Rating: 
Summary: There is just something about this book
Review: I have to admit this is just about my favorite Heinlein. It is about a family that does some really cool things together like visit Mars and the asteroid belt. They suffer some mishaps and adventures and have a generally great time. I like to think this will be possible one of these days. Too bad I won't live to see it. Like in the Tom Swift series, the family is able to buy supplies and craft that would put NASA under a strain. This juxtaposition of the impossible with the everyday possible is what makes this book both appealing and typically Heinlein. Although a Heinlein "juvenile" book I seem to enjoy it now as much as when I first read it many many years ago.
Rating:
Summary: There is just something about this book
Review: I have to admit this is just about my favorite Heinlein. It is about a family that does some really cool things together like visit Mars and the asteroid belt. They suffer some mishaps and adventures and have a generally great time. I like to think this will be possible one of these days. Too bad I won't live to see it. Like in the Tom Swift series, the family is able to buy supplies and craft that would put NASA under a strain. This juxtaposition of the impossible with the everyday possible is what makes this book both appealing and typically Heinlein. Although a Heinlein "juvenile" book I seem to enjoy it now as much as when I first read it many many years ago.
Rating:
Summary: This book is simply great!
Review: I think this book is one of the funniest I have ever read. Unfortunately I read it about twenty years ago in a horrible Italian translation. But now I was able to appreciate the subtle humour, the pseudo-scientific details (I am an engineer), and the intriguing plot. Five stars well deserved!
Rating:
Summary: A delightful adventure
Review: I've been a Heinlein fan for years and although some of his work tends to be erratic, I thought this one was very fun. Heinlein manages to mix good, old-fashioned, science fiction with a smattering of galactic politics, family politics, basic physics, and just plain fun in a way that makes you think that the Stones would really exist in a not so distant future. Each of the characters have distinct personalities (my favorite is Grandma Hazel) and Heinlein writes them so they play off and learn from each other. Some readers may find the technical aspects of how a ship works or the appropriate method to achieve an orbit tedious, but I think it adds a hint of reality. It's not so outlandish as to be totally unbelievable. Often, Heinlein will explain why something must be done in a particular way, and he also explains what happens if you don't. You know you're reading something fictional, but it's nice when the author tries to make you live in that fictional world, if only for a short while.
Rating:
Summary: A delightful adventure
Review: I've been a Heinlein fan for years and although some of his work tends to be erratic, I thought this one was very fun. Heinlein manages to mix good, old-fashioned, science fiction with a smattering of galactic politics, family politics, basic physics, and just plain fun in a way that makes you think that the Stones would really exist in a not so distant future. Each of the characters have distinct personalities (my favorite is Grandma Hazel) and Heinlein writes them so they play off and learn from each other. Some readers may find the technical aspects of how a ship works or the appropriate method to achieve an orbit tedious, but I think it adds a hint of reality. It's not so outlandish as to be totally unbelievable. Often, Heinlein will explain why something must be done in a particular way, and he also explains what happens if you don't. You know you're reading something fictional, but it's nice when the author tries to make you live in that fictional world, if only for a short while.
Rating: 
Summary: less sexist?
Review: It seems to me that The Rollling Stones is less sexist than the usual Heinlein fare.
Rating:
Summary: This book had "Tribbles" before Star Trek was conceived.
Review: Just a note about one of my favorite parts of the book. The Martian prospectors' pets who breed out of control when they get enough food and water. Great, simple example of what can happen if you take an animal out of it's ecological niche.
Rating:
Summary: less sexist?
Review: Some of the other reviews mention the great contributions Heinlein made to scifi, but the most important contribution of this book was not pointed out. Anyone following the space program these days is familiar with the "gravity assist," whereby probes like Galelio make it to Jupiter by swinging around Venus and Earth to boost their speed for the voyage. The Rolling Stones was the first published mention of this technique way back in the early '50's. Heinlein was a Naval Academy graduate whose chosen field was naval artilery ballistics. It was this background that gave Heinlein such a chillingly accuate eye towards his (soon not to be) fictional creations as the Atom Bomb, long range fire control to sink enemy ships, and more.
Rating:
Summary: "The Dean Teaches Again"
Review: Some of the other reviews mention the great contributions Heinlein made to scifi, but the most important contribution of this book was not pointed out. Anyone following the space program these days is familiar with the "gravity assist," whereby probes like Galelio make it to Jupiter by swinging around Venus and Earth to boost their speed for the voyage. The Rolling Stones was the first published mention of this technique way back in the early '50's. Heinlein was a Naval Academy graduate whose chosen field was naval artilery ballistics. It was this background that gave Heinlein such a chillingly accuate eye towards his (soon not to be) fictional creations as the Atom Bomb, long range fire control to sink enemy ships, and more.
Rating:
Summary: Genuine early Heinlein
Review: This book, published in the UK as "Space Family Stone", is fairly typical of the early Heinlein, when were there fresh ideas and fresh characters in each book. After "Stranger in a Strange Land" Heinlein never wrote a new book, but only the same book over and over again (different cover, different setting, same characters, same philosophy). Note that indeed Star Trek's "tribbles" were lifted from Heinlein's "flat cats". Apparently also "Star Fleet" was lifted from the "Interplanetary Patrol" of Heinlein's "Space Cadet". In making "Star Trek" the producers went back to the SF classics.
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