit fable of racism. Slavery has visited every society, including the kinder, gentler and more responsible Masters. 2. Use of drug 'Happiness' to keep slaves happy and docile. Very reminscent Huxley's soma. Wise foreshadowing on how some believe illicit drugs are used to keep down the black man and other underclasses. 3. They way Hugh and Joseph are written. Hugh is over the top, a man who will do whatever it takes to survive while still having a moral compass. Joseph is everyman who is doing what he must to survive. The roles of Hugh and Joseph have flipped. Although Hugh is a fair and loving boss; Hugh does not even blame Joseph when he is placed in a position of authority. If you read this book as SF you will be slightly disappointed. If you read this book as a satire you will be impressed. If this seems dichotomous, I don't care. I said I was a sucker for post-apocalyptic stories.
Rating: 
Summary: Great but not the greatest in Heinlein's bibliography
Review: I Think the main failing of this novel is a not perfect setting.It's strange cause the distinguishing mark of Heinlein's work is 'the Future World' (see "Stranger in a strange world", "Double Star", "Starship Troopers"). As usual a great feeling of tale characterizes this novel too
Rating:
Summary: Can Hugh leap tall buildings in a single bound?
Review: I have mixed fillings about this book. For one I really had a good time reading it, as a matter of fact I devoured it in two days. The plot is trite at the beginning and then turns to really tacky as soon as the big one hits. The hero of the story is a nice character, hardly the average type of guy now a days, but a little more popular in the 60s. Building a nuclear shelter is more than plausible during and after the Cuban missile crisis, but the one he built is a little far fetch; the only thing it lack is an operating room who proves to be his undoing later. The author gives no rational explanation for the leap in the future, a society of switched roles between races and very conveniently for the plot, the servant becomes the master and the master the servant. I would have expected a nobler behavior from Joseph towards his previous master but perhaps is the point the author is trying to make. Hugh is a Jack of all trades, and is a shame that in the second part of the book the plot happened in the lower level of the building,. Had it been a tall one, we would have known if he could leap tall buildings in a single bound. All and all, is nice reading.
Rating:
Summary: The weakest of Heinlein's Robert Rimmer period
Review: Daddy's a bit of a Bob Vila type. Mama's like the wife of "Star Trek's" Harry Mudd. She's turned their son into a mama's boy. Daughter's a daddy's girl type who picks the night the Reds decide to push the button to bring home a friend to visit (the friend sparks to Daddy immediately). There's a butler who's working his way through college, way overqualified to be a servant, but too dark to get respect from Mom or Junior. BOOM. Now they're centuries into the future, in a reverse-race analog to the ante bellum South, complete with "massas" who are benevolent to their two-legged livestock (which the Farnham family is now included among) and "house slaves" who put on airs over their own color. Harry Turtledove meets Margaret Mitchell? I don't think so.
Rating:
Summary: Social, political, and religious termoil abounds.
Review: Heinlein has successfully juggled the worlds political and social problems and has done it at a time when, only by artfully cloaking these issues under the guise of science fiction effectively creates a very controversial topic that ultimately boils down to simple human survival ! This work magnificently demonstrates the ultimate outcome for a man who wants nothing more than to survive and be at peace in the world.
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